After the first draft, plan to revise your draft at least one time. Revising means changing the organization or content of the essay and also editing the sentences.
The questions on the checklist below will help you to see if your essay is focused and well developed. You may wish to ask another person (class-V mate) to revise your essay using the following checklist.
►Revision Checklist
| Thesis Statement | - Does the thesis statement state your main idea adequately? - Does the thesis statement show your approach or attitude to the main idea? |
| Unity | - Do the supporting ideas show the writer's attitude toward the main idea? - Do the supporting details and examples show the writer's attitude toward the main idea? |
| Development | - Are more supporting details needed? - Is enough evidence provided to support the main idea? - Is the evidence that is provided convincing? |
| Coherence | - Are all the paragraphs logically connected to each other? - Do the sentences flow logically one after the other? - Are transitions needed to make the sentences clearer? |
| Purpose | - Is the writer's purpose clear? - What did the writer want to convey to the reader? Was this achieved? |
4. Editing
Editing means checking your essay to see if yon have followed the rules for expressing your ideas clearly, and followed the rales of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
When editing, go through one sentence at a time. Make sure your sentences are clear and grammatically correct. Mark them for fragments or run-ons. If you are unsure about a grammatical form, consult a grammar book. When you think you have misspelled a word, consult a dictionary.
The following is an editing checklist. The symbols on the left may be used by your instructor to indicate problem areas in your writing.
► Editing Symbols for Sentences and Paragraphs
| Symbol | Meaning |
| frag | Is the sentence a fragment or an incomplete sentence? Check to see if it has a subject and a verb. |
| r/o | Is the sentence a run-on, or sentence which should really be two? [Check to see if each sentence is really only one.] |
| s-v agr | Does the subject agree with the verb in person and number? |
| // | Are two or more words in a series written in the same, or parallel, grammatical structure? |
| trans | Have you used transition to connect your ideas clearl? |
| pro agr | Do the pronouns agree with the words they refer to in person and in number? |
| awk | Have you phrased your ideas in an awkward manner, perhaps by translating them from your native language? |
| choppy | Are your sentences short, unrelated, or choppy? Are ideas broken into paragraph correctly? Are all your ideas related to the same topic in your paragraph? |
►Editing Symbols for Words and Punctuation
| Symbols | Meaning |
| sp | Is the word spelled correctly? Check a dictionary. |
| om | Is there a word that has been omitted? |
| | Check for incorrect word order. |
| wd form | Are the word forms correct? Check verb tenses and suffixes. |
| ww | Is the wrong word used? Check its meaning in a dictionary. |
| p | Are there any errors in punctuation? Check to see if commas, semicolons, and quotation marks are used correctly. |
| cap | Are words capitalized correctly? Check to see if proper nouns, names of places, religions, nationalities, names of books, and titles are capitalized correctly. |
5. Avoid Faulty Parallel Construction
Correct parallel construction adds clarity and impact to your writing. Parallel construction is used in a sentence to express two or more ideas in a series in the same grammatical form.
Faulty Parallel Construction:
Her favorite sports are swimming, skiing, and to skate.
(items do not have all the same form)
Correct Parallel Construction:
Her favorite sports are swimming, skiing, and skating.
(all items have the same form: gerund)
Words such as by, in, to, a, the, and that usually are repeated when applied to both items.
Faulty Parallel Construction:
By working hard and making the right decisions he made a name for himself.
Correct Parallel Construction:
By working hard and by making the right decisions he made a name for
himself.
(By should be repeated after and to make both parts parallel.)
Here are some more examples:
| Lacking Parallel Construction | Having Parallel Construction |
| When he ran for the presidency, he promised to cut taxes, to clean up the environment, and he was for eliminating corruption. | When he ran for the presidency he promised to cut taxes, to clean up the environment, and to eliminate corruption. (All items start with to and a verb.) |
| Thomas Hardy was an English novelist, a short-story writer, and he wrote poetry. | Thomas Hardy was an English novelist, a short-story writer, and a poet. (All items are nouns.) |
| Peter helps his sick friend by taking notes for her and he helps her with homework assignments. | Peter helps his sick friend by taking notes for her and by helping her with homework assignments. (Both items start with by + gerund.) |
| June wanted her traveling companion to have similar interests, to be independent, and who liked the outdoors. | June wanted her traveling companion to have similar interests, to be independent, and to like the outdoors. |
| Of all the moons in our solar system, lo is the most colorful, fascinating, and its volcanos are active. | Of all the moons in our solar system, lo is the most colorful, fascinating, and volcanically active. (All items are adjectives.) |
Here are examples of thesis statements which should always use parallel construction:
| Lacking Parallel Construction | Having Parallel Construction |
| Students can get good grades if they 1. do the required reading. 2. carefully taking notes. 3. do their studying for tests. | Students can get good grades if they 1. do the required reading. 2. take careful notes. 3. study for tests. |
| In my opinion, the best kind of vacation includes 1. an exotic location. 2. I like resting and relaxing. 3. actively doing sports. | In my opinion, the best kind of vacation includes 1. an exotic location. 2. rest and relaxation. 3. sports activities. |
| Anyone can write well if they learn to 1. logical thought. 2. organizing ideas coherently. 3. clear expression of ideas. | Anyone can write well if they learn to 1. think logically. 2. organize ideas coherently. 3. express ideas clearly. |
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