Revision literally means to "see again." Look at your draft with a critical eye to make sure that your ideas are expressed clearly. During revision, the focus is on the structure and overall organization of your essay to ensure that your ideas are expressed in a way that is clear and logical.
✓ Look at your ideas critically. Ask yourself: "What could I add, delete, move, or change to make my writing more effective?"
✓ Read like a reader: Imagine you are reading the essay for the first time. Can you follow the author's train of thought?
✓ Add examples and evidence. These additions can make your ideas clearer and your points stronger.
✓ Delete unnecessary information. Remove information if it is irrelevant, off-topic, or repetitive.
✓ Move information so that it has the maximum effect. For example, you might want to put your strongest point just before your conclusion.
✓ Rewrite or make changes to improve clarity. Will your ideas be clear to your reader? If not, you may want to make some changes or rewrite portions.
Use this checklist as a guide when revising your writing.
Higher Order and Lower Order Concerns
Use this tip sheet to help identify what to look for during each phase of the revision process.
This tip sheet explains how to create a reverse outline to determine if the structure of your essay is logical.
As mentioned above, revision focuses on the logical flow of ideas and how clearly they are presented. In other words, the focus is on the content of your writing. This means checking the structure of your paragraphs and the essay as a whole. To do this, you should check that your thesis statement (your argument or main idea), is consistent throughout the essay. Do your paragraphs support your thesis or do they wander off topic? Are your topic sentences clear? Does your evidence effectively and clearly support your main idea? Does your conclusion summarize your main points accurately?
What does it mean to "read like a reader?" It means to take a step back and imagine you are reading your essay for the first time (rather than reading like the writer you are). Sometimes, as writers, we can become so immersed in the process of writing that we forget that the reader does not have access to our thought process. As the writer, we know exactly what we are trying to say. But are those ideas clearly conveyed in the essay? This is where reading like a reader comes into play.
Give yourself a day or two in between finishing a draft and revising to get into the mindset of your audience (who don't know what you were trying to say).
Asking yourself questions like these will help you craft a strong and clear essay.
A reverse outline is a useful revision strategy to determine how well your ideas are conveyed and how well the essay flows. Like its name suggests, a reverse outline creates an outline from an essay (instead of the outline discussed in "Planning" which leads to an essay).
To create a reverse outline
Consult the Reverse Outlining handout from the Seneca Learning Centre for more details and an example, or watch the video below from the College Libraries Ontario Learning Portal (2023).
Are my introduction and my conclusion strong enough to attract and engage my readers, and to provide a sense of closure at the end?
Do I have a strong, clear thesis statement?
Review the section on thesis statements if you are unsure
Are my paragraphs strong and clearly support my thesis statement? If not, I need to change my thesis or paragraphs so that my essay can withstand a critical reading.
Do I have enough credible supporting evidence, or do I need to add more factual evidence, examples, or discussion to convince or engage my readers?
Are my supporting paragraphs arranged so that they build logically to the conclusion?
Would the impact of my paper be stronger if I changed the order of the paragraphs? Some writers save their strongest points for the end.
Is there anything that I should delete from my paper because it is not relevant to the purpose of my paper or is inconsistent with the points that I make?
Upon reflection, am I happy with what I have to say?
Do I believe what I have said?
Can I defend my position and points of support if I am challenged to do so?
Have I met all the assignment requirements?
Review the assignment instructions to check.
Unless otherwise stated, the material in this guide is from the Learning Portal created by College Libraries Ontario. Content has been adapted for the NWP Learning Commons in June 2021. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0 International License.
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