Revision Procedure

If you are not satisfied with the grade you receive on a paper (late papers not eligible), you have exactly one week from the day I hand back the paper to the class as a whole to revise and resubmit it for a better grade (one revision per paper).  Be warned, however, that it is not easy to improve the grade on a paper.  Revision is not simply editing, such as fixing spelling and grammar.  I expect you to carefully reexamine your paper in light of the comments that I (and others) offer.  Revision is Rethinking, Reseeing, and Reshaping.  The comments I write are not step-by-step instructions to an “A,” but invitations to take another look at the specific elements I indicate and at the paper as a whole.  I will never lower your grade for rewriting, but unless the changes you make are significant and for the better, do not expect your grade to change.  In other words, you receive no credit for simply trying.  Follow this procedure every time you revise a draft for submission.

Turn in all previous drafts (especially the one I graded) and peer evaluations in a manila folder.  Arrange them chronologically, newest to oldest.

Using a hi-lighter pen, mark on the revised draft (newest copy) the changes you have made.  Briefly describe in the margin what the change was and why you made it.  For example, if you dropped a paragraph, mark the place with an arrow and tell me what you did and why:  “Took out a paragraph to enhance logic.”  If you rewrote three sentences in a paragraph, mark the sentences and tell me why:  “Rewrote choppy, awkward sentences to improve the rhythm of paragraph.”  Be as specific as you can about the revisions you made.

WARNING:

I will not grade the paper unless you have followed this procedure.