While the step of reviewing and revising your writing before final submission is not always assigned or scored, it is always expected and assumed. Editing is part of writing and occurs throughout the construction process. You may read a sentence or paragraph after you write it to catch typos and then read it again when it becomes part of a larger section. Reading and reviewing as you write is a great way to check for sentence-level edits such as a missing or misspelled word or an extra or omitted comma. Revision, however, is more extensive and can include modifying and improving higher order elements of the submission. 

Reading a completed draft closely and critically before submission can be called Self Review. Including time for Self Review and creating a specific approach to it as a process step provides you with the opportunity to read your submission carefully, which we don’t always give ourselves time to do before we submit. During this close review process, most students catch many of the errors or omissions that would impact their score. Many students even realize that they knew much of what needed to be done but simply had not read the paper critically with a reviewer’s eye and intention.

Practicing Self Review also teaches you how to review and revise your work independently so that when you are in courses that do not require this step, you will know how to do it and how important it is to do. When students experience the impact review and revision can have on their grades they, tend to make some type of review and revision part of their writing process. Submitting stronger work to your Instructors and peers will not only improve your grade, it will help build confidence.

Because revision occurs at the end of the writing process, it runs the risk of being overlooked simply because we run out of time. Including time to revise your writing will have a significant impact on your process and product in this class and beyond because revision is often the most important step in the writing process. While it may seem like revision is a quick final step in the writing process, it can and should be given significant time (as much as 25%) in your overall plan. 

Self Review is the process of reading of the submission for both the sentence-level and formatting concerns, as well as the higher order expectations (HOCs) of the assignment and should be guided by what you want to read the submission for—ideally the major elements and the criteria expected in the assignment, but other elements can be emphasized. The best way to approach Self Review is to read through your final draft at least twice making edits and comments throughout the text.

The first read can look for sentence-level edits and corrections and comment on all elements of formatting, as well as paying close attention to grammar/spelling/mechanics and any other patterns you know you are likely to need to catch in an edit based on your personal patterns noticed in early drafts. Here are some major elements to look for and at when reviewing university-level papers:

• First page formatting (MLA top left should have name, instructor, course, date)
• Margins (one inch), spacing (double), font (TNR 12, Arial 12)
• Pagination (insert page number top right, type Last name then space before #)
• Title (centered, not bold or underlined, no extra line after it)
• Signal phrases (MLA present tense verb and author(s) last name when new source introduced and appropriate verb to introduce all subsequent material from that source)
• In-text citations (formatted correctly for quoted or paraphrased source material)
• Paragraph indentions (standard tab)
• Reference page (MLA Works Cited, title, separate page, alpha order)
• any other basics of the assignment . . . 

Sentence-level errors and typos cannot be divorced from the overall expectations of the assignment because causing your reader confusion directly impacts comprehension and clarity. In other words, while you will not fail for forgetting one comma, a pattern of misused commas is no longer about commas but becomes about clarity. 

After you catch sentence-level typos on your first read, read the text again and begin rethinking and revising for improvements instead of corrections. Focus on reading for the intellectual expectations of the genre and assignment, including considerations of how the assignment will be evaluated. Depending on the assignment, a second read can look for aspects such as:

• fulfilling the assignment or answering the research question, 
• an intro paragraph that introduces the topic or outlines the main points or states the thesis, 
• the strongest arguments in strongest order,
• signal phrases with an appropriate verb, 
• relevant and integrated source material, 
• fulfillment of intellectual requirement for genre (analysis, synthesis, opposition, refutation, persuade, dissuade), 
• concision (how much content can you cut?), 
• audience awareness and appeal, 
• where and how can you add creativity and your own touches, and
• any other relevant aspects of the assignment. 

After moving through the process for the first major assignment, you will develop your personal checklist for basics that can be used early in your revision process. And even when review is not an assigned and scored step, your product will benefit greatly by recognizing the need for this step and including revision in your plan.

Once you complete your Self Review and make the edits, read through the polished draft one final time. Then consider any feedback from your peers or instructor before finalizing your submission. Careful readers and strong students often print their paper for a final read.    

1. Revisit our resource on Self Review.
   1. List two direct quotes from the first page and two direct quotes from the second page, and explain a valuable takeaway from each quote and how you can apply it.  
2. Review the two bulleted checklists included in the Self Review handout.
   1. Create a checklist you can use to review an essay. Include 5 sentence-level elements you can check and 5 higher-order elements.
3. Attach a copy of any other paper you are currently in the process of writing or revising (P2 in 1101 may be a good option).
   1. Attach a copy of the checklist you created, and write 1 sentence under each of the 10 items on your checklist explaining how you checked your essay for that item.
   2. Highlight 3 sentences on your paper that would benefit from a sentence-level revision.
      1. Paste a before-and-after for each sentence demonstrating the three sentence-level revisions you made below your checklist.
   3. Highlight 3 sections on your paper that would benefit from a higher order revision. One should be the thesis.
      1. Paste a before-and-after for each section demonstrating the three sentence-level revisions you made below your checklist.

Upload a document with your responses to all points of all 3 questions and a link to the essay you used in Canvas for Week 9.