VCSEwiki:Revision of the text

Revise your text so that you improve its quality. Ask following questions:

• What works? What doesn't?

Then do 3 steps of revision:

1. Content.

• Have you explained why you conducted this research?
• Clarified how this research fits into other research?
• Given all necessary details? Reported results?
• Confirmed the logic of your reasoning and inference?

The text is your own original research on a topic, and quite possibly a unique way of looking at that research – you should defense it against educated audience, but also raise interest of your readers.

2. Organization.

• Do you need to reorganize sections of the paper? Revise main points for clarity?
• Use headings and sub-headings for clarification?
• Delete material? Add material? Insert transitions to connect sections of the paper to the thesis?

Working through paragraph by paragraph, ask yourself the purpose of each in terms of the thesis. Check the effectiveness of your organization by glossing the draft and then track your thoughts, outline your draft, or insert trial sub-heads. Improve your organization by inserting transitional phrases or paragraphs, or by adding clarifying and elaborating information.

3. Coherence.

• Do you offer a road map of your paper in your thesis statement and through your headings (if you use them)?
• Incorporate transitional devices?
• Stay consistent within topics?
• Use pronouns and repetitions within paragraphs to indicate continuation of the topic?
• Comment in the document about the significance to your argument of the information (especially direct quotations) that you have introduced?

Improve coherence by incorporating ideas using a consistent organizing principle, inserting transitions between sections, using topic sentences, and inserting headings and sub-headings.

Resources

KU Writing Center : Writing Guide: Research Papers {online}. Lawrence, Kansas, USA : University of Kansas, 2007 {2007-12-27}. WWW: <http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/docs/research.pdf>.