{"id":4271,"date":"2020-04-06T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?p=4271"},"modified":"2022-12-08T13:05:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T21:05:20","slug":"how-to-revise-an-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/how-to-revise-an-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Revise an Essay and Make It Better Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think revising and editing aren\u2019t necessary? Check out this ad:<\/p>\n

\"software<\/p>\n

It looks like the educational software ad writers of this company don\u2019t know the difference between \u201ctheir\u201d (possessive) and \u201cthey\u2019re\u201d (they are).<\/p>\n

Would you feel confident purchasing educational software from a company that doesn\u2019t know basic grammar (or perhaps simply doesn\u2019t care enough to proofread its ad)? Probably not.<\/p>\n

Why? Because simple typos are generally a result of sloppy work\u2014and that\u2019s what your professor is going to think if you turn in a paper with the same type of errors.<\/p>\n

Typos and grammar errors are bad enough, but gaps in the content and logic of your paper are even worse. That means learning how to revise an essay is an essential skill.<\/p>\n

So grab a current draft of an essay<\/a>, and practice these revision strategies to make your essay better than ever!<\/p>\n

How to Revise an Essay and Make it Better than Ever<\/h2>\n
\"academic<\/a>
“Reworking, rewriting, removing” by mpclemens<\/a>, Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before we dive into the details of how <\/i>to revise an essay, think about whether you\u2019ll revise a digital copy or a hard copy.<\/p>\n

If you revise a digital copy, you might want to save your first draft<\/a> and make revisions on another copy. This will let you refer to your original ideas if you rewrite. (Just make sure to give the files different names, so you don\u2019t accidentally submit the wrong version to your prof.)<\/p>\n

If you revise a hard copy, grab a pen (and maybe a highlighter) to start marking up your pages<\/a>. It can often be easier to catch typos and other errors when reading a printed copy. A lot of seasoned authors use this method, so don\u2019t automatically dismiss this old-school way of editing before giving it a try.<\/p>\n

Now that you\u2019ve decided how <\/i>you\u2019ll work, here are six revision tips you need to know to revise your diamond-in-the-rough draft into a polished piece of writing perfection.<\/p>\n

Revision tip #1: Write and revise on separate days<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re writing, every word you type sounds like perfection. If you read your essay the next day, though, you\u2019ll see that every word is far from perfect. You might even have your share of typos and sentences that are barely comprehensible.<\/p>\n

The takeaway: <\/b>Don\u2019t procrastinate<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Leave yourself enough time to revise. Write one day, and revise the next. You\u2019ll be surprised at what types of errors seem to appear.<\/p>\n

If you absolutely don\u2019t have time to wait a full day before you revise, at least wait a few hours.<\/i><\/p>\n

Think you don\u2019t have the time (or don\u2019t want to take the time) to revise? Consider this: <\/b>If you don\u2019t spend an extra day or two on revision, your professor will certainly let you know where you should have <\/i>revised.<\/p>\n

My point: Your grade will thank you if you put in the extra effort.<\/p>\n

Need help managing time? Read How to Manage Time Better When Writing (and Living Your Life)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Revision tip #2: Read your paper out loud<\/h3>\n
\"closeup<\/a>
“Reading a book” by Karoly Czifra<\/a>, Flickr.com (CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Remember when you were a kid and you followed along with your finger as you read out loud? I bet you may have even paused to sound out words in your favorite book. It helped, didn\u2019t it? Why? Because it helped you comprehend the words, their meaning, and the meaning of the story. You could hear <\/i>the words being spoken.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not suggesting that you necessarily need to follow along the page or screen with your finger (but you can if you like), I am <\/i>suggesting that you read your essay out loud so that you hear <\/i>how your paper sounds. It\u2019s easier to hear awkward wording and spot typos if you read aloud.<\/p>\n

If you have a friend who\u2019s willing to read your paper out loud, recruit him or her to help too. You can sit back, listen to your words, and note where you might need to revise.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
Need to polish your paper?<\/div>\n\t\t\t
Let our expert editors help.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tYes! Edit my essay.<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

Revision tip #3: Check the content of your essay first<\/h3>\n

When people think of revision, they often think of correcting spelling errors, typos, and other grammatical errors. Though these are all part of the revision process, there\u2019s more to revision than just changing some punctuation or moving around a few words.<\/p>\n

You need to look at the content and the development of your paper too.<\/p>\n

Make sure you complete your revision of these larger concerns (content and development) before <\/i><\/b>looking for smaller concerns, such as word choice<\/a>, grammar errors<\/a>, and typos.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why: <\/b>Let\u2019s say you spend 10 minutes working on one sentence that you just can\u2019t seem to get right. You change the wording three times and move the comma twice in an attempt to craft the perfect topic sentence<\/a> for your paragraph.<\/p>\n

If you spend all that time writing one sentence, what happens if you then revise the content of your essay and end up cutting the entire paragraph because it doesn\u2019t support your argument<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Yep, you wasted 10 minutes on one sentence. That 10 minutes would have been better spent working on your key arguments, rather than working on punctuation<\/a> and wording<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Questions to ask<\/h4>\n

Not sure what you should be looking for when you revise content? Here\u2019s a list of questions to ask yourself:<\/b><\/p>\n