Revising/Editing

Often overlooked, revision can be a writer's best friend. Here are some basic things to look for:

Staying Consistent
Any extraneous information should be eliminated, including unnecessary summary. Overall, make sure any information in your paper is constantly supporting your thesis.

Organization
Is the information in your paper in a logical, sequential, and/or chronological order? Would you be able to easily create an outline or summary?

Being Specific
Avoid general statements and look at your pronoun usage to see if it is clear what noun you are referring to. Look at sentences using "that" or "which." Can the reader identify what these words referencing?

Transitions
Does information flow smoothly from one idea to the other? Are there noticeable gaps where the paper jumps to the next topic? See online examples of transition words.

Grammar and Punctuation
Professors tend to become annoyed by mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, as well as spelling errors and "typos." Avoiding these mistakes may be the difference between two letter grades. Proofread your paper or have a friend read it over. For more help, look at these online handouts geared toward common grammatical error patterns.