Editing and Revising

Once you have finished writing the first draft of the paper, you are not done with the paper. To complete the paper, edit and revise it until you think that it is the best possible paper that you can write.

I. Edit and revise your paper

A. After you have completed the first draft, read through it with an eye to revising its content.

1. Never consider that your first draft is your final draft.

2. Consider any first draft a rough draft that will need revising.

B. A good revising technique is to outline the first draft.

1. In the outline, include references to specific examples and analysis of those examples.

2. Check that outline to see that you have good, logical points and support for those points.

C. When you have finished reading and outlining your first draft, begin revising on the hard copy.

1. Always print out your first draft rather than attempting to revise on screen.

2. Using a good pen or a dark pencil with a good point, lightly, but clearly, cross out sections that you don’t like and add where you think that you need additions.

3. Draw arrows to indicate where you want to move information.

4. Make marginal comments to add analysis or to indicate that you may want to change, move, or remove the information, but you’re not certain.

5. Never completely black out something since you may find that you actually can use what you’ve written.

6. If you feel the need, use scissors and literally cut and paste material.

7. Correct any errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar as you edit.

8. Check all citations and works cited or reference entries for correct form.

9. Remember that a first draft that has lots of markings is probably a well-edited first draft.

10. A clean first draft usually has not had the work that it needs in editing.

D. Write the second draft from the first draft.

1. Here’s where you may want to use the tracking feature.

2. When you have finished the second draft, save it under a new file name, such as First Amendment, Draft 2.

E. Do at least one more draft.

1. Print out the second draft and repeat the above procedure.

2. Compare this draft to your first draft to see what you want to keep and what you want to change from that first draft.

3. Save each draft under a new file name.

II. Write a final draft.

A. The final draft is the one that you want readers to see.

B. It should be clean.

1. It should contain no typos.

2. It should not have any spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors as far as you can tell.

3. It should contain no ink corrections.

4. It should have the preferred heading.

a. See MLA

b. See APA

c. Ask the instructor or editor about the preferred presentation format.

C. Proofread it one last time after you take it out of the printer.

D. If possible, have someone else proofread the paper before submitting it.

E. Never submit a paper that you have not read after taking it out of the printer.

Return to Writing the Essay or OWL.