Chapter 17- Revising and Editing

Chapter 17 is all about revising and editing your paper. The first section of this chapter is the things that you should focus on during the revision process of your paper or document. First ask yourself three questions:

• Will my readers trust what i have to say? How can i establish my credibility?
• Will my readers have other ideas about how to address this issue? How can i convince them that they should believe what i say?
• Will my readers find my evidence appropriate and accurate? Is my selection of evidence consistent with their values and beliefs?

Then consider your argument and ideas. To do this first make sure your thesis is phrased in a way that is understandable to your readers and gets your point across. Then ask yourself if your evidence that you used to support your thesis is clearly conveyed to your readers so that they can accept your thesis. Then consider your use and integration of sources, the structure and organization, and your genre and design.

The next section in this chapter gives some strategies to use when revising your paper. The first strategy suggested is to save multiple drafts in case you decide that some of the changes you have made aren't actually what you wanted. You can also highlight your main point, reasons and evidence to make sure that you have each part and it is organized. Also challenge your assumptions. Pretend that you're the reader, play devil's advocate, or play the "so what" game. Lastly, scan outline and map your document.

The third section is what to focus on as you edit your paper or document. First, focus on accuracy. Check things like your facts and figures to make sure they're correct, check all your quotations, and check for spelling errors. Next focus on economy. Try taking out unnecessary words or sentences. Then focus on consistency. Use numbers consistently, treat concepts consistently, treat sources consistently, and format your document consistently. Next is focusing on style. As people read your paper you're going to be judged on probably everything, just make sure to "choose the right  words, using active and passive voice appropriately  adopting a consistent point of view, rewriting complex sentences, varying your sentence length and structure, providing transitions, and avoid sexist language" (282). Last part to this section is focus on spelling, grammar and punctuation.

The last section in this chapter is the strategies to use to edit your paper. Read carefully and read aloud, mark up your paper for any errors or things you want to go back and check. If you're going to use spell check or anything like that be aware that they are not always accurate. And lastly, don't be afraid to ask for feedback.