Summary

1.

When revising your first draft, focus on issues related to content and organization.

2.

If your paragraph is a description, consider the following questions:

* Are you really describing a place and not slipping into narrative?
* Does your description have an overall point?
* Are you occasionally telling your reader what to think about the details?
* Are you using enough specific language?

3.

If your paragraph is a narrative, consider the following questions:

* Has your narrative gotten out of hand and grown into a sort-of essay?
* How well have you sketched the setting?
* Have you described people sufficiently?
* Is the significance of the event clear?

4.

If your paragraph is expository (illustration, classification, cause and effect, process analysis, comparison/contrast), consider the following questions:

* Have you used three or four examples, or have you only developed one?
* Have you clearly arranged your main examples--either by time or importance?
* Are your examples fully explained and developed?

6.

When editing a paragraph with any pattern of development, pay close attention to spelling, sound-alike words, missing words, wrong words, sentence fragments, comma splices/run-ons, capitalization, and other mechanical issues.

7.

Proofreading is the last step in the preparation of your paper. This is where you put on the final polish before handing in your work.

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