Students often think revising means editing, that is, making small changes. Adding an apostrophe or improving spelling is not revising. Revising means making significant improvements to writing. Revising is the process by which okay writing becomes great.
So what exactly is revising? Here are some examples, though there are many more.
Change weak (nonspecific) verbs to specific verbs. If possible rewrite the verb to be (is, are, was, were) and come, go, give, take, get, start, put, look, and see, but not say or said.
- I got tired raking leaves, so I came inside and took a nap. This becomes, After I tired from raking, I snuggled on my bed and napped.
After weak verbs, find infinitives or nouns that can be turned into strong verbs.
- When the car started to spin, Mom took her foot off the gas pedal. This becomes, When the car spun, Mom released the gas pedal.
Use active, not passive verbs.
- The apple was eaten by Mary. This becomes, Mary ate the apple.
Change long nouns (e.g., encouragement, contamination, habitation) to verbs.
- Use moderation in your dietary habits. This becomes Moderate your diet.
Combine frequent small sentences (fewer than 10 words) to add sophistication to writing.
- That’s my brother. His name is Akhil. He is seven. He can write a two-wheeler. This becomes My seven-year-old brother, Akhil, can ride a two-wheeler.
Delete a sentence with just one bit of new information and put that information in another sentence to eliminate wordiness.
- The baby fell out of the carriage. The carriage rolled down the hill. This becomes, The baby fell out of the carriage which rolled down the hill.
Combine sentences to eliminate wordiness.
- My uncle was wounded playing football. He played for the University of Georgia twenty years ago. He played before I was born. This becomes, My uncle broke his leg playing football for the University of Georgia twenty years ago, before I was born.
Identify the sentence structures used (simple, compound, complex and compound-complex). Rewrite the sentences to create more complicated simple sentences and easy-to-understand complex sentences, and to eliminate most compound sentences.
- I watched the Rose Bowl Parade on TV, and I enjoyed it. I could not believe the floats! They were covered with flowers, seeds, leaves, and other living things. I hope, when I am older, to see the parade in person. This becomes, I enjoyed watching the Rose Bowl Parade on TV. Flowers, seeds, leaves and other living things covered the floats. Someday, I hope to see that unbelievable parade in person.
Limit the number of dependent clauses in sentences to two.
- The resort where we vacationed used to be a private club that attracted millionaires in the 19th century who arrived by train before wealthy people had air conditioning. This becomes, We vacationed at a resort that used to be a private club for millionaires. In the 19th century, wealthy people arrived there by train. They wanted to escape the heat in an era before air conditioning.
Change first words of sentences to add variety.
- See previous changes.
Count the number of words in each sentence. Average them. Aim for an average of 14 to 18 words with some longer and some shorter. If the average is 10 or below, increase the number of words per sentence. If the average is 20 or above, decrease the number of words per sentence. Don’t count the number of words per sentence until you have made other changes or you will need to recount.
English Writing Teacher 