Editing and Revising

Major Style Strategies

Emphasize Major Points

· Narrative vs. Essay Form (Story vs. Argument)

· Subject/Topic – Predicate/Action (All sentences have both)

· Help the Reader

1. Paragraphs separating ideas

2. Signal phrases marking citations

3. Roadmaps (overview of upcoming sections)

Avoid Agentless Prose

· Agent-Action-Result

· Focus on agent to avoid “passive” voice

· But …sometimes you want to focus on the result of action, not the actor

Meet Audience Expectations

· Format

· Style

· Language

· Thesis in intro and conclusion