The Writers World: Paragraphs and Essays

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The Writers World Paragraphs and Essays

• Part I The Writing Process
• Chapter 3 Revising and Editing

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingWhat is Revising
and Editing?

• Follow these five steps to revise and edit the
  first draft
• Revise for unity. Ensure that all parts of your
  work relate to the main idea.
• Revise for adequate support. Determine that your
  details effectively support the main idea.
• Revise for coherence. Verify that your ideas
  flow smoothly and logically.
• Revise for style. Ensure that your sentences are
  varied and interesting.
• Edit for errors. Proofread your work and correct
  errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingRevise for Unity

• Unity means that all of the sentences in a
  paragraph support the topic sentence.
• If a paragraph lacks unity, then some sentences
  drift from the main idea expressed in the topic
  sentence.
• To check for unity, ensure that every sentence in
  the body of the paragraph relates to one main
  idea.

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingRevise for
Adequate Support

• A paragraph has adequate support when there are
  enough details and examples to make it strong,
  convincing, and interesting.
• Avoid circular reasoningthe paragraph restates
  its main point in different ways but does not
  provide enough supporting details.

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingRevise for
Coherence

• A paragraph should flow smoothly and be
  logically organized to accomplish coherence.
• Use transitional expressions to create coherence.
  They can link words or phrases. (See pages 43-44
  for a list.)

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingRevise for Style

• A paragraph should have concise,
  academic-appropriate vocabulary and sentence
  variety to accomplish a reasonable style.
• Ask yourself the following style-related
  questions
• Have I used a variety of sentence patterns? (See
  Chapter 19.)
• Have I used appropriate vocabulary for academic
  writing? (See Chapter 31.)
• Have I written sentences that are parallel in
  structure? (See Chapter 21.)

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingEdit for Errors

• When you edit for errors, you reread your
  writing and check for errors. Look for errors in
  vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and
  spelling.
• Professional writers often read their work aloud
  so they can hear their errors. You might want
  to try this technique.

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Chapter 3 Revising and EditingWrite the Final
Draft

• When you have finished making revisions, you are
  ready to create the final draft.
• Before you give the final draft to your
  instructor, proofread and try reading your
  writing aloud again.