Revision and Editing

1. Revision and Editing

2. A Misconception Revision ≠ Editing Revision = Editing • Revision • Changes content, organization, and style. • Involves rewriting text to clarify and strengthen voice and argument. • Editing • Polishes and finalizes a piece of writing. • Involves reviewing text for small errors.

3. Revision • You can revise single sentences or entire papers. • Revision is a spectrum. Do my sentences and paragraphs fall in a logical and natural order? Do all of my sentences make sense? Have I chosen the best or most accurate words? Is my essay appropriate for my audience? Does my essay address the prompt? Polishing Organization Global

4. Revision • Revision means re-vision: look again. • When revising, you ask questions about your style logic tone communication proof clarity organization purpose

5. Revision Start with global questions: • Is it worth saying? • Does it say what I mean? • Will my reader understand? Polishing Organization Global

6. Revision Focus • Does my paper fulfill the assignment? • Is the topic too big or too narrow? • Do I stay on track?  Polishing Organization Global

7. Revision Thesis • Do I still agree with my thesis? • Is my thesis too general or too specific? • Does my thesis communicate my goals? • Do I support my thesis with enough evidence? • Do I follow through with my goals?  Polishing Organization Global

8. Revision Evidence • Do I provide enough evidence? • Are my facts and stories accurate? • Do I cite my sources?  Polishing Organization Global

9. Revision Organization • Does my paper’s organization make sense? • Would my paper make more sense in a different order? • Do I help readers navigate my text?  Polishing Organization Global

10. Revision Balance • Do I spend too much time on one topic and not enough on others? • Do I provide consistent evidence for all points?  Polishing Organization Global

11. Revision Clarity • Are my ideas and arguments clearly stated? • Do I use the appropriate words? Polishing Organization Global

12. Revision Methods Freewrite Write without stopping or thinking for a given length of time. Fresh Eyes Don’t look at your work for a few days after drafting. Interpretive Paraphrase Pick a passage, copy it, hide it, and write what you meant to say. Annotate and Outline Write the main point of each paragraph. Rearrange your paper based on your notes.

13. Let’s Practice Revision Make suggestions on your handout for how the author should revise the paragraph to strengthen content, organization, and style. My brother (who is two years older than I) and I were playing in the backyard. I was digging in the dirt. He was pitching lawn darts. If you don’t know what a lawn dart is, it’s a 12-inch, steel dart made to toss underhand at a target on the ground. It is supposed to stick straight up in the grass when you throw it. One of my brother’s pitches went wild. The lawn dart sliced into my cheek right below my eye. My mother rushed me to the neighbor. My father was at work at the time. I needed stitches. I’m surprised at how unafraid I was to get stitches. Lawn darts have been banned since then. Several children died because of them.

14. Revision and Editing Both revision and editing occur throughout the writing process. However, editing always comes after revision.

15. Reasons for Editing • Minor errors are distracting. • A reader may notice errors and forget about what you’re trying to say. • Minor errors make you seem unintelligent. • A reader may think you’re too foolish to correct what he/she believes is an obvious mistake. • Minor errors make you seem unprofessional. • A reader may think you didn’t want to take the time to polish your work.

16. Editing When editing, review your paper for these errors: • spelling • punctuation • grammar • citations • typographical • formatting

17. Editing Editing—for spelling The spell checker in your word processor does not pick up all spelling errors. Look for incorrect use of homophones (words that sound alike) like “there” and “their” and “whether” and “weather.” Look for words that are missing letters but still form the correct spelling of other words. For example: • Heroine – e = Heroin • Wash – h = Was • Breathe – e = Breath

18. Editing Editing—for punctuation • The most common punctuation errors in student writing are adding an unnecessary comma and missing commas after introductory elements. • Look for appropriate use of • quotation marks • apostrophes • colons and semicolons

19. Editing Editing—for grammar

20. Editing Editing—for citations • Make sure that you have included all necessary in-text and bibliographical citations. • Make sure that you have formatted your in-text citations correctly and accurately. • Make sure that your bibliographical citations are accurate, and look at them very carefully for formatting, checking with your style guide as you go.

21. Editing Editing—for typos • Typos are careless typing errors like extra letters or spaces between words. • Typos are unintentional or accidental errors, and, as such, they may be difficult to find.

22. Editing Editing—for format Formatting includes the following: • margins • tabs or indents • centering • heading • page numbers • font type and size • cover page • left alignment • citations, including in text, footnotes, end notes, and bibliography • All formatting questions specific to a class should be answered by the instructor. • Answers to Microsoft Word questions can be answered by clicking on the question mark button in the top right corner of the document screen or by visiting the Writing Center.

23. Editing Methods Have a friend read your paper for you. Read your paper aloud. Read your paper backwards. Read your paper with a pointer. Read your paper one section at a time. Figure out what errors you make the most. Visit the Writing Center.

24. Let’s Practice Editing Edit the paragraph for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typos. To be successful in college, a students must develop good study habits, but study habits also depends on the kind of learner a student be. Most students need a quite space to study, but you might work much better if you listen to music. Also diffrent materials work better for different student. Some students need all of there work filed together in a binder and they have one binder for each class. Other students use a single binder with dividers for all they’re classes. Finally, location was very important 2 how well a student studied. Students might need to be away from were they live in order to concentrate on the work. Or may need to lock themselves away in their bedrooms because that’s where they are most comfortible. When you figure out what works best for you, you’ll get better grades.

25. For more information about revision and editing or for help with other writing concerns, come to TSU’s Writing Center. Visit room 300 in the Learning Resources Center or call 615.963.5102 to make an appointment.