Revising Drafts

Revising is different from proofreading. It is an ongoing process of rethinking your paper that includes reconsidering your arguments, reviewing your evidence, refining your purpose, reorganizing your presentation, and reviving stale prose. This is not like proofreading, which entails correcting spelling and grammatical errors. Revision allows an author to critically answer a number of questions that affect his paper and revise accordingly. These questions include:

• Is what you have written really worth saying?
• Is your paper saying what you wanted it to say?
• Is the person who is going to read your paper able to understand the points you are trying to make?

If you are unable to say yes to all of these questions you need to revise your paper.

Here are some ideas and hints to help you begin the revision process:

• Wait a while before you begin the process of revising your work. Taking some time to relax or work on other projects will allow you to take a more critical look at your paper.
• Examine the purpose of your paper. Is your paper's direction clear to your potential readers? Does your introduction make sense and is it stated clearly?
• When revising the paper ask yourself the larger questions. For example, is my paper saying what I want it to say? You can proofread at the same time you are revising, but at this stage fixing the problems that require revision are more important than placing commas.
• Check your paper for:
  • Your focus. Is your paper on track with your thesis and its conclusions? Is it appropriate to your assignment?
  • Keeping your promises to your readers. Is your tone ok for your readership? Did you support your claims?
  • Your information. Are all your facts accurate? Did you provide enough information to keep your readers interested and curious? Are your citations correct?
  • Your conclusion. Does your conclusion tie your paper together?
• Examine the balance within your paper. Are all parts of your body equally supported? Is every paragraph balanced or are some more detailed than others?

Revision is very important. It can significantly improve your paper's grade. The process can also be very intense, forcing you to take a very hard look at your work. In some cases you may be moved to rewrite whole paragraphs or start a paper all over again.

Remember:

• Work from hard copy.
• Read the paper out loud to yourself. It will help you check the flow of your paper.
• Do not tackle all of revision process at once. Answer only a few of the revision questions in each draft.
• Look at your paper critically. Ask yourself a lot of questions about your paper and answer them truthfully.

Revision can be a long and difficult process. Despite this the process can mean the difference between a mediocre paper and an excellently written paper. It is also well worth the time because continually revising your work will make you a better writer.

*Created using information and ideas from the Revising Drafts Handout from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Revising Drafts Handout. 2007. 04-10-2009. http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/revision.html.