Making global revisions

Global revisions can be quite dramatic. You are focused on the content and organization of your text, and you are trying to improve your argument or exposition.

Global revisions

• You might need to revise your thesis (or other elements of your introduction) based on the way your ideas have come together in your draft.
• You might strengthen your argument by introducing more evidence or data.
• You might need to address counterarguments.
• You might need to drop whole paragraphs and add others.
• You might condense material that once stretched over two or three paragraphs.
• You might rearrange entire sections.
• You might need to connect your introduction to your conclusion.

Global revisions are best done when you can get some distance—put your draft aside for a while, preferably overnight or longer. When you return to it, try to play the role of your audience as you read.

Using reviewers to plan global revisions

Reviewers can help. If you have access to reviewers—in your class, in the writing center, among your friends—they can help you focus on the larger issues, not on the fine points, at this stage. Your reviewers might benefit from the checklist for reviewers and the guidelines for reviewers.

The checklist and guidelines for using reviewers’ comments may be helpful to you. Also see Revising with comments for more help with understanding your reviewers’ comments, especially your instructor’s comments.

TIP:You might want to print out a hard copy of your draft and read it as a whole rather than screen by screen. Once you have decided what global revisions may be needed, you can return to your computer to combine or rearrange paragraphs. With little risk, you can explore the possibilities. When a revision misfires, it is easy to return to your original draft.

Checklist for global revision (for writers)

Checklist for global revision (for reviewers)

Guidelines for peer reviewers

Guidelines for using reviewers’ comments

Example of global revision

Example of peer reviewing

Exercise: Conducting a peer review

Exercise: Choosing an appropriate point of view

Related topics:

Editing sentences and paragraphs

Proofreading

Revising with comments