Writing: Teachers & Students

Lesson 2: The Writing Process

Share and Revise

Once you have written your first draft, the next step is to reread it and think about ways to improve what you've written. Don't think about correcting spelling and punctuation errors - that comes later. In this step, called revising, you want to think about and work on improving the meaning of what you've written.

Can the sentences be better?
Do they "flow" or sound choppy?
Do you repeat the same word over and over again?
Do you tell the story in a logical order?
Did you use descriptive words, or is the piece boring?

These are just a few of the questions you should ask yourself as you reread.

Another great way to judge your piece of writing is to read it aloud to yourself or to someone else. Hearing your story will help you to see where you may need to make some adjustments. Getting feedback from others is also very helpful at this stage.

You might also want to use the A.R.R.R. method to make additional changes to your draft:

Adding: What else does the reader need to know?

Rearranging: Is the information in the most logical and most effective order?

Removing: What extra details or unnecessary bits of information are in this piece of writing?

Replacing: What words or details could be replaced by clearer or stronger expressions?

(Taken from: http://education.bjbarton.com/Writing.ht... , http://www.meredith.edu/education/weir/t... , and http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingproce...

When you make revision changes, you can cross out and add information right onto your draft. Using a different color pen or pencil will help you to easily see your changes. You may also want to make a second copy of your story so that all of your changes are incorporated.

Once you are happy with the changes you've made, you are ready to move on to the next step.

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