Assignment: Revision Activity
Complete the following revision activities to help you to revise your final paper.
Activity I: Memory draft (5 minutes)
o Set aside what you have written
o WITHOUT looking at your paper, try to write your introduction and thesis from memory
Activity II: Reverse Outline (20 minutes)
• Number the paragraphs of your paper.
• On a separate sheet of paper, or using note cards, list the number of paragraphs in your paper, giving a line or two for each number (or a card for each)
• Turn to your paper, read the first paragraph, and write on your list or card the main point you make in this paragraph.
o If you can't summarize the content of a paragraph, you probably have multiple ideas in play in that paragraph that may need revising, note each of the ideas expressed in the paragraph.
• Do the same for each paragraph of your paper in turn.
• Now focus on your list (or cards), which reflects the direction of your paper
o How well does the list cohere?
o How does one idea connect to the next?
o Are the connections between ideas made explicit in your writing?
• Use your outline to do four things:
o See whether each paragraph plays a role in supporting your thesis.
o What needs to be revised - your thesis? Or the order of the points in your argument?
o Look for unnecessary repetition of ideas.
o Compare your reverse outline with your paper to see whether the sentences in each paragraph are related to the main point of that paragraph, per the reverse outline.
Reflect:
o What did you learn from these revision activities?
o What is your next step in writing / revising your paper?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.