Revising an essay is not just proofreading it, although this is part of the revision process. Your first draft is only the start of the real work. It often takes more effort and time to revise than it does to write the first draft. The effort is worthwhile as it can transform a mediocre first draft into an outstanding final essay. Here are some steps you can take when revising.
Make sure your essay focus is correct
It is best to revise your paper after setting it aside for a while. You will look at it more objectively when you come back to it. What did you try to do in the paper? Did you argue, compare, analyze, or explore as per the assignment instructions? Examine your thesis statement with a critical eye. Try to imagine you are someone else and see whether you understand the focus of the paper.
You may not have time for proper revision of an assignment or not be sure about how to revise a paper. Edubirdie is a professional paper writing service where you can get online help from top essay writers. You will create an order, choose a writer, and the writer will follow your instructions and meet your deadline. The writer will have the educational background and paper writing experience to know how to write your essay from scratch or revise your paper, depending on your specific needs. If you aren’t satisfied, you can place a request that offers free unlimited revisions of a paper. This is the best that you can get as a student.
Look at the overall structure of your essay
Revision paper usually involves making some structural changes. Does the structure of your essay support what you want to get across? You may have to shift sections or paragraphs around for a better flow. Transitions should move a reader clearly from one point to the next.
Does your paper have balance? You may have paid too much attention to a trivial point and not enough to a more important one. Reordering some of your sections and main points can give emphasis to your strongest ideas.
Take a closer look at your introduction and conclusion. Does your introduction clearly point to the direction your paper will take? You want it to capture the attention of readers and make them want to find out more. Does your conclusion leave them with a solid takeaway? It shouldn’t just summarize what you cover in the body.
Evaluate your evidence
Does the body of your paper support your thesis statement? Each paragraph in the body should express a different point and give evidence to back it up. If there is evidence you presented that doesn’t relate to your thesis statement, you need to cut it out. You may have to go back to your sources and provide more evidence for points you haven’t substantiated well enough. Check that whenever you use quotes as evidence, you cite them correctly. You don’t want your essay to be flagged for plagiarism. There is software you can use today to manage your citations.
Tighten up your language
It will help to read your paper out loud. You will need to fix places where you get lost in the middle of a sentence. You can tighten up your sentences by removing the following:
- Vagueness
- Unnecessary words
- Repetitions
- Complex words you don’t fully understand
- Prepositional phrases like “there are several ….”
You should always aim for economy and precision in your writing. It can help to shorten overlong sentences that are too convoluted. You can also replace long verb phrases with a more specific verb to give more strength to what you have to say. For instance, ‘argues for the importance of the idea’ can become ‘defends the idea.’
Proofread last
There is no point in making sentences grammatically perfect if you’re going to change them or delete them. This is why you should proofread last. You can use software to check your grammar and spelling. However, it is still important to do a final proofread yourself to make sure unnecessary errors don’t slip through.
Conclusion
Revision doesn’t necessarily mean rewriting your whole paper but it usually requires some time. You must revise essays well ahead of the deadline to do a proper job. It may involve shifting the order of your paragraphs or coming up with better evidence to illustrate your points. Tightening up your language could also help to make your points come across more effectively. The revision process can go a long way to helping you achieve good grades.
Author’s Bio
Jessica Vang is a writer who spends time on every topic so that there is no gap between a client’s requirements and the final delivery. She aims to make every client happy with her outstanding work ethic and writing knowledge and this is why she doesn’t mind going the extra mile. This makes her academic papers shine in every way.