Tag Archives: revising

My supervisor expects me to keep revising – why?

My supervisor expects me to keep revising – why?

I often hear doctoral researchers asking this question. They’ve sent their supervisor some writing. It’s come back with feedback and suggestions and maybe actual corrections. The doc. researcher has attended to all of these and sent the revised text back to the supervisor. And then it comes back again with yet more feedback and suggestions […] … learn more→

Revising? start strategically

Revising? start strategically

Whether you are revising your own writing or responding to reviewer feedback, you need to work out what to do. But you also need to work out where to start. You may have made a revising plan or written out a list of reviewer recommended changes with your proposed actions next to them. That’s good. […] … learn more→

Revising? try a four step approach

Revising? try a four step approach

Many people approach revising as if it is a single shot process. They tell themselves, “I’m just going to sit down now and revise my paper”. But revising and refining a text are not one activity, they are several. The writer who thinks that revision is a onesie could be setting themselves up to feel […] … learn more→

Revising – nine steps for making meaning

Revising – nine steps for making meaning

In 1973 the late Donald Murray published an essay in The Writer in which he argues that writing begins when the first draft is completed. From then on, he says, the writer revises, reads and changes their words, closing in on the meaning they are trying to make. Revision isnt a virtuous act, Murray states, it is simply an […] … learn more→

Exams: to properly revise, test yourself  !

Exams: to properly revise, test yourself !

When we talk about examinations, controls or homework, we immediately think about grade notes, averages and admissions to training. But while tests are a convenient format for evaluating performance, their usefulness does not stop there. Research shows that these are particularly effective tools for learning. Indeed, when one is tested, one must produce an effort of recovery in memory, that is to […] … learn more→

Revising with a reader in mind – ten questions

Revising with a reader in mind – ten questions

Academics write for different kinds of readers. We are often accused of writing only for each other, but this is no longer true. Many of us now write for many different kinds of readers – or audiences, as they are sometimes called. But you know, even when we do write for each other, we are not all […] … learn more→