94 / Methods of Development
STEP 8: Revising—Improving the Content
When you have completed the first draft, revise. Every paper can be improved, so exam-
ine your description using the following questions to suggest possible improvements:
-^ Does my topic or thesis sentence clearly state my subject and identify the
attitude of my description?
- Do^ I^ follow^ a^ specific^ organizational^ plan?^
-^ Is the organizational plan effective, or would my paper be better using a
different one? - Does^ my^ paper^ maintain^ a^ consistent^ tone^ throughout?^ [See tone in the Glossary.]
- Have^ I^ added^ adequate^ details^ to^ clarify^ the^ subject^ being^ described?^ [See
Sample Revision for Specific Detail in Chapter 3, Revising.] - Do^ the^ details^ stimulate^ the^ reader’s^ five^ senses,^ or^ at^ least^ most^ of^ them?
- Where^ appropriate,^ do^ figures^ of^ speech^ enhance^ the^ description?
- Does^ the^ vocabulary^ suit^ the^ subject,^ attitude,^ and^ audience?
- Does^ the^ sentence^ structure^ add^ emphasis^ or^ variety?^ [See Sample Revision for
Sentence Variety in Chapter 3, Revising.] - Does^ the^ paper^ maintain^ unity?^ [See Sample Revision for Unity in Chapter 3,
Revising.]
-^ Are transitions adequate to move the reader smoothly from sentence to
sentence and from paragraph to paragraph? [See transitions in the Glossary
and Sample Revision for Transition in Chapter 3, Revising.] - Does^ the^ paper^ avoid^ flowery^ modifiers,^ using^ instead^ strong^ nouns^ and^ verbs?^
[See Sample Revision for Wordiness in Chapter 3, Revising.] - Does^ the^ conclusion^ end^ the^ paper^ effectively?^ [See conclusion in the Glossary.]
[For additional, more general guidelines, see Chapter 3, Revising.]
STEP 9: Proofreading—Checking the Details
When you have completed revising, proofread your paper for accuracy. Check punc-
tuation, grammar, mechanics, and usage [see Part IV for rules and examples]. Check
spelling and word choice.
WRITING-ACROSS-THE-CURRICULUM MODELS
Any piece of writing must be tailored to the audience who will read it. Thus, in addi-
tion to the sample description paper below, you will find online five additional sam-
ples, tailored for other audiences, along with their respective analyses.