Revisions

While I sometimes wish that I had a concrete, never fail way to revise my papers, it seems to differ with each attempt. I think this happens because I also do not have a specific way that I write my papers. Depending on what it is about, what class it is for, how passionate I am about the topic, or many other reasons usually change how the writing process plays out. Sometimes I write an outline, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it takes me days of frustration and sometimes I’ll sit down, and an entire essay just flows out. So these variations are what ultimately determine my revision process. 

 http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2008/03/age-of-conversa-4.html

  

I think everyone always needs to revise. The differences that you see in your writing once you’ve taken a step away from it, preferably for a couple days is enormous. That one ending line, or the thesis you spent so much time on might not even make sense once you’ve taken a break from it. So while my process may change, I always do it with every single paper. One thing that I do each time is read the paper out loud. If I can’t speak the words like an oral presentation than I make changes accordingly. It helps to find the voice of your paper, and to keep that voice consistent. With this particular essay assignment I was lucky during the writing process, and it all flowed out pretty effortlessly. I found the voice I wanted very quickly, and knew exactly how I wanted the paper to end. Even though I got a decent grade on the draft, there are quite a few things I’m going to change. For some reason I can’t stop using the phrase “you”! It’s driving me crazy! So I’m changing things around, and making sure that all the “you” words become “the reader”, or even rearrange to remove them completely. I’m going to substantially beef up my thesis. I chose to analyze the imagery of a poem, but I’m lacking a reason. I captured the images, now I have to determine what those images mean, and why the author would want to portray them. After these few things, I will hopefully be satisfied with the outcome, and more importantly, so will our Professor.

Here is a link to a great website on revising a paper.