How do you incorporate feedback and revise your drafts?

1 Choose your sources of feedback

It is important to be selective when seeking feedback, as not all feedback is equal. You can gain feedback from your instructor or tutor, who can provide constructive advice on criteria, structure, argument, and style. Peers or classmates can provide a different perspective and help identify any unclear or confusing parts. You can also review your own writing by reading it aloud, using a checklist, or using a tool like Grammarly. This way, you can check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting errors. Additionally, you can assess if your writing meets the purpose, audience, and genre of the assignment.

2 Use feedback effectively

Feedback is only useful if you use it to improve your writing. To do so, read the feedback carefully and identify the main points and suggestions. Highlight, underline, or annotate the feedback to help you organize it. Prioritize the feedback according to its importance and relevance, categorizing it into major and minor issues, content, structure, and language issues. Then, make a plan for revising your draft based on the feedback. This could include making a list of changes or using a revision matrix to map out your actions. Implement the changes in your draft and check if they address the feedback; you can use track changes or comments to keep track of your revisions and explain your rationale. Finally, seek more feedback if needed by asking for clarification or confirmation from your feedback provider, or seeking a second opinion from another source.

3 Revise your drafts systematically

Revising your drafts is not just about fixing errors or making minor changes; it also involves rethinking and refining your ideas, arguments, and evidence. To do this systematically, begin by reviewing your thesis statement, main points, and supporting details to ensure they are clear, coherent, and consistent. Then move to the organization and structure of your introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Make sure they have clear transitions, topic sentences, and summaries, follow a logical order and sequence, and provide enough background and context for your reader. Finally, review your word choice, sentence structure, tone, and voice to ensure they are appropriate, accurate, and precise. Check if they convey your meaning and message effectively and avoid any bias, jargon, or slang.

4 Proofread your final draft

Proofreading is the last step of revising your draft, which involves checking for any errors or inconsistencies that may have been missed or introduced during the revision process. To ensure that your final draft is error-free, it is recommended to take a break before proofreading. Additionally, you can use a hard copy or a different format to view your writing from a different angle. Reading your draft aloud or using text-to-speech software will help you hear how your writing sounds and catch any awkward or unclear phrases. You can also use a ruler, a highlighter, or your finger to guide your eyes and focus on each word, sentence, and paragraph individually. Lastly, use a checklist or rubric to guide your proofreading and make sure that you meet the assignment criteria and standards.

5 Seek professional help if needed

Sometimes, you might need professional help to revise your draft and enhance your academic writing skills. There are many resources and services available, such as writing centers or workshops, online writing services or tools, and academic writing books or websites. These can offer individual or group consultations, tutorials, or workshops on various aspects of academic writing. They can also provide editing, proofreading, or plagiarism checking services or tools to help you polish your writing and ensure its quality and originality. Additionally, they can give you examples, guidelines, tips on how to write different types of academic papers, such as essays, reports, or research papers. They can even assist with citation, referencing, or formatting styles.