| A Writer's Workshop: Crafting Paragraphs, Building Essays Bob Brannan,
Johnson County Community College
Revising Paragraphs
Summary1.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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