Writing Book 7 · Lesson 31

Explanatory — Revise for language

Revision at Grade 7 includes the shaping the literary sentence chapter taught.

What it is

Revising is not checking for mistakes — that comes later. Revising is changing what you wrote so it does its job better: a weak verb replaced, a sentence that all sounds the same broken up, a word your reader will not know explained or swapped. Work with a pen on a printed draft, one pass per problem.

Watch it built

1
Read your draft aloud and mark every weak verb.
The root goes down and the shoot comes up.
2
Replace them with verbs that show what actually happens.
The root drives down and the shoot pushes up.
3
Now read for rhythm. If three sentences in a row are the same length, break one.
The root drives down. Only then does the shoot push up toward the light.
Remember
One pass per problem: verbs, then rhythm, then words your reader may not know.
Ask yourself: “Am I improving this, or checking it?”

Remember

Revising changes it. Editing checks it. One pass per problem.

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