Revising and Editing
For more revising and editing strategies, see Ch. 23.
Focus on Your Thesis. Make your thesis as precise and clear as possible.
| WORKING THESIS | Chosen to showcase the graduating seniors, the campus revival of South Pacific also brings up societal problems. |
| REVISED THESIS | The senior showcase, the musical South Pacific, spotlights outstanding performers and raises timely societal issues such as prejudice. |
Be Fair. Make your judgments reasonable, not extreme. A reviewer can find fault with a film and still conclude that it is worth seeing. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with a fervent judgment (“This play is the trashiest excuse for a drama I have ever suffered through”), but consider your readers and their likely reactions. Read some reviews in your local newspaper or online, or watch some movie critics on television to see how they balance their judgments. Because readers will have more confidence in your opinions if you seem fair and reasonable, revise your tone where needed. For example, one writer revised his opening after he realized that he was criticizing the audience rather than evaluating the performance.
REVISION CHECKLIST
- Is the judgment you pass on your subject unmistakably clear?
- Have you given your readers evidence to support each point you make?
- Have you been fair? If you are championing something, have you deliberately skipped over its disadvantages or faults? If you are condemning your subject, have you omitted its admirable traits?
- Have you anticipated and answered readers’ possible objections?
- If you compare two things, do you look at the same points in both?
For more on comparison and contrast, see Ch. 7.
See more editing and proofreading strategies.
After you have revised your evaluation, edit and proofread it. Carefully check grammar, word choice, punctuation, and mechanics — and then correct any problems you find. Make sentences in which you describe the subject of your evaluation as precise and useful as possible. If you have used comparisons or contrasts, make sure these are clear: don’t lose your readers in a fog of vague pronouns or confusing references.
EDITING CHECKLIST
See the relevant checklist sections in the Quick Editing Guide for more help. See also to the Quick Format Guide.
| Is it clear what each pronoun refers to? Does each pronoun agree with (match) its antecedent? | A6 | ||
| Is it clear what each modifier in a sentence modifies? Have you created any dangling or misplaced modifiers, especially in descriptions of your subject? | B1 | ||
| Have you used parallel structure wherever needed, especially in lists or comparisons? | B2 |