146 / Types of Writing
STEP 5: Revising—Improving the Content
Next, reread for content. Ask yourself these questions to determine if certain parts
may benefit from revision:
-^ Does my introduction grab the reader’s attention in the same manner as the
opening minutes of a good television drama or movie?
-^ Does the introduction help the reader focus on the narrowed subject of the
sketch, a particular event, object, or person that has influenced me?
-^ Does the sketch read almost like fiction, maintaining interest, even suspense,
while offering nonfiction details?
-^ Will dialogue, or additional dialogue, make the sketch more readable, more
real, more human?
-^ When the reader finishes the sketch, will he or she understand why or how the
event, object, or person influenced me?
- Does^ the^ sketch^ conclude^ or^ merely^ quit?^ Does^ an^ effective^ clincher^ tie^ together^
the contents? - Have^ I^ used^ a^ personal^ style^ that^ offers^ additional^ insight^ for^ the^ reader?
- Have^ I^ varied^ my^ sentences,^ both^ by^ length^ and^ by^ structure?^ [See Chapter 3,
Revising, Sample Revision for Sentence Variety.] - Have^ I^ maintained^ effective^ emphasis?^ [See Chapter 3,^ Revising, Sample
Revision for Emphasis; see also Chapter 3, Revising, for additional suggestions
for general revision.]
STEP 6: Proofreading—Checking the Details
Finally, check for mechanics, grammar, and usage. [See Part IV.] If you have used
dialogue, be sure to double-check punctuation and paragraphing of the quotations.
Check word choice and spelling.
saMPle autobioGraPHy
Following the preceding steps, the writer has prepared the suggested list of questions,
examined them, and chosen the following question on which to base her autobiog-
raphy: Why did I enjoy being alone in a crowd? Notice that the question itself never
appears in the autobiography, but the answer is obvious by the end of the sketch.
Alone in a Crowd
Last year, just prior to our community’s annual Fall Festival, the small weekly newspaper
that I work for gave me what I thought was the ideal assignment. I was to spend as much
time as possible during the week-long festivities capturing those so-called human-interest