Personal Revision Strategy Essay

My personal strategy for revising a piece of writing involves reading through the entire paper to ensure that it conveys the intended meaning. It is important to wait a while after writing the first draft before taking another thorough look at it. Specific emphasis should be placed on the thesis of the paper to ensure that the argument of the paper is strictly adhered to. After this, I examine the manner in which the paragraphs flow into one another and I arrange them in the appropriate order. For example, a typical essay is arranged by putting the introduction at the beginning, followed by body, before the final part of the paper known as the conclusion. Every paragraph in the paper should also have a link to the thesis of the paper. It is necessary to ensure that the opening argument of the paper is explained in the first line of each paragraph to ensure that there’s sufficient clarity and consistency throughout the document. After checking for proper paragraph transition, the next thing I do is check for typographical errors. This ensures that punctuation marks like commas and semi-colons are used appropriately. Tools such as the Grammar Check, Spell Check and the Dictionary also come in handy during the revision process (Zinsser, 2001). When the aforementioned steps have been concluded, I format the whole document to suit the required audience. For example, academic writings are presented in a format that’s entirely different from presentations. The next step involves sending the paper in for peer review. Peer review is very critical to producing a good paper because it gives the writer a chance to receive feedback and constructive criticism on the document before the final submission (Hairston & Friend, 2002). Other areas of importance that need to be examined during the revision process include the balance of the paper, tone and formality of the language used, accuracy of facts outlined, references and the general writing style (Elbow, 1998). References Elbow, P. (1998). Writing With Power . New York: Oxford UP. Hairston, M. R. , & Friend, C. (2002). How do you Revise, Edit, and Proofread? New York:: Longman. Zinsser, W. (2001). On Writing Well. New York: HarperCollins .