Revising
an Essay
When students write paragraphs and essays for class assignments, they frequently and quickly throw something on a piece of paper and turn it in, thinking it is good enough. Sometimes it is good enough—when a student has innate writing talent. More often, however, the writing is not good enough, the student receives a low grade, and the student’s distaste for writing increases. Only when students become involved with their writing will their skills improve. To become involved, students must care about what they say and how they say it. They must also want to become better writers, and they must be willing to look critically at their work and to accept suggestions for improvement. They must revise and rewrite until they overcome weaknesses. Just as athletes must train constantly to improve their skills, so must writers train constantly. It takes time to develop good writing skills and habits.
Most of the time when we talk with our friends, family, and coworkers, we don’t worry about the grammatical correctness of what we say. As long as we communicate, we’re okay. People overlook, or are unaware of, our mistakes. When we write, however, we must write correctly. We must be aware of our mistakes so that we can eliminate them. The revision process forces us to focus on finding and eliminating errors. It forces us to look critically at our work.
When we receive papers that have low grades on them, we must review them, look at our most serious problems, look at repeated problems, examine the rules for correcting those problems, and apply the rules to our writing. When we prepare our next piece of writing, we should look back at our previous work, review the rules and corrections that we made, check specifically for those kinds of errors in our current work, and correct them. This process seems tedious, but it pays off. It is the only way that we can become better writers and receive those high grades that we desire.
Following is a checklist for revising your papers. Print it and keep it handy so that you may refer to it often.
Revision Checklist
1. Review your goals. Study your outline. Read any instructions your instructor may have given to make sure your paper meets the assignment.
2. Does the introduction grab the reader’s attention? Does it set up the rest of the paper?
3. Is the thesis clear?
4. Are there enough facts and details to support your thesis?
5. Are your ideas clearly organized and transitions logical?
6. Are there repetitive or irrelevant details that could be deleted? Are there missing or confusing ideas?
7. Is the language precise? Are there vague phrases that could be more sharply stated?
8. Does the tone or “feel” of the paper suit your audience?
9. Does the conclusion bring the paper to a logical end?
HOT TIP: Read your paper aloud. It is far easier to hear errors than to see them.