REVISION AND EDITING

A MisconceptionRevision = EditingRevision ≠ Editing

Revision Changes content,

organization, and style.

Involves rewriting text to clarify and strengthen voice and argument.

Editing Polishes and finalizes

a piece of writing. Involves reviewing

text for small errors.

RevisionYou can revise single sentences or entire

papers.Revision is a spectrum.

Organization

GlobalPolishing

Have I chosen the best or most accurate words?

Do all of my

sentences make

sense?

Do my sentences and

paragraphs fall in a logical

and natural order?

Is my essay

appropriate for my audience?

Does my essay

address the prompt?

Revision means re-vision: look again. When revising, you ask questions about your

Revision

communication

clarityorganizatio

npurpose

logic

proof

tone

style

Start with global questions:Is it worth saying? Does it say what I mean? Will my reader understand?

Revision

Organization

Polishing Global

Focus Does my paper fulfill the assignment? Is the topic too big or too narrow? Do I stay on track? 

Revision

Polishing Organization

Global

ThesisDo I still agree with my thesis?Is my thesis too general or too specific?Does my thesis communicate my goals?Do I support my thesis with enough

evidence?Do I follow through with my goals? 

Revision

Polishing GlobalOrganization

EvidenceDo I provide enough evidence?Are my facts and stories accurate?Do I cite my sources? 

Revision

Organization

GlobalPolishing

OrganizationDoes my paper’s organization make

sense?Would my paper make more sense in a

different order?Do I help readers navigate my text? 

Revision

GlobalPolishing Organization

BalanceDo I spend too much time on one topic and

not enough on others?Do I provide consistent evidence for all

points? 

Revision

Organization

Polishing Global

ClarityAre my ideas and arguments clearly

stated?Do I use the appropriate words?

Revision

Organization

GlobalPolishing

Revision Methods

Interpretive ParaphrasePick a passage, copy it, hide it, and write what you meant to say.

Annotate and OutlineWrite the main point of each paragraph. Rearrange your paper based on your notes.

FreewriteWrite without stopping or thinking for a given length of time.

Fresh EyesDon’t look at your work for a few days after drafting.

Let’s Practice RevisionMake suggestions on your handout for how the author should revise the paragraph to strengthen content, organization, and style.My brother (who is two years older than I) and I were playing in the backyard. I was digging in the dirt. He was pitching lawn darts. If you don’t know what a lawn dart is, it’s a 12-inch, steel dart made to toss underhand at a target on the ground. It is supposed to stick straight up in the grass when you throw it. One of my brother’s pitches went wild. The lawn dart sliced into my cheek right below my eye. My mother rushed me to the neighbor. My father was at work at the time. I needed stitches. I’m surprised at how unafraid I was to get stitches. Lawn darts have been banned since then. Several children died because of them.

Revision and EditingBoth revision and editing occur throughout

the writing process.

However, editing always comes after revision.

Minor errors are distracting.A reader may notice errors and forget about

what you’re trying to say.Minor errors make you seem unintelligent.

A reader may think you’re too foolish to correct what he/she believes is an obvious mistake.

Minor errors make you seem unprofessional.A reader may think you didn’t want to take the

time to polish your work.

Reasons for Editing

When editing, review your paper for these errors:

spellingpunctuationgrammarcitationstypographicalformatting

Editing

Look for incorrect use of homophones (words that sound alike) like “there” and “their” and “whether” and “weather.”

Look for words that are missing letters but still form the correct spelling of other words. For example:Heroine – e = HeroinWash – h = WasBreathe – e = Breath

EditingEditing—for spellingThe spell checker in your word processor does not pick up all spelling errors.

The most common punctuation errors in student writing are adding an unnecessary comma and missing commas after introductory elements.

Look for appropriate use ofquotation marksapostrophescolons and semicolons

EditingEditing—for punctuation

Subject/Verb Agreement Make sure all subjects agree with verbs in number. Singular subjects should have singular verbs; plural subjects should have plural verbs. For example: [Ms. Kavan] likes all dogs, but [Ms. Kavan and her husband] like corgis a lot.

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Make sure pronouns agree with their antecedents in gender and number, particularly with indefinite pronouns:“Everyone likes his/her ice cream.”

Tense Shifting Keep your tense consistent. Use present tense (like/likes) or past tense (liked) throughout your paper; don’t switch from one to the other unless necessary.

Correct Use of First, Second, and/or Third Person Point of View

Keep your point of view consistent. Write your argument in first (I) or third (they) point of view, and be cautious about using second person (you).

EditingEditing—for grammar

Make sure that you have included all necessary in-text and bibliographical citations.

Make sure that you have formatted your in-text citations correctly and accurately.

Make sure that your bibliographical citations are accurate, and look at them very carefully for formatting, checking with your style guide as you go.

EditingEditing—for citations

Typos are careless typing errors like extra letters or spaces between words.

Typos are unintentional or accidental errors, and, as such, they may be difficult to find.

EditingEditing—for typos

Formatting includes the following:marginstabs or indentscenteringheadingpage numbersfont type and size

cover pageleft alignmentcitations, including in

text, footnotes, end notes, and bibliography

All formatting questions specific to a class should be answered by the instructor.

Answers to Microsoft Word questions can be answered by clicking on the question mark button in the top right corner of the document screen or by visiting the Writing Center.

EditingEditing—for format

Editing MethodsRead your

paper aloud.

Read your paper with a

pointer.

Read your paper

backwards.

Read your paper one section at a

time.Figure out what errors you make

the most.

Have a friend read your paper

for you.

Visit the Writing Center.

Let’s Practice EditingEdit the paragraph for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typos.

To be successful in college, a students must develop good study habits, but study habits also depends on the kind of learner a student be. Most students need a quite space to study, but you might work much better if you listen to music. Also diffrent materials work better for different student. Some students need all of there work filed together in a binder and they have one binder for each class. Other students use a single binder with dividers for all they’re classes. Finally, location was very important 2 how well a student studied. Students might need to be away from were they live in order to concentrate on the work. Or may need to lock themselves away in their bedrooms because that’s where they are most comfortible. When you figure out what works best for you, you’ll get better grades.

For more information about revision and editing or for help with other writing concerns, come to TSU’s Writing Center.

Visit room 300 in the Learning Resources Center or call 615.963.5102 to make an appointment.