3.5 Revision Strategies

1st Pass: Document-level Review

• Task Analysis: Review task specifications to ensure that you have included all required content and have followed required formatting and style conventions.
• Reader-Centred: Try to read from the perspective of your intended audience to consider if you have met their needs and expectations. Ensure that the relationship between your purpose in writing and your reader’s purpose in reading is well aligned, and that information is presented efficiently.
• Look over your Table of Contents to make sure you have updated it, and see if the flow of information seems logical and well organized. Make sure headings, subheading, and table/figure labels are clear and descriptive. Headings should clearly and efficiently indicate the content of that section; Figure and Table captions should clearly describe the content of the visual. Be on the lookout for overuse of headings and lists, or alternatively, places where adding these could improve readability.
• Scan your document layout to ensure that all visual elements have appropriate passive space around them, and spacing is consistent throughout your document. Make sure all visual elements are captioned consecutively (you don’t have two Figure 1s).
• Review Organization: Make sure ideas flow in a logical order and explanations come in a timely manner. Make sure visuals illustrate your textual information.
• Review Style: Make sure you are using an appropriate tone (neutral, objective, constructive, formal) and level of formality for your purpose and audience.

2nd Pass: Integrated Research Review

• Make sure all quotations, paraphrases and summaries of sources are cited appropriately, and cross reference clearly to a properly formatted entry in your references section. Remember: citations and references in IEEE must go in chronological order; APA and MLA references go in alphabetical order by authors last names.
• Make sure in-text citations clearly indicate what idea is being cited (avoid “random acts of citation”). Citations should indicate how you have used a source to support an idea or where a clearly paraphrased, summarized or quoted idea comes from.
• Make sure you have cited any visuals that you did not create yourself (citation can go at the end of the caption)
• Review REFERENCES section to make sure it follows the conventions of the style you are using. Review output of citation generators for potential errors or omissions.
• Make sure every reference has a working URL or DOI that links to the original online source (don’t make your reader search online for your references).

3rd Pass: Paragraph-level Review

• Topic Sentences: Make sure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that previews and/or summarizes the paragraph’s purpose and content. Topic sentences are often — but not always — most effective at the beginning of the paragraph.
• Transitions: Add coherent transitions to link one sentence logically to the next.
• Relevance: Cut unnecessary or irrelevant information; add clarification where needed to fill in gaps
• Length: Avoid overly long or short paragraphs (5-10 lines long is a reasonable guideline for technical information. Academic writing may have longer paragraphs.

4th Pass: Sentence-level Review

• Subjects: make sure the subject of each sentence is clear (avoid overuse of “it” and “this” as subjects), and place subjects at or near the beginning of the sentence. Ensure each sentence has a clear subject-verb relationship that explains Who/What does the action. Generally keep subject and verb close together.
• Verbs: Use strong, active verbs – avoid vague, passive, verbs and “is/are/was/were/being” whenever feasible. Verbs like “make” “do” ‘have” and “get” have many possible meanings; try to find more precise ones. Make sure you are using a consistent and logical verb tense suitable for your purpose. Watch for shifts from present to past tense that might confuse the reader.
• Combining Ideas: Make sure you have clearly and correctly used conjunctions to subordinate and coordinate ideas in sentences with 2 or more clauses.
• Sentence length: Review long sentences to ensure they can be easily understood; consider whether sentences longer than 25 words need revision to be clear. Vary the length and structure of sentences.
• Sentence Structures: Review for sentences that may confuse the reader. Watch for issues such as comma splices, fragments, run-ons, dangling modifiers, and faulty parallels.

5th Pass: Word-level Review

• Clear: Ensure you have used clear, plain language (appropriate for your audience) rather than pompous diction:  write to express, not impress! Check for consistent use of vocabulary throughout the document; ensure you have used a vocabulary level appropriate for your audience. Check for word use errors (effect vs affect; preform vs perform; sweet vs suite; their vs there; etc)
• Concrete: Check for vague, abstract or overly general words/phrasing, and see if you can replace it with specific, precise words and phrasing.
• Concise: Watch for unnecessary padding and “sound bite” phrases that have no real meaning and get rid of them. Use a single word instead of a phrase whenever possible. Avoid clichés, colloquial expressions, and slang. Avoid starting sentences with “There is/are…” or “It is”
• Courteous:  make sure you are using Bias Free Language: especially in the context of accessibility and disability, ensure you are using respectful language, and avoid negative or condescending terms.
• Match your vocabulary to your audience: experts can tolerate complex information with a lot of terminology; general readers require simpler, less detailed descriptions and explanations.
• Watch for “ad speak” — don’t sound like you are “selling” something; use objective, measurable descriptors.
• Limit use of 1st person: Use “I” and “we” sparingly; focus on your DESIGN, not on yourself.  Describe what your design does (not what you did). You might refer to yourself or team when introducing your proposed designs and when concluding/recommending.
• Avoid use 2nd person (you) pronouns  (or use sparingly in appropriate contexts).