a few words about revision
REVISION IS NOT EDITING.
REVISION IS NOT PROOFREADING.
REVISION IS NOT CORRECTING SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.
Editing focuses on sentence-level matters. Revision looks at "the big picture." It is literally a re-vision of the paper, and will likely require large-scale, involved changes. In this class, on the assignments which require multiple drafts, papers that have little changed save spelling, grammar, punctuation and the like will get the same grade--or possibly worse.
I will often supply criticism to help you with your drafts. But what I really want (and you want this, too) is for you to become just as skilled yourself. It's important to get input from real readers, and you will get plenty of that this year. But in the meantime, you can save yourself some work, and possibly embarrassment, by addressing these common issues:
Thesis and Motive
Structure
BEGINNING/INTRODUCTION
Evidence
Tone
Ernest Hemingway once said that the first draft of anything is crap (except he didn't use the word crap). So if it helps, think of any paper assignment as a series of papers. Don't get married to that crappy first draft; she's not a keeper! Sometimes it's just better to break it off cleanly and start over than to try to fix that scrub of a boyfriend.
[Thanks to Kelly J. Mays's The Norton Introduction to Literature.]
REVISION IS NOT PROOFREADING.
REVISION IS NOT CORRECTING SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.
Editing focuses on sentence-level matters. Revision looks at "the big picture." It is literally a re-vision of the paper, and will likely require large-scale, involved changes. In this class, on the assignments which require multiple drafts, papers that have little changed save spelling, grammar, punctuation and the like will get the same grade--or possibly worse.
I will often supply criticism to help you with your drafts. But what I really want (and you want this, too) is for you to become just as skilled yourself. It's important to get input from real readers, and you will get plenty of that this year. But in the meantime, you can save yourself some work, and possibly embarrassment, by addressing these common issues:
Thesis and Motive
- Is there one claim that effectively controls the essay?
- Is the claim debatable?
- Does the claim demonstrate real thought?
- Is the thesis new and worthwhile?
Structure
BEGINNING/INTRODUCTION
- Does the introduction provide readers all--and only--the information they need about the author, text, context, and topic?
- Does the introduction imply a clear, substantive, debatable but plausible thesis? Is it clear which claim is the thesis?
- Does every sentence either help to articulate the thesis and motive or to provide essential information?
- Does each paragraph clearly state one debatable claim? Does everything in the paragraph directly relate to, and help support and develop, that claim?
- Is each of those claims clearly related to (but different from) the thesis?
- Are the claims logically ordered?
- Is that logic clear? Is each claim clearly linked to those that come before and after? Are there any leaps of logic readers might have trouble following?
- Does each claim/paragraph build clearly on the last one? Does the argument move forward, or does it seem more like a series of unrelated observations?
- Do any key claims or logical steps in the argument seem to be missing?
- Does the conclusion give the sense that they've gotten somewhere and that the journey has been worthwhile?
- Does it indicate the implications of the argument, consider relevant evaluative questions, or discuss questions that remain unanswered?
Evidence
- Is there ample, appropriate evidence for each claim?
- Is the relevance to the claim of each fact perfectly clear?
- Are there any weak examples or unreasonable inferences? Are there moments of doubt for the reader?
- Are all the relevant facts considered? What about facts that might complicate or contradict any of the claims? Are there moments where the reader might say, "But what about X?"
- Is each piece of evidence clearly presented? Do readers have all the contextual information they need to understand a quotation, for example?
- Is each piece of evidence gracefully presented? Are quotations varied by length and presentation? Are they ever too long? Are there unnecessary quotations, or ones that require further analysis?
- Are there quotations used when a paraphrase, summary, or description would be more appropriate?
Tone
- Does the writer establish and maintain an effective tone? Is the writer respectful toward the text(s) and the reader(s)?
- Does the writer correctly and consistently use literary terminology?
- Does the writer ever assume too much or too little readerly knowledge or interest?
Ernest Hemingway once said that the first draft of anything is crap (except he didn't use the word crap). So if it helps, think of any paper assignment as a series of papers. Don't get married to that crappy first draft; she's not a keeper! Sometimes it's just better to break it off cleanly and start over than to try to fix that scrub of a boyfriend.
[Thanks to Kelly J. Mays's The Norton Introduction to Literature.]