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.
Time to Write
As the final step in your writing process, you're ready to complete revision and editing for your essay. Remember, you should complete your revision first, using any feedback from your professor, peers, and writing center consultants. Once you have your content revised, you're ready for editing. Don't forget that effective editing takes some time - and many passes at your text.
For additional information on what revision and editing can look like as a part of your writing process, be sure to watch these revising and editing videos from the Research learning area. You'll get to see what content revision looks like in practice and learn about how you have to be careful of grammar checkers, such as the grammar checker in your word processing program. Even the helpful resource Grammarly should be questioned. If you have any doubts or questions about information you get from an online grammar checker, be sure to check with your professor.