At the heart of the process approach to writing is revision. When writers revise, they assess the strengths and weaknesses of what they have written so far and change the content of their writing to make it more rhetorically effective and interesting for the readers as well as more satisfying for the writer. True revision involves much more than surface-level proofreading and editing. When writers revise, they re-see their message and their approach to the very subject of the piece. A writer committed to revision has no shortcuts around it. Through revision, the text is substantially changed, developed, or expanded.

Revising a text requires a certain a mindset. Authors who are committed to the idea of revision need to get rid of the popular perception that good writers create their works when struck by inspiration and in one sitting. They need to understand and get accustomed to the idea that writing is not a “one-shot” activity. It is not a timed contest where you only get one try. Rather, any kind of writing is a creative process, and, like all processes, it has stages. It allows the writer the opportunity to improve over time, to make changes, to read and reread what has already been written, think about it, discuss it with others, and improve it.

As you experiment with the revision strategies below, remember that making changes to the content of your text is the essence of revision. As a writer, you should not get too attached to your current draft. Instead, you should be able to distance yourself from it, evaluate it as critically as possible, and reimagine it in a new light. These revision techniques are designed to help you do just that.

Ask Focusing Questions

Focus in writing is the issue, or subtopic, that is at the center of a given text. For example, it’s possible for a piece of writing to focus on many different aspects of a general topic like “surfing.” One writer may choose to write about the history of surfing, while another might decide to create an instructional manual teaching the basic techniques of the sport. Yet another may want to write a personal narrative about memorable surfing experiences, and so on. A first draft of a text is not always focused because, in a first draft, most writers explore the possibilities their subject has to offer and test the various directions in which they can take their writing. Therefore, one of the tasks you may face after you write the first draft of your work is to make sure that you have a clear focus, that you stick to that focus, and that you communicate it clearly to your reader.

Searching and (Re)Searching

If you are writing something that incorporates research of some kind, then once you start revising your writing, you’ll need to think about whether you need to find additional (or perhaps better) sources about your topic. Because writing is a recursive process, when you begin a research writing project, you never really know what you will find. So, once you have created a first draft of the project, you will ideally have new questions about your topic. To answer those questions, try to search for new sources, even if that will mean replacing the sources you found previously.

Seeking Feedback from Others

Because writing is a social process, it is impossible to compose without getting feedback on your work in progress. The comments and questions you receive from your readers in the process of writing a paper will help you revise and improve your writing. They will also help you to fine-tune your writing to your readers’ needs and expectations. This is why writers must actively seek feedback on their writing and use that feedback critically in their revisions.

Peer review is one useful way to get feedback. Your instructor may ask you to complete peer reviews at various times during the semester. A large part of a successful peer response process is the mindset of the participants. Your goal as a writer seeking feedback should be to engage others, your readers, in a conversation about your ideas and your text. Tell your readers about the kinds of problems you are experiencing with the writing and about the questions you have.

As a reader of the writing by others, your goal should be not to criticize, dismantle, and destroy their draft. Your goal is not to fix their grammar mistakes or proofread their paper for them. Instead, your strategic goal as a reader and responder is to help them take their texts where they, not you, want it to go by giving constructive, thoughtful, and detailed feedback.

Distance Yourself

One reason why revision can be so hard is because of how close we are to our own writing projects. After doing all of the difficult, creative work of choosing a topic, developing content, organizing what we have to say, and finding evidence to support our message, it’s not easy to see what’s working and what isn’t. We can even miss simple grammar errors when reading our own writing. We know what’s supposed to be there, so our eyes and our minds skip right over the mistake.

This is why it’s so important to take some distance from your writing. If you’ve gotten an early enough start on your writing project, consider setting it aside for a day or two before you read it again and develop a plan for revision. Taking that break can help you to see your writing with fresh eyes.

There are also certain reading strategies that you can use in order to see your writing with fresh eyes. First, consider reading your paper aloud. Sit or stand facing a wall in the classroom or at home. Shut out the outside world. Now, read the paper out loud to yourself, slowly and deliberately. Pay attention to separate words, phrases, and sentences. Alternatively, consider reading your paper backwards. Start reading it from the last sentence on the last page. Both of these reading strategies can help you to pay attention to sentences and words. Because of that, they’re especially useful when it’s time to edit your paper.

Editing and Proofreading

Any written text can be changed and improved almost indefinitely. However, there comes a time in every writing project when the writer has to polish up the final product by editing and proofreading it. What editing strategies you will choose to employ will depend on the kind of style you want your writing to have. If you want terse and compact language, you will edit for conciseness. If you want an elaborate style, you will want to make sure that every sentence and every phrase is clear and says what you want it to say. In either case, editing is a rhetorical task, and the choice of writing style depends on your rhetorical purpose, the audience for which you are writing, and the context in which you are writing. Becoming a good editor of your own and others’ texts takes a lot of practice. You can read Chapter 14: Editing and Chapter 13: Style in this textbook for further advice.

Conclusion

We hope that this chapter has given you a foundational understanding of the writing process and shown you how to apply the process to your own writing and research. We invite you to use and test the ideas and strategies you have read about in this chapter.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the process approach to writing that sets it apart from others is the way in which the process approach empowers writers. Instead of directing writers towards some set of rigid and inflexible rules about writing, the process approach encourages us become aware of the strategies and techniques that work best for us. As with any theory, following the process approach of writing means adhering to certain guidelines and principles. However, within those principles the process theory allows writers considerable flexibility and independence.