Check the organization: Does your paper follow a pattern that makes sense? Do the transitions move your readers smoothly from one point to the next? Do the topic sentences of each paragraph appropriately introduce what that paragraph is about? Would your paper work better if you moved some things around? For more information visit our handout on reorganizing drafts.

Check that you have kept your promises to your readers: Does your paper follow through on what the thesis promises? Do you support all the claims in your thesis? Are the tone and formality of the language appropriate for your audience?.Examine the balance within your paper: Are some parts out of proportion with others? Do you spend too much time on one trivial point and neglect a more important point? Do you give lots of detail early on and then let your points get thinner by the end?.What are some other steps I should consider in later stages of the revision process? Think about your purpose in writing: Does your introduction state clearly what you intend to do? Will your aims be clear to your readers?.Think honestly about your thesis: Do you still agree with it? Should it be modified in light of something you discovered as you wrote the paper? Does it make a sophisticated, provocative point, or does it just say what anyone could say if given the same topic? Does your thesis generalize instead of taking a specific position? Should it be changed altogether? For more information visit our handout on thesis statements.Check the focus of the paper: Is it appropriate to the assignment? Is the topic too big or too narrow? Do you stay on track through the entire paper?.At this stage, you should be concerned with the large issues in the paper, not the commas. As The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers puts it, вЂњTHINK BIG, donвЂ™t tinkerвЂќ (61).Ask yourself what you really think about the paper. When you do return to the draft, be honest with yourself, and donвЂ™t be lazy. The Roman poet Horace thought one should wait nine years, but thatвЂ™s a bit much. Wait awhile after youвЂ™ve finished a draft before looking at it again.Instead, focus on two or three main areas during each revision session: The process What steps should I use when I begin to revise? if a reader will understand what youвЂ™re saying.So revision is a chance for you to look critically at what you have written to see:

Writing is a process of discovery, and you donвЂ™t always produce your best stuff when you first get started. But if you havenвЂ™t thought through your ideas, then rephrasing them wonвЂ™t make any difference. ItвЂ™s another important final step in polishing your work. Well, thatвЂ™s a part of revision called editing. How about if I just reword things: look for better words, avoid repetition, etc.? Is that revision? For more information on the subject, see our handout on proofreading. When you finish revising, thatвЂ™s the time to proofread. ItвЂ™s an important step before turning your paper in, but if your ideas are predictable, your thesis is weak, and your organization is a mess, then proofreading will just be putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.

But I thought revision was just fixing the commas and spelling It is an ongoing process of rethinking the paper: reconsidering your arguments, reviewing your evidence, refining your purpose, reorganizing your presentation, reviving stale prose. Revision literally means to вЂњsee again,вЂќ to look at something from a fresh, critical perspective.

This handout will motivate you to revise your drafts and give you strategies to revise effectively. William Zinsser What this handout is about Rewriting is the essence of writing well-where the game is won or lost.

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