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PERSUASIVE

RESEARCH ESSAY:

MAJOR REVISIONS

WRD104: Composition & Rhetoric

II

Winter 2014

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PROOF READING

Addressing Lower

Level Concerns:

Grammar

Spelling

Proper &

Appropriate

Formatting

All elements in the

e-Portfolio should

beproofread

Print out your texts

Read them out loud

Do in chunks in

short periods of

time

Do when all

revisions are done

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EDITING

Still addressing

Lower Level

Concerns:

Word Choice

Sentence

phrasing

Specifyingpronouns

All elements in thee-Portfolio should beedited

Separate you

document bysentence; read eachone out loud slowly.Is it complete andclear on its own?

Underline allpronounsis it clearwhich each refers to?

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REVISION

Addressing Higher Order Concerns:

Is it answering the prompt?

Is it worth saying?

Does it communicate what you intend?

Is it organized and structured?

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REVISION

You must conduct a Major Revision of

your Persuasive Research Essay and

display it in your Final e-Portfolio

This will account for 5% of your Overall

WRD104 Grade

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WHY REVISE?

Writing is a process; as we engage in this process,we discover new connections

Revising lets us see our writing from a criticalperspective Reconsider your arguments

Refine your purpose

Review your evidence

Reorganize your presentation & structure

Polish your tone

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HOW TO REVISE?

Wait: Give yourself space from your draft to see itanew

Prioritize: Dont try to do it all in one sitting you

are guaranteed to make more improvements bydoing a little at a timefocus on one type ofrevision at a time

Try varying the mediumprint out drafts, changethe font type and size, or make other changes tohelp see it anew

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HOW TO REVISE

Review the Assignment Prompt & Guidelines

Identify the main components of the assignment (seethe guidelines)

Underline where in your essay you accomplish eachelement of the assignment

For each element you identify, critically assesswhether this element is strong enoughif not, howcan you improve on this element

If elements are missing, begin to develop these newelements

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HOW TO REVISE

Focus on your thesis statement: Does it address you claim and call to action?

Does it indicate each of the main reason you provide tosupport your claim and call to action?

Try a reverse outline to check!

Does it make a sophisticated point, or is this somethingany one could say?

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HOW TO REVISE

Focus on your organization: Highlight all of your topic sentences and transitions

Do all of the topic sentences clearly connect to your thesis

statement? If not, consider the purpose of the paragraph, and rework to

support your thesis

Do all of your transitions fluidly indicate the connection

between the ideas of the paragraphs involved? If not, rework to more clearly connect these concepts (you

might even have to move the paragraphs altogether)

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HOW TO REVISE

Focus on the essay as a whole:After a break of a couple hours, or preferably a day, read

the essay out loud.

Make a mark at any point where you stumbled, paused,or got confused while reading Make sure you read all the way through before fixing anything

Identify the root problem of each instance:

Long sentences can be revised to be more direct by usingActive Verbs or broken down into smaller sentences

Ambiguous sentences can be revised by identifyingspecific nouns (they that he/she)

Polish the integration of quotes to ensure they are fluid andclear and fit with your words

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HOW TO REVISE

Go over previous feedback

Look at all the feedback youve received this

quarter

Identifypatternsin my comments & peer

review partners comments

Identify if you are still making these choices,

and revise them to resolve the issue

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HOW TO REVISE

Get as much feedback as possible! Have an informal peer review session with your cohort

group

Visit the Writing Center

bring the assignment prompt

www.depaul.edu/writing

Have someone who doesnt know about the topic identifyelements needing more explanation

Have someone who disagrees with your stance identifyways of improving counterarguments

http://www.depaul.edu/writinghttp://www.depaul.edu/writing

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REVISION REMINDERS

Give your self time to revise in several sittings

dont try to do it all at once

Use Save As and make multiple drafts, rather Save over one

draft

Dont be afraid of dramatic or big changes

Writing is a processbig changes demonstrate progress in yourthinking

Dont be sad about cutting something you like if it doesntrelate, doesnt match your tone, or is just confusing

Save it! You might be able to use it some where else