College Writing

College Writing Study Guide During paragraph-level revisions, ensure that each paragraph has a topic sentence at the beginning. This topic sentence works as the guide for the rest of the paragraph. After you have a good topic sentence, ask yourself: does each subsequent sentence work to prove that topic sentence? Is each sentence illustrative of your topic sentence’s point? If not, you should remove sentences that don’t relate to the topic sentence or you should add any additional support that you think is necessary. After you’ve paid attention to the topic sentence and the illustration, ensure that you have a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph that connects your topic sentence to the paper’s thesis. Repeat this process until you’re satis�ied that every paragraph adequate ly proves a step in your paper’s argument. Editing is about grammatical correctness. Noun/pronoun agreement errors, mi ssed commas in com- pound sentences, tense-switching, and missing words are all common errors. Review the grammar lessons at the beginning of this study guide for assistance. If you feel you are pressed for time, it is okay to do your editing at the same time that you do paragraph-level revisions, but ideally, editing would be its own read-through. In each case, taking your time with the revision process is vital. If you read too quickly or if you are overly con�ident in your writing’s accuracy, then you migh t make some regrettable errors that will detract from your argument’s strength. Remember that revision is your last opportunity to ensure that what you’re submit is the best repre- sentation of your writing ability, so take your time and be careful. 4.6 Table of Key Terms Invention Pre-writing Outline Clustering Cubing Free writing Looping Composing Revision Global Revision Paragraph-Level Revision Editing 4.7 Discussion Questions 1. What is the difference between structured and unstructured pre-writing? Which of the pre- writing method listed would work best for you and why? 2. What are the two main ways that authors compose their work? Which works best for you and why? 3. What are the three stages of the revision process?

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