Lesson 14: Last of the Revising Tips

Hello class. In the past few lessons, I've discussed some simple revising tips with you, focusing on content, organization, tone, and conciseness. While these are great things to keep in mind when revising, different people revise in different ways. You kind of just have to try all these different suggestions that your teachers, I, or other people have given you. Once you have found what works best for you stick with it. But keep in mind that there are other ways out there, and don't be afraid to try something new. So here's a YouTube clip in which someone shares his ideas on how to best revise a paper. If the tips I have given in previous lessons don't really work for you or is not enough, consider this person's suggestions.

Lesson 13: Revising Tips, continued yet again

Welcome back class. Hope that you were diligent and successful in revising your papers from the advise given previously. Today we are going to talk about revising writing for tone and conciseness.

After the content and organization of your paper is up to par, tone is the next thing to worry about. This part has a lot to do with audience awareness. Depending on who may be reading your writing, you will want to use different types of tones. Academic papers generally need to have a professional tone. Depending on teacher preferences, you may not want to use contractions, first person (the dreaded "I"), second person (the almost as equally dreaded "You"), and so on. And it's pretty rare that you'll ever use slang (unless you're writing a paper on slang). So check your tone to make sure it fits your audience and purpose.

With conciseness, you want to go over your paper and make sure that you say what you want to say with as few words (or sentences, or paragraphs, or pages) as possible. Eliminate any "fluff." You know what I'm talking about; writing something just to fill page or word requirements. If you have any of this in your paper, cut it out, and write something that will actually add to your thesis. Now, don't get me wrong; concise doesn't necessarily mean short. It has nothing to do with length, but rather content. It all goes back to "content is king."

Well, if you have followed all these steps in revising your paper, you're well on your way to producing a great piece of writing! Note how I said well on your way. Depending on how good your first draft is, you may need to go through all of these steps several times before you have your finished product. Don't worry. Even though all this may seem overwhelming, you can do it; just follow these simple steps when revising: content, organization, tone, and conciseness. Writing isn't what Calvin, the boy in the cartoon above, says it is.

Lesson 12: Revising Tips, continued...again

Alright class, here are more tips to keep in mind as you work on revising your writing. After looking over the content of your paper, the next thing you need to worry about is organization.

Having good organization is important because no matter how good your content is, if you don't have it organized in an effective way, people won't understand it as well. A traditional essay should have an introduction paragraph, a few body paragraphs, then a conclusion paragraph. As I will talk about during another class, this format, though the norm, is not required or the most effective at times. But we'll talk about that later.

Now, within the introduction paragraph, you should start out with an attention grabber, or "hook," then give enough background information for the reader to understand your topic. End with your thesis, which will most likely be the last sentence of the introduction. For your body paragraph, you'll have a topic sentence, a source (either a quote, paraphrase, or summary), your commentary on that source, repeated until you have sufficiently proven your point. Then you will end with a concluding sentence. For your conclusion paragraph, you will recap your paper, restate your thesis, and then generally leave the reader with something to think about, some action you want them to take, depending on the type of paper you're writing.

Now, these rules, as previously mentioned, aren't set in stone. But it's a good format to start off with. When you write a first draft, you don't have to worry too much about your organization if you don't want to. It is often easier to get your ideas onto paper (or the computer screen) if you just focus on content. Then make sure that your sentences and paragraphs are organized in a way that will add to, not take away from, your content.

Just like how you have to organize your time well to get the most of it, you have to organize your paper well to get the most out of every word. Well, work on this portion of your revision of your paper, and next time we'll discuss some more revising tips.

Lesson 11: Revising Tips, continued

Welcome back class! Here are the promised revising tips.

The first thing to look out for when revising is the content of your paper. Content is KING! It doesn't matter if you meet the format and length requirements if what you are saying is incorrect, insufficient, or poorly written. Carefully go through your entire paper. I would suggest focusing on one paragraph at a time, inspecting every sentence and seeing if it all make sense. For your body paragraphs, does every sentence fall under the topic sentence of that paragraph? If it doesn't add to the overall meaning and purpose of that paragraph, it needs to either be deleted or revised. Also, does the topic sentence of every paragraph contribute to and help prove your thesis statement? If not, the paragraph needs some serious revisions.

Revising is a major part of the writing process. It is not something that you spend 20 minutes doing, simply looking for spelling and grammatical errors. As important as these things are, it isn't what revising is all about. If you are truly revising a paper, the revised draft should look drastically different from your first draft. Remember, content is king, and we'll discuss more revising tips next time.

Lesson 10: Revising Tips

Hi class. I am sure you have all been waiting for this: a post not about grammar. Well, here it is. I feel that you now have enough of the basics of grammar down for you to get the rest on your own. Remember - when in doubt, look it up!

We have already talked about the importance of keeping an awareness of your audience, as well as several mechanical rules to keep in mind. Using these skills, you are well on your way to writing a great paper. However, this is where many writers make mistakes. Contrary to popular belief, after a wonderfully and beautifully constructed paper is written, you are not done. Especially if this paper is really not wonderful or beautiful and was thrown together in half an hour. Hint: don't do this if you want a decent grade on that paper; good writing takes time.

To have a good end product, you have to revise your paper, and sometimes several times. Depending on the length of the paper and your writing habits, you might even do some revising as you go. But if anything, always, always revise once you have written the whole thing.

Well, to keep lessons nice and short, we'll end here. But don't worry, the revising tips will be coming soon!

Lesson 9: Numbers in Writing

Hello class! Today, we are going to learn about when to use numbers in writing, and when to use words in their place. While these rules are simple to understand, they are not universal. Remember to consult a style book if writing something that is to be published.

Use Words
1. to begin any sentence: Forty people went to Abby's party.

2. for the first number when two numbers are used one right after the other: The bookshelf had four 7-foot shelves.

Use Numbers
1. for abbreviations, percentages, symbols, units of measurements, dates

2. for page references

3. for large numbers

Well, these are the basic rules of numbers in writing. Remember to always look it up if you are unsure of anything. Until next time!