Revising is much more than just looking for misspelled words and an errant comma or two. Rather, it entails looking at the big picture (organization, purpose, vocabulary, tone, etc.) as well as the little brush strokes of punctuation, usage, and spelling. Keep in mind that making these improvements takes time, and you can usually count on writing more than one revision. In fact, in most cases you're smart to allow time for four or five revisions. I hope you haven't passed out from the shock of that idea. The truth is, though, if you want your writing to be the best it can be, you need to devote a great deal of time to the editing process. If it helps and if you can afford the extra time, give yourself breaks of a day or two in between your various revisions.

Looking at the Big Picture

A good place to begin revising is by looking back at your subject and your purpose in writing. What were you supposed to do in this piece? If, for instance, you were supposed to argue against capital punishment, did you maintain that argument throughout your paper or did you slip into an “on the other hand” approach and start giving arguments for the opposing side? If you wrote a summary of a meeting that took place in your job, did you emphasize all the points of the meeting or did you insert a recommendation for something that wasn't discussed?

How about your introduction — is it clear enough? Does it contain enough information to lead your readers to your main points? Is your conclusion effective? Does it stray from the topic or your thesis statement? One helpful trick is to read your introduction and your conclusion (skipping the parts in between), and ask yourself if both are saying the same thing. If not, you need to revise.

Look closely at the bulk of your writing.

✓ If your piece of writing requires a thesis, do you state it clearly?

✓ Do you make sure that each of your supporting points relates to your thesis?

✓ Are all of your other sentences focused on your thesis?

✓ Have you checked that each sentence relates to the point of the individual paragraph it's in?

✓ Have you presented all of your information coherently?

✓ Have you given enough examples, facts, or details to support each of your points?

✓ If you gave examples in your work, did you explain why each example is significant? Do your examples follow each other in a logical order? Would rearranging them (for example, in chronological or emphatic order) make them clearer or more forceful?

✓ Would adding anything strengthen your work?

✓ Will your audience be familiar with all the terms you used? If not, you may need to add extra explanatory information.

Take a look at the organization of your paragraphs.

✓ Would your points be more emphatic or clearer if your paragraphs were organized differently?

✓ If you moved or eliminated any of them, would your work be easier to understand? If you think a problem may be in the way your material flows, try cutting and pasting paragraphs into different positions.

Consider the tone you've used throughout the piece.

✓ Is it suitable for your audience?

✓ Have you gone overboard and ended up presenting your material in a manner that's too personal or too emotional?

✓ Have you used any language that's inappropriate either for your audience or the genre of writing?

✓ Did you adhere to the formatting or style that was mandated?

✓ Did you format your material to use prescribed margin sizes, font style, point size, or spacing requirements?

✓ Were you mandated to use a particular style to identify yourself, your class, your department, or your company?

✓ Are your pages numbered in the right places? in the right way?

✓ If you have included any tables or graphs, have you labeled them well enough that your readers will have no problem interpreting them?

✓ Do any of them need information in addition to captions?

✓ Have you included a title that communicates the concepts of your paper?

✓ If your paper is about a literary work, have you stated the author's first and last names and the title of the work?

✓ After you cited the author the first time, have you used only his or her last name in later references?

✓ Have you used the citation or documentation methods required for your paper?

✓ Have you checked to see that any paraphrasing you included was in fact paraphrasing and not a direct quote?

Particulars to Ponder in the Perusal of Your Piece

Analyze each individual sentence. Have you varied your sentence structure and the length of your sentences? Do many sentences begin in the same way (for example, look for several sentences that start with “The company …” or “The main character …”)?

Sentence Structure

Check to see if a number of your sentences are composed in a subject-verb-complement format. If you have too much repetition, vary your sentence structure (create more compound or compound-complex sentences), change your sentence length, or alter the rhythm of your words. Do whatever it takes to keep monotony out of your writing. Finally, look to see if several of your sentences have nearly the same number of words; if so, try combining some of them.

Do you need to put any of your sentences on a diet? Have you over-explained anything? Look for wording that can be more concise. If you can use fewer words and convey the same meaning, by all means do so. Examine each sentence and ask yourself if your wording could be more precise, more vivid, or more explanatory.

Pronouns

Note the types of pronouns you use in your paper. Red flag any first-or second-person pronouns (I, me, we, you, us). Is using them in writing acceptable in your class or workplace? Is it appropriate? While you're looking at pronouns, check to see that you have maintained a consistent point of view with them.

Transitions

Study how you change course in your writing.

✓ Have you used transitional words and phrases to your best advantage?

✓ Have you used enough transitions so that your work reads smoothly?

✓ Do your transitions guide your readers from one thought to the next?

✓ From one paragraph to the next? Have you used them in the correct way?

✓ Do you see any related thoughts or sentences that would become stronger if you inserted a transitional word or phrase?

Voice

Except for certain scientific material, you should write using the active voice whenever possible. If you have a number of sentences that contain be verbs (is, are, was, were, and so on), change the structure of your sentence. For instance, you could change:

to

Along the same lines, look for sentences that begin with expletives like it, this, or there; these sentences often become more forceful when you reword them. If you've written, for instance:

you can make the sentence stronger by changing it to:

Word Choice

Can you use any synonyms to make your meaning clearer or to make your work read more smoothly? Don't hesitate to consult a dictionary or thesaurus. (If you're using a word processor, you probably have quick access to a built-in thesaurus.) If you can, substitute synonyms for repeated words or phrases.

Has any slang or jargon crept into your work? Ask yourself if using it is appropriate, and reword as necessary. Also look for any clichés and change them to more original thoughts.

Some instructors (and perhaps some companies) dictate that certain words not be used (generally these are overused words like great and very). If that applies to you, have you checked through to see if you have deleted those particular words or phrases? The find function on word processing software can show you if any prohibited words or phrases appear in your work, and the thesaurus can help you to find replacements.

Jettisoning Gender-Based Generalities

One hot spot you want to make sure you avoid in your written work is the use of sexist language. If you've mentioned particular jobs by name, for example, make sure your wording isn't exclusively all-male or all-female. The following list of substitutions might help you to avoid sexist language: