Multiple revisions create strong, focused essays.
Whether you've spent countless hours painstakingly crafting an essay or typed furiously the day the paper was due, the revision process is necessary for every essay you write. Revision allows you to go back and retool your essay, adjusting it for clarity, content and coherency. Don't be concerned about catching every change necessary on the first revision; allow yourself time to complete multiple drafts for a strong, polished finished product.
Time and Space
Once you have completed your first draft of an essay, time needs to elapse before you attempt to revise it. Your involvement in your arguments will render you incapable of objectively revising and editing your paper. Write your first draft, scan it quickly for any glaring spelling or grammar errors, then walk away from the paper. The first revision step is to allow at least 24 hours to elapse before you revise an essay. Don't dash off an essay quickly before class then expect to give it a thorough revision later that afternoon. When you return to your essay, revise it in a space that is conducive to applied thought and studious concentration. Turn off your cell phone, shut the door and give yourself adequate space to spread out your materials.
Make an Argument
Every way of seeing is also a way of not seeing, and focusing on your essay's argument may hinder you from seeing flaws in your logic or weakness in your writing. The next revision step is to print off drafts of your essay and ask friends, classmates, parents, older siblings and your instructor to read it. Even if you have a peer-review session in class with your fellow students, actively solicit more readers. Have readers underline the sections of your essay that are unclear and leave suggestions for clarification. Write a paragraph that argues the exact opposite of your essay to see if you can find any holes in your theory. The positions you held when you first drafted the essay may have changed, so note the places that need clarification and adjustment.
Professional Opinions
If you have an instructor who reads your first drafts and gives you written feedback, follow he nrotes. Instructors want their students to succeed; they have certain expectations for the assignment and can guide you through completing it successfully. If an instructor tells you that your thesis statement is weak or that your paper lacks coherency, don't take it as a personal insult. Go through your paper note by note and address the feedback you've received. If you don't understand something that your instructor has written, ask her for clarification. Ask your instructor to read a revised essay draft before submitting the final paper to make sure that you are on the right track.
Begin Again
You've collected pages of notes, dozens of marked-up drafts and had extensive conversations with your instructor. Now it is time to begin revising and rewriting your essay. Be flexible when approaching your revisions. Your thesis may need to be overhauled, paragraphs may be drastically altered or eliminated, new content may need to be written and that three-sentence conclusion you tacked on at the end of your paper will need to be expanded into a fully fleshed-out paragraph. The more rigidly you adhere to your first draft and the more resistant you are to change, the harder the revision process will be for you. Set aside plenty of time, listen to the feedback you've received and make sure that every paragraph of thought adequately addresses the essay properly.
