REVISION. The more 'natural' and coherent a graduation assignment seems to the reader, the more effort the writer has probably put into revision

The more 'natural' and coherent a graduation assignment seems to the reader, the more effort the writer has probably put into revision. Experienced writers know that writing is largely revising, and that the time and effort invested in revision will make the difference between clear and unclear writing.

To revise successfully, you need to read the first draft objectively. A natural reaction of many writers is to want to hold on to every word, sentence or paragraph, simply because they spent time on writing them! Allow a few days to help you develop an objective perspective and then try to read and evaluate the draft from the point of view of the reader.

Do not try to do all your revision at once, be systematic. You need to pay attention to many different elements of a draft, from overall organisation to choice of words. Read through the first draft several times, each time searching for and correcting a different set of problems.

A good way to start revising is to make sure that your Thesis Statement still suits your graduation assignment. If it does not, make your graduation assignment conform to it or modify your Thesis Statement (with the consent of your supervisor!). Next, check your draft for completeness. Your graduation assignment should cover exactly the amount of material that is needed to illustrate, clarify and prove your Thesis Statement, it should not burden the reader with unnecessary information or lead them into insignificant or only loosely related subjects. Check your draft against your Outline to make certain that you did, in fact, follow your plan. If not, insert any missing points into your draft.

A revision checklist may help you focus your attention as you evaluate your writing. The following checklist moves from the whole graduation assignment to chapters/paragraphs to sentences and words and finishes with an editing checklist (which focuses on technical features). Your supervisor will be checking these factors when assessing your graduation assignment.

6.1. Revision checklists

6.1.1. The whole report

1. Does the Thesis Statement clearly communicate focus and purpose of the graduation assignment?

2. Does the graduation assignment have a logical structure?

3. Is the tone of the graduation assignment suitable for its audience and is it consistent throughout?

4. Is the Thesis Statement supported by the main ideas of the (sub)chapters and paragraphs?

5. Has all the material promised by the Thesis Statement been covered?

6. Are the transitions between the (sub)chapters and paragraphs clear?

7. Do subchapters and paragraphs in a chapter cover separate but related main ideas?

8. Should certain paragraphs/(sub)chapters be combined?

9. Does the introduction lead into the Thesis Statement and the rest of the graduation assignment?

10. Has all the material that does not directly support or clarify the Thesis Statement been cut?

11. Is the length of each (sub)chapter or paragraph in proportion to the whole graduation assignment and the length of the other (sub)chapters and paragraphs?

12. Should major sections be rearranged?

13. Does the title reflect the contents of the graduation assignment?

14. Is the reasoning sound?

15. Is there a sufficient balance between desk- and field research?

16. Should there be more research to support certain arguments?

6.1.2. Chapters and paragraphs

1. Does the introduction to each chapter help your reader make the transition to the body paragraphs?

2. Does each paragraph express its main idea in a topic sentence?

3. Are the main ideas of the chapters/topic sentences of paragraphs clearly related to the Thesis Statement?

4. Does each chapter/paragraph contain specific and concrete support for its main idea? Do the details provide examples, reasons, facts?

5. Are the facts, figures, and dates accurate?

6. Is each chapter/paragraph arranged logically?

7. Does each (sub)chapter have an appropriate conclusion or transition to the next (sub)chapter?

8. Is the relationship between (sub)chapters/paragraphs clear?

6.1.3. Sentences and words

1. Have you corrected or eliminated incomplete sentences?

2. Do the sentences express clear relationships among ideas?

3. Have you used subordination and coordination?

4. Do the sentences vary in length?

5. Have you eliminated vague and unclear words or replaced them by accurate and exact words?

6. Does the word choice reflect a level of formality appropriate for a graduation assignment?

7. Have you avoided slang and colloquial language?

8. Do you avoid sweeping statements and cliches?

9. Do you avoid artificial language by eliminating unnecessary jargon or pretentious word choice?

6.1.4. Editing

1. Is the grammar correct? (pay special attention to tenses and adverbs!)

2. Is the spelling correct?

3. Have you correctly used commas, hyphens, (semi)colons, apostrophes, quotation marks?

4. Have you correctly used capital letters, italics or underlining, numbers and abbreviations?

5. Have you followed the format requirements of the graduation assignment? (Standards for Report Writing)

Finally, before you hand in your graduation assignment, proof-read it, i.e. read it line by line, looking for some final mistakes.