Revision as a Process

This is Unit Twelve of College Composition. Unit Eleven revised single sentences. This unit steps back to revision as a whole process, which works on units far larger than the sentence. Carry one idea through this lecture. Revise from big to small: the amount and order of information first, then clarity, then sentences and words, so you never polish what you later cut. A worked example near the end follows one paragraph through three drafts in that order. By the end you will be able to tell global from local revision. To revise for purpose and audience and test a draft's structure. To give and use feedback. And to work through a revision in the right order.

Two entries on what revision means and the difference between global and local changes.

Reseeing a draft.

CMP 0276 What Revision Means

Revising means reseeing, rereading and rethinking a draft until it fully matches what the writer intends. It works on units larger than the sentence, through cutting, adding, rearranging and rewriting until the ideas satisfy the writer. Fixing commas is not revising; a revised draft can look different, not merely cleaner.

The whole, or a word.

CMP 0277 Global and Local Revision

Global revisions change a piece as a whole, its content, structure and organization; local revisions change a sentence or a word. Inserting a missing section, deleting a tangent or moving a paragraph is global; replacing a vague word is local. Make global changes before local ones, so you do not polish what you later cut.

Three entries on revising for purpose and audience, and a method for testing structure.

Every part serves the purpose.

CMP 0278 Revising for Purpose

Revising for purpose means checking that every part of the draft advances what the writer is trying to accomplish. Writers often find their purpose more sharply after a draft or two, then cut or redirect the parts that wander. Ask of each paragraph: does this move the paper toward its point, or only toward its word count?

What readers need.

CMP 0279 Revising for Audience

Revising for audience means asking what readers already know, what they need to know, and what objections they will raise. A draft aimed at experts may need definitions added for general readers; a draft aimed at skeptics may need its strongest evidence moved forward. Writers forget what they once did not know; read as the intended reader would.

A list of paragraph points.

CMP 0280 Listing Each Paragraph's Point

Listing the main point of each paragraph, in order, shows whether a draft's structure supports its thesis. Write the thesis at the top of a page. Read the draft one paragraph at a time, and write one sentence stating what each says. Check each line against the thesis, check that each paragraph has one main point, and look at whether each point builds on the one before. Then mark paragraphs to cut, merge, split or move. Write what each paragraph actually says, not what you meant it to say; the gap between the two is what the method reveals.

Four entries on peer review, giving and using feedback, and rubrics.

A reader at your level.

CMP 0281 Peer Review

Peer review is an evaluation of a draft by someone at the writer's own level, guided by the assignment's criteria. Almost all strong writers rely on outside readers, whether classmates, instructors, editors or a writing center. A peer reader is valuable because they are not the writer; they see what the draft says, not what the writer intended.

Feedback that helps.

CMP 0282 Giving Useful Feedback

Useful feedback is specific, based on evidence in the draft, and tied to the assignment's criteria. Review the criteria, read the whole draft before commenting, then note what is clear, what needs explanation and what you want to know more about. "It was good" helps no one; point to the sentence and say what it does or fails to do.

Weighing what readers say.

CMP 0283 Using Feedback

Read feedback carefully, give extra weight to comments several readers agree on, and address revision comments before editing ones. Feedback about content, structure and organization calls for revision; feedback about grammar calls for editing, which comes later. Feedback is advice, not orders; weigh each comment against your purpose and audience.

Criteria as a guide.

CMP 0284 Rubrics as Revision Tools

A rubric lists the criteria an assignment will be judged on, and it guides both drafting and revision. Comparing a draft against each rubric category, such as clarity and coherence or rhetorical choices, shows where it falls short. A rubric describes a strong paper; it does not write one, so use it to ask questions of your draft.

Nine entries on revising in order, from the four moves of revision to conventions, with a checklist and a worked example. The opening idea is paid off at the worked example.

Four moves of revision.

CMP 0285 Adding, Cutting, Moving, Replacing

Nearly every revision is one of four moves. Add where readers need more: a missing example, a definition or evidence for a claim. Cut what wanders from the main point, repeats, or tells readers what they already know. Move material when the order does not make sense to a reader without background, or a point comes before the information it depends on. Replace what is unclear, inaccurate or weaker than another option. Revision items use the same moves, asking whether to add, delete or move a sentence, and the answer always depends on what the paragraph's main point needs.

Where to start.

CMP 0286 What to Revise First

Revise from big to small: first the amount and order of information, then clarity, then sentences and words. The basic big questions ask where the draft is unclear, where it needs more or less information, and what should be reordered. Starting with sentences when the structure is weak is like painting a wall you are about to move.

Clear and connected.

CMP 0287 Clarity and Coherence

Clarity means each idea can be understood; coherence means the ideas connect in an order readers can follow. Rubrics often pair them, because a draft can have clear sentences and still leave readers lost between paragraphs. Coherence problems usually call for global moves, such as reordering or adding transitions, not word changes.

Editing comes after.

CMP 0288 Conventions Last

Editing for grammar, punctuation and spelling comes after revision, and it takes more than one pass. When you edit, check sentence structure, spelling, punctuation and capitalization, ideally in several separate passes. Most errors in college essays come from careless editing, not from not knowing the rules.

Objections, added in revision.

CMP 0289 Responding to Counterclaims in Revision

Revision is the time to add responses to the objections readers are likely to raise. Peer reviewers who disagree with a draft reveal its counterclaims; a revised argument acknowledges them and answers them. Ignoring a strong objection does not make it disappear; readers who hold it stop trusting the paper.

A checklist for a full pass.

CMP 0290 A Revision Checklist

A checklist of questions structures a full revision pass. Topic: what is my thesis, and does every part focus on it? Purpose: does every part advance what I hope to accomplish? Audience: what do readers know and need, and what objections will they raise? Culture: do readers share my background, and have I explained what they may not? Structure: is each paragraph's point clear and the order logical? Evidence: is every claim supported? Only then turn to sentences and words. Answer each question against the draft in front of you, not the one you meant to write.

When the thesis changes.

CMP 0291 Drafts Change Their Minds

A writer's thinking often changes while drafting, so a final thesis may differ from the working one. When the conclusion of a draft states a sharper point than its introduction, revise the introduction to match what the writer discovered. A draft whose ending argues something its opening never promised needs global revision, not a new conclusion.

One paragraph, three drafts.

CMP 0292 One Paragraph Through Three Drafts

A worked example, constructed for this course, pays off the opening idea. A paper argues for longer library hours during exam weeks. The first draft's paragraph praises the building, mentions its age and lake view, and gives the closing time last. The global pass adds a topic sentence tied to the thesis, cuts the age and view, moves the closing time forward, and adds survey evidence that most respondents needed space after ten. The sentence pass makes one clause more direct. The conventions pass checks commas, numbers and names. The order mattered: polishing the sentence about the lake view would have wasted effort on material that did not belong.

Judging your own draft.

CMP 0293 Self-Evaluation

Self-evaluation means judging your own draft against the assignment's criteria, as an outside reader would. Setting the draft aside for a time before rereading makes it easier to see it objectively, from a reader's view. Rereading immediately, you see what you meant; after a break, you see what you wrote.

Look at what you can now do. You can explain revision as reseeing a draft, and tell global changes from local ones. You can revise for purpose and audience, and test a draft's structure by listing what each paragraph says. You can give feedback that is specific and tied to criteria, weigh feedback you receive, and use a rubric to question a draft. And you can revise in order, adding, cutting, moving and replacing before you edit, and judge your own draft after a break. Unit Thirteen turns to the claim that holds a draft together: the thesis.