STANDARD 1.4   Writing Strategies w Level 3
Copyright © 2006 by Fred Duckworth
Focus: Students revise drafts to improve coherence and logical progression of ideas by using an established rubric.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
REVISING PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
Revision is a step in the process of creating a written work in which you make sure you have said exactly what you meant to say. When you revise, you make changes to your original draft to make it better -- to improve its coherence and progression -- by adding, deleting, consolidating, and rearranging text.

Begin by reading your paper to yourself, out loud (but quietly), and listen for whether it really says what you wanted it to say. Pay attention to your use of different types of sentences, your choice of words, and how you express your ideas. Change whatever you feel needs to be fixed. You may need to switch the order or location of certain sentences, take out or add words or thoughts, or make other changes that will enhance your writing by making it clearer or better.

Then meet with two other classmates (one at a time) and have them read your work to see if they too can understand your writing. Listen to their suggestions and give serious consideration to incorporating (using) them.

Here are six questions you and others should use as a revising checklist:

  • Does my writing include a clearly presented central idea with relevant facts, details and/or explanations?
  • Does the piece maintain a consistent point of view, focus, and organizational structure, including paragraphing when appropriate?
  • Did I demonstrate a clear understanding of purpose?
  • Have I used a variety of sentence types?
  • Does the writing contain few, if any, errors in the conventions of the English language -- grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling?
  • Have I eliminated all errors that would interfere with a reader's understanding of the text?

Once you and two of your classmates have reviewed your piece, thinking about and evaluating it on the basis of the above six questions, rewrite your composition on another sheet of paper incorporating the adopted revisions.