Revision strategies: Let’s be awesome. You need: Your draft A pen or pencil A separate sheet of paper A few markers or highlighters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0E87HNOG5I

Select a highlighter/marker to represent “focus.” 1) Underline your focus sentence or where the focus first becomes clear. Now turn to your partner and share these with each other. Are they strong? Where could they be improved? 2) Continue to underline any places where you refer to that focal idea. If you cannot underline much, make a note to yourself to refer back to your focus.

Verbs display power. Circle every verb in your paper. Remember that verbs are action words. Make sure that you circle EVERY time you use: am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had Do you notice any issues?

Take out the other piece of paper. On this page, actually write out a list of the first word of every sentence in your paper. Example: I, We, When, I, The, Then, If, Also, I, We, Next, We, He, Then, I, We, I, Then, Additionally, I, Finally, I What do you notice?

While we’re thinking about repetition… 1) How many times do you use the word “I” in your paper? Count it up. 2) Are there other words/expressions that you use too much? If so, what are they?

Select a color to represent transition words and phrases. 1) Highlight the transitional words you use. 2) Do you have transitions? Are they all simplistic? If this is a weakness, you should do a Google search for “Wisconsin Writing Center transitions.” This site provides several useful transition words by category.

Best diction—pick 2 colors. 1) Select one color and use it to mark 4-5 examples of perfect diction—the exact right word for that moment. 2) Using the other color, mark 4-5 words that strike you as weak. Work on fixing those.

Feeling brain dead yet? Don’t worry. There’s only one more slide!

Titles Do you have a title? What does it convey? If you are stuck, consider using one of the following methods for creating a title: --a pun related to your story (depending on tone) --a key place or person mentioned in the story --a topic word that relates to your focus