Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

Literary Analyses / 229

Finally, add a conclusion that effectively ties together your main ideas with a
clincher (in a paragraph) or a concluding paragraph (in a longer paper). [For addi-
tional help with conclusions, see Writing a Paragraph or Writing a Multi-Paragraph
Paper in Chapter 2, Writing.]

STEP 8: Revising—Polishing the Content

If you have followed the suggestions in these steps, your first draft will be in reason-
ably good shape. Take time now to review the items in Step 7, checking to see that
you have indeed heeded their advice.

When you feel satisfied, ask yourself the following questions to check for other areas
of possible weakness:

•    Have I used good sentence structure?

•    Does the structure emphasize main ideas? [See Sample Revision for Emphasis

in Chapter 3, Revising.]

•    Is the structure varied? [See Sample Revision for Sentence Variety in Chapter 3,

Revising.]

•    Have I maintained a consistent third-person point of view?

•    Have I used the present tense to discuss the author’s work and the past tense to

describe the author’s background?

•    Have I used specific rather than general words and phrases? [See Sample

Revision for Specific Detail in Chapter 3, Revising.]

•    Have I avoided plagiarism by using quotation marks around words not my

own? [See plagiarism in the Glossary.]

•    Have I eliminated any materials that do not support my main idea? [See

Sample Revision for Unity in Chapter 3, Revising.]

•    Have I included adequate transitions to provide coherence between sentences

and paragraphs? [See Sample Revision for Transition in Chapter 3, Revising.]

Revise your first draft so that it reads smoothly and follows good writing style.

STEP 9: Proofreading—Checking the Mechanical

Details

When you have the content molded into a solid, well-developed composition, make a
final check for the mechanical details. Be particularly careful in checking quotations
or references from outside sources. Check not only for accuracy in quotations and in
their punctuation, but also for accuracy in documentation. [See Chapter 34, Research
Paper, for additional information.]