The Essay

Revising and Editing

Writing the Essay

Writing a First Draft

Revision

Editing

Writing the First Draft

You will most likely add to what you wrote during prewriting.

Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or spelling yet.

RevisionDefinition:

Rewriting a paper, building on what has already been done in order to make it stronger

Quick Hints to Make Revisions Easier

Set it aside for at least a day.Work from typed or printed text.Read it aloud to yourself.Add your thoughts and changes directly on the

paper.

Three Stages to the Revising Process

Revising Content

Revising Sentences

Revising Content

Is my paper UNIFIED? Is my paper

SUPPORTED? Is my paper

ORGANIZED?

Unified? Do I have a thesis that is

clearly stated or implied in the introductory paragraph of my essay?

Do all my supporting paragraphs truly support and back up my thesis?

Supported?

Are there three separate supporting points for the thesis?

Do I have specific evidence for each of the three supporting points?

• Is there plenty of specific evidence for each supporting point?

Organized? Do I have an interesting introduction, a solid conclusion,

and an accurate title?

Do I have a clear method of organizing my paper?

Do I use transitions and other Do I use transitions and other connecting words?connecting words?

Editing the Essay

EditingDefinition:

Checking for and correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Eliminating these types of mistakes Eliminating these types of mistakes will improve your paper and your will improve your paper and your grade!grade!

FYI!FYI!

The Independent Clause Has subject, verb, and a complete thought.

Example:John went to town.

The Dependent Clause Has subject, verb, and does NOT complete a

thought.

Example:When John went to town…

Run-On SentencesA run-on sentence incorrectly runs together two independent clauses without a conjunction or punctuation.

EXAMPLE:

My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy-five years old he plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.

My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy-five years old. He plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.

Comma Splices

A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent clauses with a comma but no conjunction.

EXAMPLE:

My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy-five years old, he plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.

My neighbor Mr. Hoffman is seventy-five years old, and he plays tennis every Saturday afternoon.

Fragments

A fragment is a group of words punctuated like a sentence but missing one of the important elements to make it a sentence: a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.

EXAMPLE:

Running along the beach.