Improving the Revision Process 1

8/3/2019 Improving the Revision Process 1

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This workshop will focus on the importance of the revision process, some 6ps on improving

the process, and how to fix certain persistent structural errors that are commonly found in

the academic wri6ng of Spanishspeakers.

INTHIS FIRST SESSION we will talk about the revision process and the elements of good/

effec6ve revision and get you thinking about the things you can do now to improve your

revision process. Well end with a preview of the kinds of structures well tackle in the

remaining sessions.

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You need to revise your wri6ng for three things: (1) content, (2) organiza6on/coherence and

(3) language. Your first revision cycle should focus on (1) and (2). Once you are sa6sfied with

those, you can then sit down and really focus on revising for language, something you need

to take extra care with when wri6ng in English.

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You need these three things to effec6vely revise your wri6ng.

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Sorry! It takes TIME to do a good revision job. Theres no avoiding it, so you must plan it into

your process, both for yourself and for other people who review your wri6ng. Not giving the

6me needed to revising will inevitably result in an inferior product, and may very well end up

cos6ng you 6me later on when you release your wri6ng into the outside world.

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Spell checker is your friendlisten to it and let it help you.

Set your language to UK or US English from the beginning. If you are not sure which version

of English to use, choose UK.

Add technical terms to your personal dic6onary.

Do pay aen6on to all those red squiggly underlines.

If you ever doubt whether a spelling is correct, check a general online dic6onary (hp://

www.thefreedic6onary.com is a good resource, and gives both US & UK spelling) or a

specialized dic6onary (many are available/searchable on Google books). A search engine is

not a good spelling resource.

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Dont forget to run a final spell check before you release your paper into the wild!

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The grammar checker is helpful and you should use it as a first pass, but be aware that its

much more problema6c than the spell checker. Do pay aen6on to what it indicates as a

grammar problem, but do not automa6cally accept everything it suggests. It is usually quite

good at showing errors in subjectverb agreement, that vs. which, sentence fragments,

capitaliza6on and spacing, but usually its sugges6on to change passive to ac6ve is not the

best choice. If you are not sure whether you should accept a sugges6on from the grammar

checker, do not accept it and instead check/verify the ques6on using other resources.


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There are many resources available on the Internet to help you check spelling, terminology,

and transla6ons. Here are some of the sites I find most useful, though as with all resources

use them with a cri6cal eye:

hp://www.thefreedic6onary.com an online English dic6onary with US & UK spelling;

lists of synonyms; transla6ons in Spanish and other languages oen available

hp://www.wordreference.com an online transla6on dic6onary; the forums are oen

useful as well

hp://www.linguee.com an online transla6on dic6onary, all terms shown in context

hp://www.wikipedia an online encyclopedia, take advantage of the fact that

informa6on is available in many different languages

hp://iate.europa.eu InterAc6ve Terminology for Europe, an online mul6lingual

dic6onary of scien6fic and technical terms

Google books allows you to search inside all kinds of technical and specialized books,

including technical transla6on dic6onaries and glossaries; you can view my public library

here: hp://books.google.com/books?as_coll=0&num=10&uid=105577994937758831&source=gbs_slider_cls_metadata_0_myl

ibrary_6tle

The Online Wri6ng Lab (OWL) at Purdue University: hp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

contains lots of informa6on about wri6ng, including informa6on about technical wri6ng and

wri6ng 6ps for engineers

Guide to Grammar and Wri6ng: hp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ contains

lots of explana6ons and prac6ce for grammar and structure

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The literature in your field is your best resource. Read papers that are very wellwrien and

study them; model your own wri6ng on them. Most if not all papers published in high

pres6ge journals are sure to be wellwrien, regardless of whether the authors are na6ve

speakers of English. However, when reading papers from other sources (lower ranked

journals, conference proceedings, doctoral disserta6ons, etc.), focus on the ones wrien by

na6ve speakers of English so you are sure to have good models.

Study the papers carefully, paying special aen6on to:

Terminology, including spelling. Are coordinate terms wrien as two separate words? A

single word with a hyphen? A single word without a hyphen? For example: high speed or

highspeed? Thermomechanical or thermomechanical?

Sentence structure and punctua6on. How simple or complex do sentences tend to be? How

nouny is the wri6ng? How is the passive voice used? How oen is first person used (I/we)?

How do authors use semicolons (;), colons (:) and other punctua6on marks?

Linking expressions. How do authors connect paragraphs to each other? How do authorsbegin and end sec6ons? Do they use the same sorts of expressions that you tend to use (for

example, how and how oen do authors use expressions like besides on the other hand

regarding such as therefore, etc.)? What sort of punctua6on accompanies the linking

expressions that they use?

Referring expressions. How do authors use referring expressions such as above

abovemen6oned below in the next sec6on such + noun laer, etc.

Other. Keep an eye out for other things that you know you have difficulty with: ar6cles,

word order, passive structures, preposi6ons, etc.

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The key to effec6ve revision is to make yourself see your paper with fresh eyes. You need to

read it carefully in a way/environment that is different from the way/environment in which

you write. Your brain knows exactly what you mean/want to say, and so if you review in a

very familiar way/environment, you will miss many things. This is true whether youre wri6ng

in English, Spanish, etc.

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Improving the Revision Process 1