Revising and Editing
For more revising and editing strategies, see Ch. 23.
As you revise, concentrate on a clear explanation of the problem and solid supporting evidence for the solution. Make your essay coherent and its parts clear to help achieve your purpose of convincing your readers.
Clarify Your Thesis. Your readers are likely to rely on your thesis to identify the problem and possibly to preview your solution. Look again at your thesis from a reader’s point of view.
| WORKING THESIS | The legislature should pass a law allowing couples to divorce without the problem of going to court. |
| REVISED THESIS | Because divorce court can be expensive, adversarial, and stressful, passing a law that allows couples to divorce without a trip to court would encourage simpler, more harmonious ways to end a marriage. |
Reorganize for Unity and Coherence. When Heather Colbenson revised her first draft, she wanted to clarify the presentation of her problem.
See strategies for achieving coherence.
Her revised paper was more forcefully organized and more coherent, making it easier for readers to follow. The bridges between ideas were now on paper, not just in her mind.
Be Reasonable. Exaggerated claims for a solution will not persuade readers. Neither will oversimplifying the problem so the solution seems more workable. Don’t be afraid to express reasonable doubts about the completeness of your solution. If necessary, rethink both problem and solution.
REVISION CHECKLIST
- Does your introduction invite the reader into the discussion?
- Is your problem clear? How have you made it relevant to readers?
- Have you clearly outlined the steps necessary to solve the problem?
- Where have you demonstrated the benefits of your solution?
- Have you considered other solutions before rejecting them for your own?
- Have you anticipated the doubts readers may have about your solution?
- Do you sound reasonable, willing to admit that you don’t know everything? If you sound preachy, have you overused should and must?
- Have you avoided promising that your solution will do more than it can possibly do? Have you made believable predictions for its success?
See more editing and proofreading strategies. See E1–E2 in the Quick Research Guide for more on documenting sources.
After you have revised your proposal, edit and proofread it. Carefully check the grammar, word choice, punctuation, and mechanics — and then correct any problems you find. If you have used sources, be sure that you have cited them correctly in your text and added a list of works cited.
Make sure your sentence structure helps you make your points clearly and directly. Don’t let yourself slip into the passive voice, a grammatical construction that represents things as happening without any obvious agent: “The problem should be remedied by spending money on prevention.” Instead, every sentence should specify who should act: “The dean of students should remedy the problem by spending money on prevention.”
EDITING CHECKLIST
For more help, find the relevant checklist sections in the Quick Editing Guide. Turn also to the Quick Format Guide beginning.
| Is it clear what each pronoun refers to? Is any this or that ambiguous? Does each pronoun agree with (match) its antecedent? | A6 | ||
| Is your sentence structure correct? Have you avoided writing fragments, comma splices, or fused sentences? | A1, A2 | ||
| Do your transitions and other introductory elements have commas after them, if these are needed? | C1 | ||
| Have you spelled and capitalized everything correctly, especially names of people and organizations? | D1, D2 |