Global Structure

Revising for structure goes far beyond just making sure you have an introduction, body, and conclusion to an essay. When you revise for global structure, you want to consider how well all the parts of the essay work together and whether the order of ideas makes sense. Does necessary background information come first? Is there a clear connection between evidence and your commentary on that evidence? Does all the necessary evidence appear in the body of the essay? An essay that delays key details, separates evidence and commentary, or introduces new evidence in the conclusion will likely be very difficult to follow and leave a reader with more questions than answers.

There are a few strategies to help you revise your essay’s structure globally–that is, strategies that help you consider the overall organization of the essay. Drafting and revising often form a loop as an essay moves back and forth between the two stages; it is not uncommon for professional writers to go through many drafts and revisions before successfully creating a written piece that is ready for the next stage of editing.

Revising Stage 1: Seeing the Big Picture

In general, readers like to get the big picture up front. You can offer this in your introduction and thesis statement, or in smaller introductions to major sections within your document. However, you should also consider how much time your audience will have to read your document. If you are writing for a boss who already works long hours and has little or no free time, you wouldn’t want to write an introduction that rambles on for two and a half pages before getting into the information your boss is looking for.

When you first begin your revision process, you should focus on the big picture or issues at the essay level that might need to be addressed. The following questions will guide you:

  • Do you have a clear thesis? Do you know what idea or perspective you want your reader to understand upon reading your essay?
  • Is your essay well organized?
  • Is each paragraph a building block in your essay: does each explain or support your thesis?
  • Does it need a different shape? Do parts need to be moved?
  • Do you fully explain and illustrate the main ideas of your paper?
  • Does your introduction grab the reader’s interest?
  • Does your conclusion leave the reader understanding your point of view?
  • Are you saying in your essay what you want to say?
  • What is the strength of your paper? What is its weakness?

Revising Stage 2: Mid-View

The second stage of the revision process requires that you look at your content closely and at the paragraph level. It’s now time to examine each paragraph, on its own, to see where you might need to revise. The following questions will guide you through the mid-view revision stage:

  • Does each paragraph contain solid, specific information, vivid description, or examples that illustrate the point you are making in the paragraph?
  • Are there are other facts, quotations, examples, or descriptions to add that can more clearly illustrate or provide evidence for the points you are making?
  • Are there sentences, words, descriptions or information that you can delete because they don’t add to the points you are making or may confuse the reader?
  • Are the paragraphs in the right order?
  • Are your paragraphs overly long? Does each paragraph explore one main idea?
  • Do you use clear transitions so the reader can follow your thinking?
  • Are any paragraphs or parts of paragraphs redundant and need to be deleted?

Revising Stage 3: Editing Up Close

Once you have completed your revision and feel confident in your content, you’ll want to begin the editing stage of your revision and editing process. The “restatement” of one’s thesis in the draft will typically be a more clear and assertive version of the original thesis stated earlier in the essay. Alternately, it’s not uncommon for a rough draft to shift from its original thesis to a more nuanced argument in the process of drafting, and in this case there will be discrepancies between the original thesis and the conclusion of the draft. The most drastic version of this strategy is to remove one’s original introduction and replace it with the conclusion of one’s draft.

Watch IT: A Three-Step Revision Process

The following video recommends writing three additional drafts to fully revise an essay. In the first revision, you want to focus on the big picture and overall organization of the paper. In the second revision, focus on strengthening each paragraph, and on the third draft, review things at the sentence level.

You can view the transcript for “Three-step revision process” here (download).

Key Takeaway: Revision Checklist

In summary, the revision checklist found below will help you focus on some key issues as you revise your paper.

  • Have I conveyed the significance of my ideas to my readers? Is my purpose clear?
  • Does my essay meet the requirements of my assignment?
  • Is my focus too broad? Have I narrowed my topic well?
  • Is my organization plan effective?
  • Is there a way to make the concept I am discussing clearer and more focused?
  • Is the voice or style I am using appropriate for my audience?
  • Have I clearly defined any terms used?
  • Have I considered any possible objections to my position, if I take a position in this research essay?
  • Do I provide clear transitions between my ideas? Are there any gaps between my points?
  • Are there any points that need further explanation or detail?
  • Are there any points that need to be cut because they are not related to my focus?
  • Are my sources credible? Have I addressed this credibility in my writing?
  • Have I integrated my source material smoothly and effectively by providing signal phrases and/or context for this information?
  • Have I put some source material in my own words as much as possible and used quotes only when necessary?
  • Have I properly acknowledged all of my source material, including paraphrases and summaries?

More Points About Revision

Consider your audience receptiveness. Many writers tend to address counterarguments and rebuttals in the last few paragraphs of an essay–after all, when drafting, it’s usually easier to think of reasons to support your position than it is to think of problems or limitations with your ideas. If you are writing an argument that you think (or know) your audience is likely to disagree with, consider using the Rogerian method of argumentation to address alternate or opposing views early in the body of the essay. In the Rogerian method, once you’ve acknowledged those perspectives and demonstrated your understanding of why someone holds those views, you can then state your own position and proceed with your argument by rebutting those opposing views. This type of argument can be extremely persuasive and can help you, as a writer, understand your own biases and how you might work to find common ground with others.

Cut up your essay. This is a good strategy if you’re feeling particularly stuck in the revision process or just want to take a break from your computer screen. Format your essay so you have only 1 paragraph per page, and then print it out, making sure to only print on one side of the page. Once you’ve printed your essay, shuffle the pages and then spread them out. Now you can evaluate the order of paragraphs in the essay and easily move them around, trying out different ways of structuring your ideas. It can also be helpful to give the pages of your essay to a writing partner and ask him or her to organize them in a way that makes sense. Do the two of you agree on what structure makes sense? If you don’t, this is a great opportunity to discuss your ideas further with your partner.

Create a reverse outline. Also called a post-draft outline, this strategy asks you to create an outline of the draft you just wrote. Creating a “macro outline” allows you to focus on the “big picture” of an essay’s main points and support by using short phrases or keywords. A reverse macro outline is useful when writing about a variety of ideas and issues where the ordering of points is more flexible. A “micro outline” gets into the drilled-down, specific details of the essay’s content. It is particularly useful when the topic you are discussing is complex in nature. When creating a reverse micro outline, it can also be useful to insert the quotations you plan to include in the essay (with citations) and subsequent analyses of quotes. Taking this extra step helps ensure that you have enough support for your ideas and that the order of evidence and commentary makes sense throughout the entire essay.

practice

Consider this except from an essay on children and smartphone usage. Once you’ve read the paragraphs, arrange the sentences below to create a macro reverse outline for the essay.

Having a video or TV on when a child is doing something else can distract them from play and learning, negatively affecting their development. Hours of background TV has also been found to reduce child–parent interaction, which has an adverse impact on language development. This displacement is a big concern: if kids are left with screen-based babysitters then they are not interacting with caregivers and the physical world. There are only so many hours in a day, and the time spent with screens comes at the expense of other, potentially better, activities.

Under-threes, in particular, need a balance of activities, including instructed play, exploring the natural environment, manipulating physical toys and socializing with other children and grown-ups. The rise in screen use means less of all of these things. “Parents need to think strategically,” says pediatrician Dimitri Christakis, Director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “If your child has 12 hours awake and two of those are spent eating, how will you allocate the rest of the time?”

The problem is that tablets are extremely appealing to children and adults alike. Thanks to their design, versatility and intuitive interfaces, tablets are a perfect way for children to draw, solve puzzles, and be entertained on the move. Combine that with marketing efforts of digital media companies and app developers – whose measure of success tends to be the amount of time people are glued to their creation – and you have a toy that’s difficult to pry out of tiny hands.

Many apps are designed to be stimulus-driven, with exciting audiovisual rewards for completing tasks. Christakis refers to this as the “I did it!” response, which triggers the reward pathway in the brain. “The delight a child gets from touching a screen and making something happen is both edifying and potentially addictive,” he says.