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Guide to Writing and Research
Section 5: Revising,
Grammar, and Punctuation
Revision is the most important activity
in writing. As the old saying goes, there is no such thing as good writing; there is
only good revising.
Revision involves much more than simply changing words and
polishing up sentences. Revision should be a process, first, of reviewing
the ideas and the content,
and second, of expressing that content more strongly and more precisely.
Global Revision
Reviewing and changing the ideas, reasoning,
and conclusions of a piece of written work is called "global revision."
We often resist global revision because it is difficult
to distance ourselves from our own work. Reactions of other readers are very
helpful in the process of global revision. For this reason, many writers
work with writing groups to receive other perspectives about the work while it
is still in progress. In composition classes, the writing group is an
essential part of the learning process.
Global revision happens in cycles. The
following are some questions that may be asked in this process:
1. Are the ideas clearly focused? Is the reader's
attention directed unambiguously to the main points?
The introduction is a key part of this process of focusing
attention. Is it complete and specific enough to give the reader a
solid foundation for the major ideas?
The thesis should be clearly stated in the
introduction and the thesis defines the scope of the paper. A thesis
that is vague or too broad signals a vague or overly broad treatment of
the ideas.
Once the focus is sharp and clear, check
for areas in which the discussion has wandered beyond the scope of the
clearly defined topic and thesis, and delete the extraneous material.
2. Organization:
The major divisions of the paper should be logically
organized and easy to follow. Paragraphing structure is an essential part of this. The
topic sentences of paragraphs signal the logical development, so study the topic
sentence of each paragraph and see whether the ideas move along in a logical
progression. Problems may be solved simply by crafting a more
specific topic sentence, but often it is necessary to do some fundamental
restructuring of the paragraphs.
Where necessary, move blocks of text and create new
paragraph structures. For longer papers, use headings to help the reader follow the development.
3. Look carefully at the adequacy of the development of
the ideas.
Have sufficient examples, arguments, and other information been supplied to support the
ideas? If the ideas are fully developed, are the points logical? Rethink the
argument if
they are not.
4. Maintain a uniform point of view, usually
in the third person.
In academic writing, the third person is almost always
used (he/she/it/one/they). Use the first or second person carefully, and
only where appropriate.
5. Use devices to engage the audience, and
maintain an appropriate tone.
Think about the audience for the paper, and
imagine how they are likely to respond. What have you done in the the paper to interest the
reader in the subject? Is the structure, tone, and language appropriate for the
audience? For most college papers, use formal academic
language, and avoid slang, colloquial expressions, and overly informal
or familiar language. For example, when referring to an artist,
scholar, researcher, or writer, do not use the person's first name in the
paper, but use either the first and last names or only the last name
("Pablo Picasso" or "Picasso," not "Pablo").
Sentence-level revision
Once global revisions are completed, consider
the effectiveness of the expression of the ideas. These concerns
sometimes involve correcting grammatical errors in constructions, but often
also involve finding a stronger, a more succinct, or a more elegant way to
express a good idea.
1. The following strategies might be used to
strengthen sentences:
Check the verbs especially carefully, since they
propel the ideas. A more lively, more precise verb perks up the
sentence.
If you tend to construct wordy sentences,
trim unnecessary verbiage.
Arrange the sentence in a way that
highlights the important ideas. One simple test is to check for
sentences in which the main idea is placed in a subordinate clause.
Restructure the sentence so that the most important idea is emphasized in
the main clause.
2. Look for ways to clarify the expression
of ideas within the sentences.
Use parallel structure to clarify the
relationships between things and to strengthen the way in which the ideas
are expressed. (In Hamlet, Shakespeare
wrote "To be or not to be," and not "To be or
not being.")
Check for missing words that are necessary
for the reader's full understanding of the ideas.
Check the placement of modifiers and be
sure that the reference of modifiers is clear ("Throw Mamma from the
train a kiss.")
Check for verb tense shifts, and avoid
shifting tenses unnecessarily. In formal writing, avoid using the
present tense to relate an event that happened in the past ("She
comes into the room, sits down, and lights a cigarette"). This
style may be appropriate for fiction, but not for formal academic
writing.
3. Use variety in sentence structures.
Some writers tend to use many short,
simple sentences, with the result that the flow of ideas feels choppy to
the reader. Sometimes simple sentences are appropriate, but also use
compound and complex sentences to maintain the reader's interest.
Other writers tend to create sentences
that go on and on, combining several different subjects within the same
sentence. Be cautious in editing long sentences, however, and
avoid creating sentence fragments (These are sentences. That stop in
the middle of an idea. Become choppy. And incomplete.)
Vary sentence openings by using different
word order within the sentence. Remain conscious, however, of
the importance of emphasizing the main ideas within the sentence.
Grammar elements
Check carefully
for the following common grammar problems. The Bedford Handbook provides
more information about each of these problems, and a section reference to The
Bedford Handbook, Fifth Edition, is provided for each.
Writing is a creative process, and writers are unique in their manner,
facility, and power of expression. However, the permissible range of
creativity does not encompass grammatical errors, and there is little excuse for
submitting college-level work with substantial grammatical flaws.
(Note: in the grammar and punctuation sections, examples of incorrect
constructions are stated in bold.)
Sentence fragments (Section 19)
A sentence fragment lacks the necessary components of an independent
clause, a subject and a verb. (A sentence fragment lacks the
necessary components of an independent clause. A subject and a
verb.) Most sentence fragments occur in college students'
writing when a sentence is prematurely ended, and material that simply
completes the idea begun in the previous sentence is continued with a
fragment.
Run-on sentences and comma splices (Section
20)
A run-on sentence contains two or more
independent clauses that have not been properly joined. (Gestures
are a means of communication for everyone they are essential for the
hearing impaired.) This example can be fixed by inserting either
a comma and a coordinating conjunction ( , but) or a semicolon.
Another way in which run-on sentences are
created is by using the comma splice. (Gestures are a means of
communication for everyone, they are essential for the hearing impaired.)
The comma is used to separate ideas and is not grammatically capable of
joining independent clauses together to create a correct sentence. A
semicolon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction may also be used to
correct this problem.
Comma splices are also created when a
comma is used with a transitional expression other than a coordinating
conjunction (Gestures are a means of communication for everyone,
however, they are essential for the hearing impaired.) In this
case, the proper connector is a semicolon before
"however." ( ; however,)
Subject-verb agreement (Section
21)
Subjects and verbs must agree in person
(first, second, third), in number (singular and plural) and in tense
(present, past, future, etc.). Most mistakes in subject-verb
agreement come in sentences in which the subject and the verb are
separated by words that have a different person, number, or tense than the
subject (The tulips in the pot on the balcony needs watering).
In this sentence, "tulips" is the subject and requires the
plural form of the verb "need," despite the potentially
confusing presence of the singular "pot" separating the subject
and verb. One way to clarify these situations is to study the
sentence by mentally omitting the intervening material. One would
immediately recognize the error in saying "the tulips needs
watering" and correct it to say that the "tulips need
watering."
Pronoun-antecedent agreement (Sections
22, 23, 24, 25)
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents
in person, in number, in case (subjective, objective, and possessive), and
in gender. Problems in pronoun agreement are sometimes difficult to
resolve, and usually the best strategy is to consult a reference source
such as The Bedford Handbook when in doubt.
Form of adjectives and adverbs
(Section 26)
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns,
while adverbs, which often end in -ly, modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs. These problems are usually easy to resolve by analyzing the
relationships of the words within the sentence. (The manager must
see that the office runs smooth and efficient.) In this
sentence, "smooth" and "efficient" clearly relate to
how the office "runs," and thus are adverbs modifying a verb,
and must be in the form "smoothly" and
"efficiently" (The manager must see that the office runs
smoothly and efficiently.)
Sometimes the meaning of a sentence is altered by choosing an adjective
or adverb form. (The detective looked cautious.) In this
instance, "cautious" is an adjective describing how the detective
appeared. (The detective looked cautiously around the corner.)
In this sentence, "cautiously" modifies the way in which the
detective "looked" around the corner, and is thus an adverb.
Use standard verb forms, and verb tense,
mood and voice (Sections 27, 28)
Use of standard verb forms is an essential
skill in articulate writing, and sometimes requires that a writer consult
a source such as The Bedford Handbook to check irregular verb
forms. Minimizing the use of passive voice enlivens writing style.
Punctuation
Punctuation assists the reader in
understanding the relationships of the words in sentences. Some forms of
punctuation separate elements, while others join elements together. Most
elements of punctuation are used in more than one way, and it is sometimes
necessary to consult a source such as The Bedford Handbook for
information about precise use of each element.
comma (Sections 32, 33)
The comma is used to separate elements of
a sentence, for purposes of clarity. Some of the specific places
that require a comma are after an introductory phrase or clause, between
all items in a series (including the final item), and before a
nonrestrictive element. While proper use of commas clarifies
sentence structures, use of unnecessary commas actually can do more harm
than good.
semicolon (Section 34)
The semicolon may be the most unfamiliar
of the elements of punctuation to most college students. The primary
use of the semicolon is to connect major sentence components of equal
grammatical rank. For example, the semicolon is used to connect
independent clauses in a sentence; using a comma instead of a
semicolon in this sentence would produce a comma splice.
Another common use of the semicolon is to separate sections in a series of
items that have commas as internal punctuation within each section (Two
well-known science fiction stores include Star Trek, with Mr.
Spock, Captain Kirk, and, more recently, Captain Janeway; Battlestar
Galactica, with the Cylon Raiders; and Star Wars, with
Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
colon (Section 35)
The colon is used to introduce words that
follow it in the form of a list, an appositive, a quotation, or
material that explains. (Golf consists of four main phases:
the drive, the long game, the short game, and the putt.)
apostrophe (Section 36)
The apostrophe is used to signal the
possessive form of a noun, and to indicate that there is an omission in
contractions and in numbers. (The dog's teeth are very bright,
aren't they?) An apostrophe is not appropriate for the plural
of a noun (Umbrella's for sale today!).
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