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Revising

Revision means more than making a quick sweep for spelling errors. Revising a paper may require rethinking, rewriting, and restructuring.

Overview
Tips for Revising
The Reverse Outline
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Diagram for Revising: Pictures show a series of the same landscape on the left, starting with a blurry image then leading down a line of images with increasing clarity.

Why Revise?

The best writers understand that their writing is only as good as their revising. If you are particularly proud of an early draft and feel that it does not need any revision, take a step back and let the paper rest. You might find that if you return to your writing after an hour or so, you may notice errors to fix or awkward sentences where you had not seen them before. Distance and time can be valuable for the revision process, giving you a fresh look at your own writing—especially if you have been staring at the same page for multiple hours.

Knowing when and how to revise your work can transform a good draft into a great one, and looking at your work with a revising eye can help you feel confident about your writing.
So what are some tips and tricks for a successful revision?

Start with Key Questions

  • Does my draft adequately support my claims?
  • Do I have sufficient evidence?
  • Is my draft structured in a way that makes it easy for a reader to follow my conclusions?
  • Should my thesis change now that I have gone through the writing process?
Start your Draft Early

It's important to start writing your paper early so that you can give yourself a break in between drafting and revising. Take a few days off from writing your paper. This will help separate yourself from your own biases, and you will be able to see the paper with fresh eyes—as your audience would.

Read Aloud

Taking time to read your draft aloud often helps you identify wordy or awkward sentences. It will also help you become more sensitive to finding typos.

Print out a Paper Copy

Starting your revisions on a printed copy will help provide distance between you and that idea of your paper that lives on your computer. Address this version as if it is new writing, and ask yourself if it accomplishes its purpose.

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Revision.mp4

Ready to discuss revising? Here are some questions to ask your consultant.

  1. As a reader, where do you think my paper needs more development?
  2. Who did you think my audience was?
  3. What questions do you still have after reading my draft?
  4. Could you tell where the essay was going because of how my paper was organized?
  5. Where were you confused?
  6. What did you want “more” of?
  7. What was your favorite part?
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Check out these additional resources!

  1. Revision Strategies and Checklist
  2. UNC - Tips and Tools for Revising
  3. Purdue OWL - Steps for Revising
  4. Harvard - Revising