Revising and Editing Your Essay
Rosario Castro,Florence Feng, Huizi Liu
Stages of Editing 1. Write your ENTIRE paper! (Introduction to Conclusion) a.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
NO EXCUSES!
Content Overall structure Structure within paragraphs Clarity Style Citations
Content -
Do you answer the assigned prompt fully? Are your claims accurate? Do you have adequate evidence? Is all your information relevant?
Overall structure and structure within paragraphs - Introduction and conclusion? - Clearly stated thesis
- Check transitions - Do your paragraphs follow a logical sequence? - Tip: Reverse outline!
- Paragraphs: - Topic sentences
Clarity, Style, and Citations - Pay attention to you grammar mistakes. - Can you make your sentences shorter? Yes? Do it! - Short clear sentences = No comma splices
- Check your pronouns - Is your tone appropriate? - Have you cited your sources properly? Do they follow a consistent style?
Going to the Writing center and looking at the comments
Revising your draft on a hard copy
Revising your draft online Wars have been continuing through decades and centuries, changing the courses of endless people’s lives, and consequently, those brutal wars are viewed as powerful as if nothing can be paralleled. However, there is definitely something more influential than the power of wars, such as the pen. As Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote in 1839, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” we should never underestimate the might of the pen. In both the book “ A Long Way Gone” and the article “ Malala Youzafzai—Noble Lecture”, Ishmael Beah and Malala Youzafzai use the pen to persuade people to stop the brutality of the swords by writing down their heart-breaking experiences. Sometimes, words motivate you to take the weapons, as well as to put them down. Nevertheless, as the weapon of a writer, if the pen is misused, the effect it brings about is worse a lot than the impact of swords. There is neither lack of topics about wars nor lack of books talking about wars. From the book“ War and Peace” written by Leo Tolstoy, delineating the events of the French invasion of Russia, to “ A Long Way Gone” written by Ishmael Beah, tons of writers try to describe the tremendous impact of wars. However, is it really the case that wars are so powerful that it can decide one’s fate? As Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote in 1839, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” we should never underestimate the significance of the pen. “A Long Way Gone” is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah who was forced to be a boy solider and was delivered to rehabilitation during the civil war in Sierra Leone, and eventually went to New York and gained a new life. Malala Youzafzai is a Nobel Prize laureate who advocates for female education regardless of the threat of death after she dropped off school due to Taliban intervention. In both the book “ A Long Way Gone” and the article “ Malala Youzafzai—Noble Lecture” written by Malala Youzafzai, Beah and Youzafzai capture people’s attention to serious issues by taking good advantages of the pen, and in the meantime, illustrate the impact a pen can bring about, both positive and negative.
Additional Tips 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Trading papers Ask for someone else’s opinion Avoid short paragraphs Read drafts aloud Proofread before you turn it in
Sources "Editing and Proofreading." The Writing Center Editing and Proofreading Comments. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. . Turabian, Kate L. "Revising Your Draft." Student's Guide to Writing College Papers. 4th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2010. N. pag. Print.
Questions?
Thank you!