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Arriving at a Final Draft: Three Levels of Change. Revision is deep fundamental change to the story as a whole . Editing is change you make at the paragraph and sentence level . Proofreading is checking over grammar, spelling, formatting, etc. Revision Strategies. Recopy your text.
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Arriving at a Final Draft:Three Levels of Change • Revision is deep fundamental change to the story as a whole. • Editing is change you make at the paragraph and sentence level. • Proofreading is checking over grammar, spelling, formatting, etc.
Revision Strategies • Recopy your text. • As you retype, be open to changes, deletions, and additions that occur. • Clothesline your paper. • Cut your essay into sections: • Major scenes • Moments of reflection • Background Segments • Take a deep breath, and let go of the order in which you had them • Rearrange them for maximum effect • If you’re brave, what happens if one of your peer reviewers rearranges them?
Editing Strategies • Write lean and mean—get your paper lean; make sure every word means something. • Going paragraph by paragraph, see if you can cut an extraneous word from each. • What about a clause, or even an entire sentence? • Read your work aloud. • Listen for places your work feels awkward, stiff, or longwinded. • Record your reading; then read along as you listen. You will often add or delete words (edit) as you read.
Proofreading:Most Common Errors • Misspellings • Incorrect use of punctuation • Run-on sentences • Unintended sentence fragments • Incorrectly formatted dialogue • Inconsistent use of tenses (generally switching between past and present) • Improper Formatting
Proofreading:Punctuation • A comma is a separator. • Material worthy of separation: • a transition word that creates a natural pause • a lengthy, complex sentence with multiple subjects and verbs • a list of three or more related items or phrases in a row • A colon is an arrow pointing forward. • tells that new information, promised by the wording before it, is about to arrive • Example: The old George Carlin joke: “Weather forecast for tonight: dark.” • A semicolon is a mark of co-dependency. • used to join phrases or sentences having grammatical equivalency • emphasizes that the joined parts are related, even co-dependent, in context • A hyphen acts like handcuffs, binding two words together. • Example: full-time, three-year-old • Please note, compound adjectives take a hyphen: well-known author, heavy-hearted smile • An em-dash redefines what was just said. • An em-dash—made in Word by typing two hyphens, another word, and a space—is a powerful way to make an important aside, as I just did • It can also tack on an additional comment of consequence—a comment that redefines.
MLA Formatting • Purdue OWL is your friend for all things MLA: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Homework • Final draft of your essay due to my Dropbox account by midnight on Monday • Finish The Lost City of Z • For your blog comment, continue one of the dialogue fragments from your classmates to the best of your imagination’s ability. . .