revision guides

Recall that one of the main goals of this course is to convince you that writing is a process, one that requires thinking, planning, and multiple drafts. Revision is integral to this process. As you evaluate your writing along the way, keep in mind that your aim is not to revise all issues with a piece of writing at once; instead, view revision, too, as a process. Systematically review the elements of your work, moving from global considerations such as organization, structure and content, through paragraph-level notions of unity and flow, to sentence- and word-level issues such as grammar, syntax, and spelling. The links below provide additional reinforcement on this process.

In-class activities:
The overriding point of peer review is not to tear essays apart but to help improve them for the next draft. Although you will submit your essays to me for grading, you should also consider your classmates as writing colleagues and therefore part of your target audience. This acknowledgement should help as you approach the peer review activities for each assignment. Also remember as you review to be constructive, detailed, and specific. All comments should include a "because" phrase to explain your rationale.  

• From "shitty first draft" to un-shitty first draft: moving forward from Lamott's SFD
• Applying the rubric: using the language of the rubric to evaluate essays collaboratively
• Annotated Bibliography peer review: focusing on style, mechanics, and plagiarism avoidance
• Global revisions: focusing on structure and organization
• Sentence-level activity: with a list of phrases to avoid
• Paragraph-cutting exercise: looking at paragraphs as discrete units
• Paragraph analysis: using the highlighting tools to visualize paragraph structure
• Paragraph explosion: considering paragraph structure and transitions
• Paramedic Method: using concepts from Richard Lanham's Revising Prose
• Revising for structure and content: using reverse outlining
• TEAL paragraph template: assess the structure of body paragraphs with this helpful acronym

On-line revision guides:

• Purdue OWL
• Steps for revising 
• Reverse Outlining
• Reverse Paramedic Method

Final draft reflection:
Please respond to the following questions in complete sentences, reflecting on the essay assignment you just submitted:

1.  Describe your process for this assignment, starting from the point where you read the assignment description.

2.  What did you find easiest about this assignment?

3.  What did you find most difficult?

4.  If you were starting over, what would you change, either about the process or about the essay itself?

5.  Aside from the grade, what are you most concerned about with this essay as you turn it in?