When you revise for purpose, you make sure that your writing accomplishes what you want it to do. If your goal is to create an interesting profile of a person, have you done so? If you want to persuade your readers to take a certain course of action, have you succeeded? When your project has evolved or your assignment grown clearer to you, the purpose of your final essay may differ from your purpose when you began. To revise for purpose, try to step back and see your writing as other readers will.
See more on stating and improving a working thesis.
Concentrate on what’s actually in your paper, not what you assume is there. Create a thesis sentence (if you haven’t), or revise your working thesis statement (if you’ve developed one). Reconsider how it is worded:
Then consider how accurately your thesis now represents your main idea:
If you find unrelated or contradictory passages, you have several options: revise the thesis, revise the essay, or revise both.
If your idea has deepened, your topic become more complex, or your essay developed along new lines, refine or expand your thesis accordingly.
| WORKING THESIS | The Herald’s coverage of the Senate elections was more thorough than the Courier’s. |
| REVISED THESIS | The Herald’s coverage of the Senate elections was less timely but more thorough and more impartial than the Courier’s. |
| WORKING THESIS | As the roles of men and women have changed in our society, old-fashioned formal courtesy has declined. |
| REVISED THESIS | As the roles of men and women have changed in our society, old-fashioned formal courtesy has declined not only toward women but also toward men. |