Revising Your Essay

Correct errors related to grammar, punctuation and spelling

Consult a style book if you are unsure how to properly use quotation marks, colons, semicolons, apostrophes or commas. Avoid using exclamation points.

·      Look for mistakes involving than/then, your/you're, its/it's, etc. Make sure you know how to use apostrophes correctly.

·      Look for mistakes involving general punctuation. Check for run-on sentences, commas and periods inside quotation marks, as well as sparely-used dashes, colons, and semi-colons.

Remove any repetitive or unnecessary words.

Vary your language with the help of a thesaurus. Also, consult a dictionary to make sure that you're using unfamiliar words correctly.

·      At the same time, try to keep your language short, sweet, and to the point. A thesaurus is a great tool, but don't just use big words to sound fancy. The best essays are clear, concise, and easily understood by a wide audience.

·      Focus on writing killer verbs for sentences. Verbs communicate the action in a sentence and drive the action. A great verb can be the difference between a bland sentence and a beautiful one. 
·      Use adjectives lightly. Adjectives are great descriptive words, but when used indiscriminately, they can burden an essay and make it less readable. Try to let the verbs and nouns do most of the heavy lifting before you focus on adjectives.  

Avoid colloquial (informal) writing. 
Do not use contractions or abbreviations (e.g., don't, can't, won't, shouldn't, could've, or haven't).
Your essay should have a serious tone, even if it's written in a light or lyrical style.

Analyze how your essay flows.

Does each sentence lead smoothly to the next? Does each paragraph flow logically to the next? Good connections will help your ideas to flow:

·      When events happen in sequence: I first started to realize that I was in the minority when I was in middle school...My realization was confirmed when I proceeded to high school.

·      If sentences elaborate on each other: Plants need water to survive...A plant's ability to absorb water depends on the nutrition of the soil.

·      When an idea contrasts with another idea: Vegetarians argue that land is unnecessarily wasted by feeding animals to be eaten as food...Opponents argue that land being used for grazing would not be able to be used to create any other kind of food.

·      If you're relaying a cause and effect relationship: I will be the first person in my family to graduate from college...I am inspired to continue my family's progress through the generations.

·      When connecting similar ideas: Organic food is thought to be better for the environment...Local food is believed to achieve the same goals.  

Cut out information that's not specifically related to your topic.

You don't want your essay to ramble off topic. Any information that doesn't directly or indirectly support your thesis should be cut out.

Have someone read your paper aloud to you, or record yourself reading it aloud and play it back.

Our ears are sometimes better than your eyes at picking up mistakes in language. The essay should sound like it has a good flow and understandable words. 

Rewrite any problematic body passages.

If needed, rearrange sentences and paragraphs into a different order. Make sure that both your conclusion and introduction match the changes that you make to the body.