ShmoopTube

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Writing the first draft of an essay can sometimes feel like climbing a mountain. [man attempting to climb up a mountain]

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It takes a lot of thought, a lot of effort, and a lot of rope.

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…Wait, it doesn't take rope? [man falling down the mountain]

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Hm…maybe we've been doing it wrong…

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Anyway, once you're done with that first draft, it's time to stop and admire the view, right? [boy admiring a scenic view]

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Not quite.

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Although finishing your first draft is an accomplishment, you still have three more

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mountains to climb:

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Mount Revising, Mount Editing, and Proofreading Peak.

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Hope you brought a lot of energy bars. [3 mountains and energy bars appear]

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The first stage is revision.

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Think of it as the big-picture stage.

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Instead of keeping your nose to the page… [boy revising in his room]

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…it's time to zoom out and think about how you've organized your paragraphs, and all

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the details, facts, and examples within 'em.

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This is the time to focus on the main ideas of your paragraphs.

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If you have any new facts or details that support that main idea, toss them in.

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But if you find some facts or details that don't seem too relevant or important, throw

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'em out.

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We know, we know…"recycle! [a big stash of recyclable material]

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Compost!"

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Yeah, they're important, but you can check them at the door when it comes to revising.

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Next up.. editing.

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While revision focuses on content and organization…

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…editing forces you to zoom in a bit, focus on language, flow, and clarity.

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If the goal is to make your essay feel like a nice, gentle ride… [car driving close to the edge of a road]

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… editing should help you deal with any outstanding potholes.

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That means you'll be editing at the sentence level: rewording sentences that aren't clear…

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…breaking down sentences so they flow better…

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…making sure you have solid transitions…

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…and rewriting sentences to avoid repetition.

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Because no one likes repetition. [men fighting each other and officer hits one man with a baton]

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Yup, repetition is something nobody likes.

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And we mean nobody likes repetition.

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Last but not least, we finish with proofreading.

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If you thought editing was up close and personal… [boy in the subway as train goes past]

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…then you ain't seen nothing yet.

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Proofreading requires you to really dig deep into your essay, with the hopes of unearthing [man digging into the ground]

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any lingering errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar.

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That means even your capitalizations, quotations, and italics need to be in tip-top shape. [italics quotes and caps on the tredmill]

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It might seem more detailed oriented and stressful than a meeting with the queen, but it's worth

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it.

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And trust us, if you happened to meet a member of the royal family with a dangling participle, [man meets a member of the royal family]

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you'd never live it down.

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