Revising Research Paper

Edit ASAP

-Don't wait too long after finishing a draft to edit it. -Momentum is key. -It's good to come back to it after one day

Print it out

-Editing oneself is about gaining distance from the work. -The best editing happens when you print out your work and read it again. -That said, you should put as much effort as you can into the piece before printing it out.

The longhand method

-Get away from the computer and write with a pen. -Your handwriting will force your brain to slow down and think things through. -You can't edit yourself as much with this method

Someone else reads it to you

-Hearing the words come out of someone else's mouth will change you hear it. -The language needs to stand on its own two feet. You can't put your special spin on it.

Change the font

-If you've been editing something for a while, it can help to change the font. -The words you've written may read in a fresh way

Hang up or lay out

-Print out the pages of your work and lay them out side by side. -Seeing your work positioned differently will give you a new perspective. -You can do this standing up, and see the totality of your work laid out. -Take a page at random and see if sounds right.

The inner corner

-Put yourself in someone else's shoes as you read your work, like a schoolteacher, or a monk, or someone who is likely to disagree with your position -Can be useful in making sure your argument is balanced

Send it out

-Send your work to a friend, even if they aren't going to read it. -Just by putting it out in the world, you may find that you see it in a different light. -Hard not to feel the overwhelming pressure of society's judgment bearing down on you as you read it.

Have a conversation

-Talk your work-in-progress over with a someone else. -The back and forth may inspire new ideas and clarify your own thoughts -This is good if you have a strong ego and don't mind someone not understanding your work-in-progress

Read out loud

-how different your work sounds when you read it out loud -more likely to hear what other people hear when they read your work -your words become "active." On the page, they are "still." The clunky words will gum up the works. -If something sounds wrong to you when you read it, you should change it.

A long break

Wait a really long time to read your work so you can come back to it with fresh eyes and see your work objectively