10 Techniques

To Help Revise Your Paper

 

1.) OVERALL CONTENT

Do you have a clear and precise thesis statement with equally clear and precise topic sentences and supporting details?

 

    Is the Structure of your paper well organized?

 

   Are you getting your main ideas across to your reader?

 

2.) REVIEW PREVIOUSLY GRADED PAPERS

     What comments did your instructor make about your paper?

   

     Were there any specific parts the instructor wanted you to work on?

 

      Look over your current paper to make sure you are not repeating the same weakness?

 

3.) Writer V.S Reader

Try to look at the paper from the reader’s perspective rather than the writer’s perspective.  (This is difficult when, as a writer, you have been spending a great deal of time with your paper.)

 

- Take some time away from                   -Try to pretend you have never

your paper and get back to it                  seen the paper before, or pretend

later. Things are easier to                                   you are new to this topic.  What

catch when you start with a                     questions would you have?

Fresh mind.

 

4.) READ YOUR PAPER ALOUD

Are there particular spots that you stumbled over: Things you caught and didn’t notice before?

 

Have someone else read it aloud; are there any spots other people stumble over or are confused about?

 

5.) SMALL CHUNKS

     Try to revise your paper one paragraph at a time.

 

     Try revising your paper one sentence at a time.

 

6.) REVISE BACKWARDS

     Revise the last sentence and work your way to the top: One sentence at a time.

 

 

7.) JUST PUNCTIATION

     Look over your paper and only focus on your punctuation.

 

     - commas                                                   - semi-colons

     - comma splice                                           - colons

     - capitalization                                           - and so on

 

8.) JUST GRAMMAR

     Look over your paper again and only focus on grammar.

 

     - Fragments                                               - verb tense

     - run-on sentence                                      - pronoun agreement

     - avoid passive voice                                 - modifiers

     - subject-verb agreement                          - and so on

 

9.) JUST DICTION

Look over your paper again anf only focus on your diction (the writer’s word-choice should coordinate with the intent of the paper).

 

- formal VS informal                                 - point of view

- purpose                                                    - tone

- audience                                                  - and so on

 

10.) ONE MORE TIME

       When you think you are finished, read through your paper again.