Learning to Revise Ms. Brown English 21

Revision What is revision? Is revision necessary for every writing assignment? Why or why not?

Video: Students and Teachers Discussing Revision http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/rewritingplus/aspx/Search1.aspx?bfw_topic=Revising&PageNum=1#$c0a84dda:9b601d121ea388654-7f45

REVISION What is it? Prefix “re” means again “vise” is Latin for “to see” Thus, with revision, we see again. We must look at your work with “fresh eyes” to find new ways to improve our paragraphs and/or essays. Why do I need it? Is revision necessary for every writing assignment? Why or why not? It is absolutely necessary! Imagine being told that you must play a song on the piano that you’ve only heard once. Would you play it perfectly the first time? Most likely, not. Revision will help you clarify your ideas and strengthen your final grade.

Revision How do you revise?

Revising Using Two Techniques CONTENT Have you done everything the assignment requires? Is your topic sentence clear and sophisticated? Are your support points and examples adequate? Are you missing any useful details (concrete, humorous, sensory, comparative, action, emotive, etc.)? Does your concluding sentence provide closure and satisfaction? STRUCTURE Is your topic sentence the first sentence in the paragraph? Are your support points and examples arranged in a specific order (chronological, order of importance, etc.)? Have you made transitions from the topic sentence to your support point? From your support point to an example?

REVISING USING TWO TECHNIQUES CONTENT Reread the writing prompt to be sure you’re following directions. Rewrite your topic sentence, turning it from a basic topic sentence into one with description, contrast, support points, etc. Examine your prewriting for more ideas or do more prewriting if your support and examples are inadequate. Add necessary details to your examples! STRUCTURE Make sure that nothing comes before your topic sentence; it should be the first sentence in the paragraph! Rearrange the order of your support points for clarity and logic. Add necessary transitions to your support points (major) and your examples (minor). These transitions will help your reader move smoothly through your paragraph.

Revising Using a Third Technique Exchanging drafts with classmates allows you to see your work with “fresh eyes” from someone else’s perspective. Since you must keep your audience in mind, it is helpful to get feedback from classmates in case you have written something confusing, off-track, and/or offensive to an academic audience. Think of peer critique as getting feedback from Tim Gunn on “Project Runway.” You don’t have to take his suggestions, but you get some ideas for redesigning your garment!

Revising is necessary for improving our drafts. IN CONCLUSION… Revising is necessary for improving our drafts. We can revise using 3 different techniques: Changing the content of our writing Changing the structure of our writing Receiving honest feedback from classmates