Revision can be one of the most important, instructive, and even pleasurable parts of the writing process.

Focus on the Thesis

mind map or cluster is a method of brainstorming that allows you to draw connections between ideas.  To make a cluster, start with a big concept related to your assignment prompt. Write this in the center of a page or screen and circle it. Think of ideas that connect to the big concept or branch out of it. Write these around the big concept and draw connecting lines to the big concept. As you think of ideas that relate to any of the others, create more connections by writing those ideas around the one idea that connects them and draw connecting lines. Notice that you can use color, larger type, etc., to create organization and emphasis.

Annotating can help us stay focused on, and emotionally and intellectually connected to, what we are reading. It suggests that we feel empowered to speak back to the text.

Below are the common steps most writers follow to move through the early stages of murky thoughts. In general, the order of these steps makes sense, but we are not bound to it. We can customize the process to fit our own style and the particular assignment.  The key is to notice what is challenging at each point and find the strategy that will help the most. Often, a question or problem will arise as we work, and returning to an earlier strategy in the writing process can help us resolve the difficulty.  Studying the prompt: The instructor's guidance can help us focus our efforts from the start so we don't spend time writing something that doesn't fit the assignment.  Reading and annotating: Reading, rereading, and making notes on other texts is often the first step toward coming up with our own contribution to the larger conversation. As we have seen, most college writing comments on or responds to the arguments of others.  Generating ideas: Various prewriting strategies can help us decide what to write about and gather specifics to support or explain what we want to say. Planning how to organize the ideas: Outlines, formal or informal, can help us structure the essay. Drafting: Writing the first version of the essay, often called the rough draft. Most writers go through many drafts. Revising: Reconsidering the ideas and content of the essay as well as refining the style and structure of the paper. Editing: Correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics. We can also call this proofreading. Publishing: Sharing the final draft with others