Revising and Editing
You've probably heard someone say they were going to revise or edit an
essay. Did you know these are different things? When we revise, we think
about the big picture in an essay: the thesis, the main ideas, the
supporting details, the organization, etc. When we edit, we focus on the
sentence-level points: spelling, grammar, word choices, etc. Both are
important and must be done when we complete your essay on the exam. This
resource provides strategies for revising and editing that you can
practice before your exam to help you strengthen the final essay you
submit.
Revising Stage 2: Mid-View
The second stage of the revision process requires that you look at your content closely and at the paragraph level. It's now time to examine each paragraph, on its own, to see where you might need to revise. The following questions will guide you through the mid-view revision stage:
- Does each paragraph contain solid, specific information, vivid description, or examples that illustrate the point you are making in the paragraph?
- Are there are other facts, quotations, examples, or descriptions to add that can more clearly illustrate or provide evidence for the points you are making?
- Are there sentences, words, descriptions or information that you can delete because they don't add to the points you are making or may confuse the reader?
- Are the paragraphs in the right order?
- Are your paragraphs overly long? Does each paragraph explore one main idea?
- Do you use clear transitions so the reader can follow your thinking?
- Are any paragraphs or parts of paragraphs redundant and need to be deleted?