Revising and Editing

For more revising and editing strategies, see Ch. 25.

As you read over your draft, keep in mind your thesis and the evidence that supports it.

REVISION CHECKLIST

  • Have you clearly identified the literary work and the author near the beginning of the analysis?
  • Is your main idea or thesis clear? Does everything else relate to it?
  • Have you focused on one element or a cluster of related elements in your analysis? Have you organized around these ideas rather than events?
  • Do your transitions focus on ideas, not on plot or time sequence? Do they guide readers easily from one section or sentence to the next?
  • Are your interpretations supported by evidence from the literary work? Do you need to add examples of dialogue, action, or description? Have you selected details relevant to the points of analysis, not interesting sidelights?
  • Have you woven the details from the work smoothly into your text? Have you cited their correct page or line numbers? Have you quoted and cited carefully instead of lifting language without proper attribution?
  • Do you understand all the words and literary terms you use?
  • Have you tried to share your insights into the meaning of the work with your readers, or have you slipped into trying to impress them?

See more editing and proofreading strategies.

After you have revised your literary analysis, check the grammar, word choice, punctuation, and mechanics — and then correct any problems you find. Make sure that you smoothly introduce all of your quotations and references to the work and weave them into your own discussion.

EDITING CHECKLIST

See the relevant checklist sections in the Quick Editing Guide for more help. See also to the Quick Format Guide.

Have you used the present tense for events in the literary work and for comments about the author’s presentation? A3
Have you used quotation marks correctly whenever you give the exact words of the literary work? C3
Have you used correct manuscript format for your paper?