ENG101 Purpose of Writing & Differences Between Revision & Editing Discussion you must briefly state the main idea of the written piece and then respond to

ENG101 Purpose of Writing & Differences Between Revision & Editing Discussion you must briefly state the main idea of the written piece and then respond to it critically with your ideas of agreement, disagreements, where you think you learned something new, where your ideas were challenged, informed, corrected etc. You can discuss how you think the writer gets it right, where you think he or she falls short. A good quality response will usually be two thirds of a page or more. stick with one page maximum please. Anything that looks like a short paragraph or less is not an entry that demonstrates adequate or good engagement. I have attached the required material. George Mason University Writing Center
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Revising
Why Revise
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To make the draft more accessible to the reader
To sharpen and clarify the focus and argument
To improve and further develop ideas
Revision VS. Editing
Revising a piece of your own writing is more than just fixing errors—that’s editing. Revision happens
before editing.
Revising involves re-seeing your essay from the eyes of a reader who can’t read your mind, not resting
satisfied until you’re sure you have been as clear and as thorough as possible.
Revising also requires you to think on a large scale, to extrapolate: If a reader remarked that you didn’t
have enough evidence in paragraph three, you should also take a close look at paragraphs two and four to be
sure that you provide substantial evidence for those claims as well.
An edit might be
Adding a comma before
a quote
Streamlining your thesis;
cutting out unnecessary
words
Adding “In addition, . . .”
to a paragraph to
smooth a transition
Shortening a long quote
& working it into your
sentence
Adding a sentence to fill
out a paragraph
Fixing apostrophe errors
in your conclusion
paragraph
A similar Revision might be
Explaining one quotation better where a
reader didn’t understand
Adding a “because…” statement to your
thesis sentence to express your “so, what?”
up at the front
Changing a paragraph’s first-sentence from
summary to argument, from “McCloud
says…” to “What McCloud says about icons
helps show Satrapi’s _____ .”
Choosing a better quotation that gives a
more specific or relevant idea; explaining
exactly how that quote (which words?) uses
pathos or supports your claim
Splitting a too-long paragraph into two
separate ones, each with a new starting &
finishing sentence
Revising your conclusion by connecting
ideas from 2-3 points or authors at once;
tying your conclusion to your introductory
images/ideas
Significant Revision might include
Explaining several quotations better, to
improve the essay overall
Changing every body paragraph so that each
uses the same basic argument as the new
thesis
Changing all first-sentences (and some lastsentences) so that they show your argument;
adjusting the rest of each paragraph to
reflect your argument
Adding second-example quotes to several
paragraphs; working quotes from Author A
into paragraphs with quotes from Author B &
drawing connections
Adding a whole paragraph or section with a
new example, counterargument, or related
theory to intensify/expand your analysis
Going “out on a limb” in the conclusion to get
the “big picture” implications (for whom?
why?) then adding some of that info back
into ends of body paragraphs
Some Strategies for Revising:
(1) Ask yourself, “What’s my best ______ and my weakest _____?” (sentence, example, paragraph,
transition, data, source, etc.) Be honest, and fix that weak spot!
© The George Mason University Writing Center 2016
(2) Create a Reverse Outline of your draft. This is making an outline after your paper has been written, and
it will help you to see your draft’s structure and logical flow. To do this: First, circle your thesis statement;
Then, reading each paragraph one at a time, write down the main point of each paragraph in the margin
next to the paragraph. Once you have created your reverse outline, you can look to see if the
organization is flowing how you want/need it to? Are your ideas moving logically? If not, rearrange your
paragraphs accordingly. Furthermore, now you can see if every paragraph is relating back to your thesis
some way. If not, add the necessary information or connections to make sure each paragraph is
supporting your argument. If there is a paragraph that doesn’t seem to fit within your paper, you may
need to develop that paragraph or possibly delete it. Do you see any gaps in logic, perhaps you need to
add information (and to do so, you may need to gather said information, perhaps through further
research). See the Writing Center handout on Reverse Outlining for further guidance.
(3) Highlighter Approach. Using a highlighter (or highlighters) on your draft can help you to better visualize
where certain information is located in your draft and how that information is working as a whole
throughout your writing. To do this, use different colored highlighters to isolate different content elements
of your paper. For instance, you could highlight all the evidence in your paper, or for a comparison paper,
choose one color to highlight one subject and a different color for a different subject to help you see if you
are spending more time on one element over the other. Or, for a paper with multiple sub-points, you might
choose different colors to highlight each sub-point to see how they are working together in the draft.
(4) Cut & Rearrange. Using scissors, cut your paper into individual paragraphs. Each paragraph becomes its
own piece of paper. This method allows you to visualize and physically rearrange your draft. You can
rearrange the paragraphs to see the best option for organization, development of ideas and argument,
where your counterargument best fits, and the flow of your writing.
(5) Develop a Checklist based on your assignment prompt or the guidelines for your specific piece of
writing.
(6) Paragraph- Level Revisions. To make sure each paragraph is well organized and effective, look at each
paragraph individually, examining the following elements: Topic Sentence, Focus, Logic & Progression,
Transitions, and Length. Be sure the paragraph has a topic sentence that informs the reader what the
paragraph is about/ where the paragraph will go. Make sure the paragraph is staying on “topic” and not
meandering into a new topic (and not missing the topic completely). Are your sentences and ideas
progressing logically? Make sure you are using appropriate transition words and phrases between
sentences, and not just writing statement, statement, statement. If a paragraph is too long or trying to do
too much or making too many points, consider splitting it into two to be most accessible for your reader.
(7) Finally, Get a reader’s response! Have someone else read your writing and give you feedback. Can
they easily follow your logic? Where are they confused? Where do you need to make connections for the
reader?
For Further Guidance in the Revision Process See our Handouts:
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23 Ways to Improve Your Draft
Reverse Outlining
Providing Feedback to Writers
Chart on page 1 developed by and © Dr. Shelley Reid, Director of Composition,
English Department, George Mason University
Last updated 6/29/2016
© The George Mason University Writing Center 2016

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