Category Archives: Revision

(Writing) Style Wars: A New Hope

Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is a classic style guide, and it’s useful in many ways. Arguably one of its biggest contributions is that it gets us to think about the way we put words together. William Strunk … Continue reading

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Writing Power’s Writers’ Circle: Git ‘R Done Edition

Okay, Writing Power Writers’ Circle members, I’ve given us all some time in May to finish our April goals. (Sometimes you need just one more weekend, right?) How did you do? Let us know in the comments. We’re eager to … Continue reading

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Cut The Cleverness

You have really outdone yourself this time. I mean, you knew you were a good writer, but this – this is great. You have just crafted the perfect analogy (or description, thesis statement, blog post): it’s punchy, it’s tongue-in-cheek, and … Continue reading

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My Favorite Sentence Revision Technique

My students typically get into a bad place about their writing style right about now – at midterm. Gripping their temples, they moan, “This is pointless. It’s stupid. You know what I meant.” Just a couple of weeks ago, they … Continue reading

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18 Questions For Revisions That Work

 Welcome to Writing Power, the site that aims to help people enrich their lives by improving their writing.  If you like what you read, I hope you’ll become a regular reader by subscribing to Writing Power’s RSS feed.  In addition, … Continue reading

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Revision Tips: Cause And Effect

It seems like writing a piece governed by cause and effect should be easy. After all, the logic of causes and effects helps give meaning to our lives. Without cause and effect, we might not stick to our exercise or … Continue reading

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The Reviser’s Toolbox, Part 2

Yesterday, I began a detailed investigation into some writing strategies that deserve a writer’s attention during revision. Today, we’re moving from comparison and contrast to analysis. Analysis is a broad term, and many people use it in a broad sense. … Continue reading

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The Reviser’s Toolbox, Part 1

A while ago, I discussed revision as re-envisioning. Today, I want to explore a specific area that writers re-envision as they revise: organization. In the planning stage, writers establish an organizational blueprint. These blueprints vary in complexity from a hasty … Continue reading

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Make Your Writing Walk The Talk

Holly was staring at the page frowning, her brows knitted together in thought.  That wasn’t a good sign.  Then she smiled, which was an even worse sign.  “You have some good analysis and interesting claims in this article, but there … Continue reading

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Building Relationships With Your Readers

I stared out at a wall of glum faces. “What’s going on, you guys? Didn’t you like the reading?” The essay at hand was a masterpiece of nuance, one of the most influential pieces in the modern conservationist movement, and … Continue reading

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