Global Revision Strategies 15
TLC/College of the Canyons
Global Revision asks you to look at big picture issues in your writing assignment. To revise globally, you will make sure that you’ve
included all the information you need to accurately and effectively complete your assignment.
To Begin Global Revision:
• Think of “revision” as “re-vision;” in other words, seeing your paper with new eyes
•
•
Give yourself time in between finishing a first draft and revising
Review the assignment to make sure you have met all requirements Create New Content:
“Writing well involves two gifts—the art of adding and the art of taking away. Of the two, the first is more
important, since without it the second could not exist.” --John Updike
Once you have completed a first draft, take time to create new content that can support your ideas. You may come up with excellent new
ideas in the phase that will enhance your paper. Also, since you are writing more than the required amount, you have the luxury of
deciding what text you want to keep and what you want to delete.
Strategies to Create New Content:
• Draft generously and recklessly: Write everything you can think about your topic.
• Choose Key Sentences: Select a key sentence from your assignment. Then, take five minutes to
freewrite on that sentence. Write everything you can about that sentence without
worrying about spelling or grammar. When you are done, read through your freewrite
to see if there is any material you can use in your essay. Repeat this process with other
key sentences. Click here to see an example.
• Write a Memory Draft: Put away the draft you have been working on. Write a new
draft from memory. When you are done, compare and contrast the two drafts. Did you
add any important new content? Did you phrase your ideas more clearly? Use any material from the
memory draft that you think is better than the original draft.
• Key Terms: Read through your text and look for key terms. These terms may be
important for understanding the text, words with multiple meanings, difficult terms, or
terms the average reader may be unfamiliar with. Highlight or underline these words.
Then, research the terms. What research could you include in your draft? What
information will the audience need to understand your ideas? Click here to see an
example.
• Play Devil’s Advocate: Imagine what people who disagree with your argument would say. Write a draft
from their perspective. Consider their points carefully and represent them fairly (in other words, in the
same way they would represent their ideas themselves). Did this help you come up with new ideas? Can
you use any of this new content in your draft?
• Address the Counterargument: By now, you should have considered what people who disagree with
your argument would say. How would you respond to their ideas? How can you show them that you are
still correct? Or, if you have to concede a point, how will you revise your own argument?
• Ask Questions: As you read through your text, ask yourself critical questions like
“how?,” “why?,” and “so what?” Then, work on answering those questions. When you
are done, reread your answers to determine what content you might use in your draft.
Click here for an example.
• Discuss Your Ideas: Talk about your argument with friends or family members (preferably those who are
not in class with you). Be sure they understand your points and have all the information they need to
agree or disagree with you.
Created February 2015
Global Revision Strategies 15
TLC/College of the Canyons
Key tip for creating new content: Don’t say “no!” Write everything down, even if you’re not sure if you like it or
if you’ll use it. You never know when a passing thought will turn into a great idea!
Evaluate and Cut Content:
“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
--Stephen King
One of the most challenging tasks of global revision is deciding whether or not to keep the text that you have written. However, cutting
the less-relevant or less-useful text will make your paper stronger in the long run.
Strategies for Evaluating and Cutting Content:
• Recognize Potential: Review your draft for material that has potential—it’s not perfect yet (it may not even be
close to perfect), but it has the potential to be good with some revision.
• Use Your Assignment Prompt and Your Thesis: Review both the prompt and the thesis statement. Then, use those
documents to help you decide what material to keep. If the material doesn’t answer the prompt and doesn’t
support the thesis, you should cut it.
• Check for Argument Consistency: Be sure all of your text supports the overall argument of the essay. At the end of
the paragraph, ask yourself, “how does this support my thesis?” If the paragraph does not support the thesis, cut it.
• Have a Voice: You should be the chief voice in your essay. It is up to you, the author, to show readers how all your
information connects. Check your essay for over-quoting; then, add context (background information) or analysis
(your interpretation) to the quotes. You might cut some quotes, or cut down quotes to focus on key words and
phrases.
• Practice Audience Awareness: Write the first draft for yourself and later drafts for your audience. Think about
what the audience needs to know to support your ideas. Ask yourself:
o What is the best way to present my argument to my audience?
o What should I change or cut to appeal to my audience?
• Find the Orphans: Look for undeveloped ideas. If these ideas support the thesis, consider developing them further.
If they do not support the thesis, they should be cut.
• Triage Your Text: Use the following code to decide what to do with your paragraphs: o 1: The material is good and
I will keep it.
o 2: The material is OK, but I should cut it in half.
o 3: The material should be cut entirely.
• Perform Bypass Surgery: Consider cutting whole chunks of text. This might make more sense to readers than
trying to cut small pieces of text here and there.
• Write a Half Draft: Imagine that your page limit has been cut in half. For example, if you are supposed to write a 6
page paper, imagine that your page limit is 3 pages. Write a new draft of the paper that is half the length. This will
help you decide what material is the most essential to your paper. Then, you can decide if what material you want
to develop in greater detail OR what material you would add to the paper.
• Be Ruthless: Cut any material that doesn’t make your paper stronger, even if cutting is difficult. You will have a
better paper in the end!
Key tip for cutting content: Before permanently deleting, use the strikethrough tool or save the text in a different file. That way, you can
still recover or revise that text just in case you need it.
Final Tip: Writing is a process; be prepared to go through these strategies multiple times to create the best paper you can!
Happy revising!
Created February 2015