As an essential part of the writing process, revision involves refining and adjusting your ideas. In contrast, editing and proofreading focus on polishing sentence-level writing, including grammar, punctuation, and format. Rather than a one-time task, revision is an ongoing part of the writing process often resulting in substantial changes. This handout provides common revision strategies and a general revision checklist, but always tailor your work to your audience and assignment.
Try reading your writing aloud to yourself or someone else. As you read aloud, pay attention to how your ideas support each other and relate to the main idea. Note areas where your ideas could be clearer. The purpose of this exercise is to gauge how effectively you are explaining and supporting your ideas.
To assess how your ideas are working, it can be helpful to have someone else read your paper. Ask a classmate, friend, or Writing Center tutor to read your paper and provide feedback. If you can, also have someone from your intended audience read and respond to it. The purpose of this exercise is to identify areas you can improve that you may have previously overlooked.
A reverse outline involves outlining an existing draft. Read one paragraph at a time and write down the paragraph’s main idea. Continue this process. Once you have reviewed the whole paper, compare the outlined main ideas to the thesis statement or guiding statement. Do the main ideas work together to support your thesis or guiding statement? The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen your main arguments, ensure they support the thesis, and organize ideas more effectively.
After writing with your intended audience in mind, it is important to understand them further. For example, consider what biases, beliefs, or needs your audience might have. What can you do to better reach your audience? The purpose of this exercise is to improve how you address your audience.
Identify what ideas you would like to develop further. Take some time to write about those ideas away from your draft. Once you have written for an allotted time, consider the ideas you expressed in the free write. How can you build on or expand them? The purpose of this exercise is to refine your ideas.
When revising for organization, printing out your paper allows you to physically mark problem places. For example, you can create a color-coded key marking the main point, evidence, and analysis. The purpose of this exercise is to carefully read your writing and understand the effectiveness of your organization.
When revising, follow this checklist to determine the effectiveness of your writing. Depending on the type of paper you are writing, some points will be more applicable than others. The purpose of this exercise is to target areas in your paper that need additional revision. You can also make an appointment at the Writing Center to go through this checklist with a tutor.
