Revision versus Editing

Some principles and strategies

Dr. Meehan / Morningside College

Revision

■Big Picture. Revision is not editing, not correcting. It means seeing again (re-vision): which means you are still dealing with the big picture of your idea and your attempt to put it into writing. At this stage, you have to be willing to make substantial changes—including going back to the beginning and re-thinking your thesis and focus, as needed. Thus, focus on the vision of the essay—save the editing and correcting (cleaning up the presentation, what the writing literally looks like) for the end.

■Can you hear me now? Assess the organization and structure of your essay at this stage: Is your thesis/focus/purpose clear? Is the thesis/focus developed/followed throughout the draft (do all ideas in the essay fit under the umbrella of the thesis)? One strategy: reflect back the focus and its organization, sketch out or outline what you see.

■Nice threads. Identify the strong and weak threads of the draft thus far. This is where a peer reader can be especially helpful. What seems strong, something the writer should definitely keep in the draft? What seems weak or less effective or perhaps even problematic in the draft?

■Go Further. Identify the key passages, examples and even key words of your essay. Develop and elaborate upon their significance. Better at this stage to write more, then go back in the next draft and pare down if needed. Justify your words. Be specific. Be obsessive, like a weasel. Do more reading/research to help you develop.

■Mean what you say. Assess the effectiveness of your style and rhetoric. Identify aspects that are effective, aspects where your language and presentation are less effective: for example, word choice, over-use of certain phrases, use of vague words, cliches. Think about the meaning of what you say.

■Where am I? Consider whether this is the piece you intended to write: where are you now vs. where you had intended to go. Write out, if necessary, a short memory of what you originally wanted to write; compare that to where you are now. Identify what has changed: some of the differences may be valuable, others not.

Editing

■Overall: Editing refers mainly to the surface of your essay—how the essay appears on the page, how cleanly and clearly it will be read and presented. At this final stage you are not changing ideas or concepts, but cleaning up the kinds of performance errors that go hand-in-hand with writing: spelling mistakes, usage errors in punctuation (commas, etc) and grammar (agreement, etc).

■Specific editing strategies:

Be aware of your own performance errors that you tend to make (keep track) and focus on them in re-reading the essay. Use the Guide to Grammar and Writing site to follow up on your own editing checklist as well as to look for other common errors to watch out for (the ‘Deadly Sins’ list, for example: http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sins.htm)

Read your essay backwards, from end to beginning, focusing sentence by sentence on surface, spelling, making sure that each sentence makes mechanical sense.

Find an editor you trust and have them read through your essay, identifying any place where they are confused by the surface.