~Part 4: Revising, Editing, and Knowing The Difference~

"So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads" - Dr. Seuss

CherryBlossomSky: This is very crucial to writing what we write on Wattpad: which is our awesome narrative or informative pieces.

Revising:

To re-examine and alter.

Revision is the art of making sure that your ideas are in the correct order and cutting out all ALL of the poo you don't need. In revision, your job is to make your paper SHORTER by removing unnecessary information and only adding what will make the paper clearer or what will better support your point. You CAN move paragraphs, delete sentences and paragraphs, and switch lousy words for better ones. This will become a game after a while.

Think of it as a challenge and ask yourself the following questions:

»If I was to read the introduction or beginning of this piece and someone else wrote it, would I want to keep reading? If not, what should I do to make it grab the reader?

»For school papers-- Is my thesis actually what my paper is trying to prove? Do I lead up to the thesis with information/stories/examples that grab the reader?

»Does the end of my piece actually provide an ending in some way, or have I neglected it because I'm sick of writing?

»Can I put paragraphs in a different direction order so the thoughts and ideas I have FLOW better?

»Did I rush through sentences and words because I just wanted to finish my paper? If so, which parts of my writing are my ACTUALLY saying anything.

»Did I use a thesaurus at all? If not, use one! I strongly encourage it!

»Do I like this piece of writing? Why or why not? What can I change so that I might actually LIKE what I wrote?

                                                           ~*~

Editing:

To prepare written material by correcting, condensing, or otherwise changing it.

This is when you fix your GRAMMAR, USAGE, MECHANICS, AND SPELLING. I only have two main pieces for advice for editing (the rest you can look up in a style manual).

»Read your work aloud after you've revised and before you turn it in.

»Have someone that you trust be your second reader. This could be a teacher or a friend, but it had to be someone you trust that you can take criticism from. They should HELP you, not just tell you it was "good".

(End of Part 4)