“So I finished my first draft!” “Good for you.” “Now what?”

1) First thing to do when revising a draft: Ask yourself, “What is my purpose, and how well does my current draft complete that purpose?” “What are the strong and weak elements of the piece that affect how well my purpose is expressed?”

2) Second thing to ask: “Does my draft complete the requirements?” Does it tell a single, cohesive story? Does the story have a moral message? All FOUR writing tools involved?

3) Third thing to do: Decide which specific revisions need to be made. “Do I need to focus on one particular section or the unity of the work as a whole? What changes to that section need to take place?” “What should I add to impact my piece? Is there anything I should take out? What should I adjust?”

The Final Cut: Perfecting your paper Title your paper Take a cliché and alter it to your paper. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Hairdryer” “I Was the Best of Teens, I Was the Worst of Teens” No Unnecessary Question Marks: Pineapples??? A Day at Laser Tag???

Grammar, Spelling Punctuation…yes, it counts Read it out loud. Note punctuation: Comma Rules! Dialogue and Quotation marks Paragraphs help, you know. Circle things you aren’t sure about and ASK!!!

Finally, Get Feedback Read it to yourself. Get a friend to read it. Get Mr. C to read it. Get another teacher to read it. Get a parent to read it. Read it to yourself again.

When you’re done with your new draft, start the revision process over again!