George Yazbeck How much revision do you engage in while writing your first draft? Do you work from word to word, sentence to sentence, or paragraph to paragraph? How much effort do you place in word choice and style?
During my revision process, the most important aspect of my writing that I check and correct regularly is sentence and paragraph structures in regards to how well they flow grammatically and eliminating wordiness.
In the past, I have faced these issues when my work was proofread and I had since sought to improve on these mistakes when I would proofread myself. Specifically, I always check to see if there are words and / or phrases I wrote that conveyed more than they should (including the removal of sentences that simply do not connect with an idea, even though I thought they did so initially).
Regarding planning and outlining, I rarely do either at this point of my educational studies as I write papers constantly; as a result, I am used to putting my thoughts down in writing before separating ideas into their own paragraphs, which guides me through completing a paper. As a result of this, I generally let the revision process (whether done by myself or by a professional) shape the final form of what my paper will ultimately be read as. Even so, I always reread and fix any mistakes I know I have committed prior to submitting for review by a professional to simplify the revision process I may receive from them and to become better at avoiding these issues.
With that said, the amount of revision I partake in for a first draft is relatively more extensive than that of subsequent drafts, especially if my work is reviewed by a professional; oftentimes, a rough draft will have many problems which if fixed early, will translate into a strong paper with less to no mistakes by a final draft. Upon revising, I work from mainly two angles: word-to-word and sentence-to-sentence as most of my common (aforementioned) mistakes are within those confines.
Finally, in regards to word choice and style, I value this area a lot as it sets the tone, mood and professional structure of a paper; in order to successfully accomplish this, I always use college-level vocabulary and adjectives / modifiers to express my diction, whatever it may be.
Facebook Comments