Introduction: A Good Writer Revises

Revising a paper is like saying to it, "You were going out there a chorus-kid, but now I'm gonna make you a STAR." But it is not a magical process, any more than is struggling from chorus line to center stage. 

Revision means looking again: testing to see if your earlier draft has met the requirements and done its best; marking weak places; tightening your argument; polishing your words; checking spelling, mechanics, and typing. More critically, revision asks you to rethink your idea for logic, persuasiveness and clarity, and to groom your words so that they help you look good.

Learning to revise can help every stage of writing go better. Knowing that you're going to revise will free you of the pressure to make the first draft perfect, something a first draft should never have to be. Becoming your own editor will heighten your sensitivity to words and their work. And it will give you a sense of competence which increases with every paper.