There are two main types of revision. One is large-scale revision. In large-scale revision, you should look back over the whole of your essay and decide if it is on topic, whether it is well organized and whether you have developed your thesis in the way you wish. Small-scale revision focuses on the details of your writing &emdash; the sentence grammar, word choice, and spelling.

You should usually do large-scale revision before small-scale revision. Think of writing an essay as building a house. Large scale revision is checking the plan and structure of the house. Small-scale revision is looking after the smaller details such as painting and landscaping the house. You don't paint the boards of a house before you build it. In the same way large scale revision precedes small-scale revision. You should not be overly worried about the sentence grammar and spelling of your compositions until you are sure that the overall organization is solid.

Questions to ask when revising a paper

Large -scale revision

1. Content

• Is the content interesting?
• Thoughtful?
• Or have you merely repeated arguments everyone is familiar with?

2. Purpose

• Will the paper accomplish the purpose you intend?
• Have you changed your mind about the purpose since you began writing? If so, has that change caused any inconsistencies in the paper?
• Is the purpose clear to the reader?
• Is it clear what the reader should do or think after reading the paper?

3. Audience

• Is the paper appropriate for the audience that will read it?
• Is the voice too formal and stuffy?
• Is it too informal and personal?
• Is the too brief and businesslike?
• How about the technical aspects of the paper?
• Have you used terminology that your audience won't understand?
• Have you explained concepts that your readers may not be familiar with?
• Have you explained too much?
• Have you forgotten how knowledgeable your audience is about this subject?

4. Thesis and Unity

• Does the paper have a single clear thesis?
• Is the thesis consistent throughout, or does it change somewhat from the beginning to the end of the paper?
• Does everything in the paper support the thesis?
• It is not enough that everything be about the subject; everything should also support the thesis.

5. Organization

• What are the main points in your essay?
• Are they presented in a logical order?
• Would a different order be more effective?
• Is the amount of attention you devote to each point proportional to its importance in the paper?
• Do you have an effective introduction and conclusion?

6. Development of Ideas

• Does each point in the essay have sufficient, relevant, and interesting supporting details to convince the intended audience?
• Are there places where additional concrete details or specific examples would make the paper more convincing or clearer?

Small-scale Revision

1. Word Choice Are there places where the wording is:

• Awkward?
• Unclear?
• Wordy?
• Redundant?
• Vague?
• Unnecessarily abstract?
• Incorrect?

2. Grammar, Punctuation, and Mechanics

As a final step, review the paper for errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. If there are certain types of errors that you often make, read the paper once again looking just for these types of errors.

Adapted from Amy Tickle, The Writing Process: A Guide for ESL Students. New York: Harper-Collins, 1996.