We know the feeling because we've been there ourselves:
You have this thing to write. You know what you want to say. But when you sit down to write, the ideas don’t come out right.
You read your work and cringe: “Gah! This doesn’t make sense! That’s not at all what I meant to say!”
Frustration mounts. You just want to be done.
If you ever feel this way, do not despair. You're actually on the right track. That not-so-perfect first attempt is a normal and valuable part of the writing process. You've created the clay; now you can mold it into something worthwhile.
We call this shaping process revision, and revision is a writer’s best friend.
What strategies can help me revise?
Professional writers sometimes spend several days or weeks revising a single piece of writing. Unless you’re working on a big project, you won’t have so much time. These four strategies can help you quickly turn a vague or uninspiring draft into clear and effective writing.
1. Cut unnecessary details.
Unneeded details only obscure your meaning and force readers to mentally do the cutting that you didn't. Be merciless. Cut verbosity and remove repetition.
Original
On Thursday, April 4, starting at 7:00 a.m. in the morning, crews will be resurfacing the north parking lot with a new layer of blacktop because the old blacktop needs resurfacing. We hired Blacktop Masters because they are excellent and had the best bid. My cousin works for them and can vouch for them. On that day—in the morning and all through the day—please park in a different parking lot that is not being resurfaced by Blacktop Masters.
Revised
On Thursday, April 4, crews will resurface the north parking lot. Please park elsewhere throughout that day.
2. Add necessary details.
Remember that your reader needs answers to six basic questions—who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Original
Note that the room is reserved.
Revised
Note that the Perkins Room is reserved for repairs throughout August 6.
3. Reorganize details that are out of order.
An organized document is like an organized kitchen—even strangers can easily cook in it. As the writer, you need to create an organized document in which your readers can easily think. Place steps in chronological order, reasons in order of importance, causes before effects, and so on.
Original
Please submit your entry form and fill it out.
Revised
Please fill out your entry form and submit it.
4. Rewrite material that is poorly worded.
Revision literally means "seeing again," so you need to get some distance. You need to read what you actually wrote rather than what you meant to write. Watch for awkward wording, ambiguous passages, dangling and misplaced modifiers, incomplete comparisons, choppiness, and other sentence problems. Go through your sentences many times so that readers have to go through them only once.
Original
The matter of fact is that Rankin Technologies will offer sandwiches and chips to meeting attendees in paper sacks.
Revised
Rankin Technologies will offer sack lunches of sandwiches and chips to meeting attendees.
What other tips can help me revise?
Read with Fresh Eyes Before you begin revising, step away from your writing: Grab some coffee. Go for a walk. Work on another project. Then return to your work with fresh eyes.
Don’t Fine-Tune . . . At Least for Now Did you notice that none of the strategies above involved grammar, punctuation, or mechanics? If you concentrate on those micro-level concerns, you might miss the forest for the trees. Instead, concentrate on macro-level improvements to the ideas, organization, and voice of your writing. Save correctness for a separate editing step.
Recruit Help Ask a colleague to read your work. Does your reader have a clear sense of the subject and purpose? Are any parts confusing? Do any spots need more information? Another pair of eyes will help.
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