Erin met with her peers and her instructor, collecting all the comments about her draft. To help her focus on the purpose of the essay, she reread the assignment. She decided that reflecting more would strengthen her main idea, or thesis — and her instructor had already pointed out the importance of a strong thesis in college writing.

Erin concentrated first on revising her conclusion because all her readers had suggested strengthening it. Then she went back to the beginning to make other changes, responding to comments and editing details. Erin’s changes are marked in the following version of her draft. The comments in the margins point out some of her revision and editing decisions.