Week 13 — Revision & Style

Welcome to your Week 13 Start Here page.

Why this matters

A nurse rewriting a shift-change note, an engineer trimming a project update, and a club officer cutting an announcement all fix what the message says first, then make every sentence earn its place.

In plain language

A draft can need two very different kinds of help, and this week teaches you to give them one at a time. Global revision (re-seeing the whole draft: its thesis, its structure, its argument, and its evidence) comes first. Local editing (working on sentences and surface) comes second. Nancy Sommers published a study in 1980 showing that experienced writers re-see the whole piece while many student writers only swap words, and this chapter turns that finding into a routine. You will also learn concision (making every word earn its place), how to vary your sentences, where a sentence puts its weight, and when the passive voice is the right choice.

• Already covered: Week 4 taught the reverse outline; Week 12 assembled the running draft.
• This week: two passes, deadwood, sentence variety, emphasis, and voice.
• How they connect: you re-see the full draft, then sharpen its sentences.
• Where we're going next: Week 14, Editing, takes the local pass to the clause.

Focus

How do I fix what my draft says before I polish how it sounds?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• [ ] sort a change into global revision or local editing
• [ ] use a reverse outline to find a missing paragraph
• [ ] cut the four kinds of deadwood without cutting a claim
• [ ] combine sentences and choose active or passive on purpose

To-do

Plan your week

1. Read Chapter 13 (about 45 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
2. Work the lecture tutorial (60–90 minutes) and the practice set (about 20 minutes).
3. Do the Writing Studio (about 90 minutes), the discussion, and the assignment.
4. Take the quiz.

Checkpoint: cut one paragraph of your own draft by about a quarter without losing a claim.

You've got this

Take it in order, and ask your instructor early if a step snags.

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