Strategies for revising your paper

It’s the beginning of the semester, and time to refresh your writing routine. Revision is an essential, but often neglected, component of the writing process. 

I’m a peer tutor lead with U of A’s Writing Services and an anthropology PhD student, and these are some of my favourite tried-and-tested revision strategies. 

Try using these tips to elevate your writing this semester. 

1. Plan time for revision. How many times have you been finishing a big paper the night (or even hours or minutes) before your assignment deadline? In reality, effective revision takes time. It requires taking several “passes” at your writing. Sometimes revision can be challenging if you are too “close” to your writing. You may find it helpful to pause between writing your first draft and starting the revision process. That way, you can approach the revision stage with more objectivity and a fresh perspective.  
2. Check your assignment guidelines. Reading through the assignment guidelines your instructor has provided is a simple and effective revision step. Are there key learning outcomes associated with this assignment in the syllabus? Is there an assignment description online? Perhaps a rubric or style sheet? Keeping these assignment guidelines in mind as you revise will help ensure your final revised draft meets your instructor’s expectations.  
3. Tackle the big picture before little details. A common misconception about revision is that it’s simply proofreading—catching typos and grammatical errors. Revision actually starts at a more macro (“zoomed out”) level. Here are some things to think about:What’s the main objective of your paper? Is it clear to your reader?
   1. Does the content of your paper’s body support or connect to this objective? Maybe there are elements of your thesis statement or introduction that you don’t touch on in your paper or body paragraphs in your paper that are off-topic or deviate from your paper’s overarching goal.
   2. Is your paper effectively and logically organized? Do the pieces of information you present build on one another?
   3. Do you have enough evidence to support your claims? It’s possible you may need to do a bit of digging and find additional sources to cite. 
   4. During this stage of revision, you may need to make some substantial changes, including rewriting, adding or cutting sections of your paper. Don’t feel discouraged! This is all part of the process and will make for a stronger piece in the end.
4. Create a reverse outline. Much like how you might create an outline for your paper before you start writing, you can, time-permitting, create a reverse outline of your paper after you complete your first draft. Simply create a summary sentence for each paragraph of your paper to “zoom out” and assess coherence and flow. Creating a reverse outline can aid you with these macro-level paper revisions.
5. Polish up your sentences. Now that you’ve evaluated your main objective and paper’s organization, revised for flow and made any necessary cuts, you can focus on the micro-level details. Are there repetitive words or phrases? Do certain sentences feel clunky or wordy? Does your intended meaning shine through? Are there any sentences that cause you to pause as you read? Try tweaking sentences to improve concision and clarity.  
6. Proofread by reading your paper out loud. Now that you’ve revised for coherence, cohesion and clarity in your paper, it’s finally time to proofread and fix any grammatical and mechanical issues. Reading the paper out loud can be immensely helpful during this stage because our brains tend to “fill in” information when reading silently, meaning you might skim over and miss a spelling mistake or comma, for example. 
7. Make an appointment with a peer tutor. Feedback from others, including those working in other disciplines, can be incredibly helpful during the revision process. Writing Services offers free one-on-one writing appointments to current U of A students. Peer tutors can work with you at any stage of the writing or revision process. You can book an online or in-person appointment. Make sure you leave enough time between your appointment and the deadline for you to revise your paper!

You can book an appointment with a peer tutor through WCONLINE. You can register for a writing workshop on campusBRIDGE. To ask a question about our services, email write@ualberta.ca.