The Writing Process

Revise

Many successful writers spend most of their time on this stage. Try to view your manuscript from different perspectives and assess whether your first draft fulfills the plan you established.

Revising is not the same as editing. While editing includes changes made at the sentence and word levels, revising takes place on the content level. In other words, revising means cutting entire sentences and paragraphs, rearranging major sections, replacing weak examples with more detailed examples, adding evidence as needed.

Tips for substantive revising:

• Keep a written statement of your main point in front of you while you revise. Make sure you understand how every part of your draft relates to your main point.
• Question every paragraph and every sentence. Be ready to cut anything that is repetitive or does not keep the ideas in the manuscript moving forward.
• Make sure your draft complies with the author guidelines for your intended publication venue. Use the revision stage to work on meeting the recommended word count and other requirements.
• Identify the strongest and weakest points in the draft. Try to narrow the gap by improving the weaker areas.
• Work first on the overall manuscript level, then examine sections, then paragraphs, and finally sentences. Do not try to get every word right until you’re certain you will be keeping the sentence. Do not worry about every sentence until you know the paragraph is necessary.
• Attempt to get early feedback on how your readers will respond. Ask trusted peers, your colleagues, and ASQ editors for their opinions.