Writing Process & Revision

Planning is more than choosing a topic

Before you draft, clarify the task: What are you trying to achieve, who will read the text and what type of text are you expected to produce?

A short plan can prevent a common problem: writing several reasonable paragraphs that do not answer the actual task.

• Identify the purpose and audience.
• Underline the key instruction words in the task.
• List the ideas and evidence you may need.
• Choose a logical order before writing full paragraphs.

Draft first, improve second

A first draft is a working version. Its job is to turn your plan into a complete text that can be improved.

If you stop every few words to perfect spelling and vocabulary, you can lose the overall direction of the text. It is often more efficient to complete the main argument first and then revise deliberately.

Revision and proofreading are different

Revision asks whether the text works as a whole. Proofreading asks whether the final wording is correct.

During revision, check ideas, structure, paragraph focus, evidence, tone and clarity.

During proofreading, check grammar, spelling, punctuation, missing words and formatting.

Use feedback selectively

Feedback is useful when you decide what to do with it rather than accepting every suggestion automatically.

Ask whether the comment helps you meet the purpose of the task. If several readers misunderstand the same point, that is a strong signal that the text needs clarification.

Revise from large issues to small ones

Fixing a comma in a paragraph that you later delete wastes time. Start with the largest questions and work down to sentence-level detail.

1. Does the text answer the task?
2. Is the overall structure logical?
3. Does each paragraph have a clear purpose?
4. Are claims explained and supported?
5. Is the language appropriate for the audience and situation?
6. Are the sentences accurate and easy to follow?
7. Are spelling and punctuation correct?

First draft

School should start later because teenagers are tired. This is a big problem. Students need sleep and school is important. A later start would be better.

Revision notes

• Make the claim more specific.
• Explain the connection between sleep and learning.
• Add evidence or a concrete example.
• Remove vague expressions such as 'a big problem'.

Revised version

Upper-secondary schools should consider later starting times because insufficient sleep can reduce students' concentration during morning lessons. Teenagers often experience sleep patterns that make it difficult to fall asleep early, which means very early schedules can leave students tired even when they try to maintain regular routines. A later start would not solve every problem related to sleep, but it could make school schedules better aligned with students' ability to focus and learn.

The revised version does not simply use more advanced vocabulary. It makes the reasoning more specific, develops the connection between ideas and qualifies the conclusion.

1. Read the task and identify purpose, audience and text type.
2. Make a brief plan of the main ideas and evidence.
3. Write a complete first draft without trying to perfect every sentence.
4. Revise the overall argument and structure first.
5. Revise paragraphs for focus, support and logical connections.
6. Use feedback to identify places that are unclear or underdeveloped.
7. Edit sentence structure, vocabulary and register.
8. Proofread grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting last.

Mistake: Treating revision as correcting spelling only.

Better: First check whether the ideas, evidence and structure work; proofread surface errors afterwards.

Mistake: Rewriting every sentence immediately after writing it.

Better: Finish enough of the draft to judge how the parts work together before polishing individual sentences.

Mistake: Accepting every piece of peer feedback.

Better: Compare feedback with the task and your intended meaning, then choose changes that make the text more effective.

Mistake: Proofreading only on screen at high speed.

Better: Read slowly, change the format or read the text aloud so that familiar errors are easier to notice.

You have ten minutes left before submitting an essay. The argument is difficult to follow and there are also a few spelling mistakes. What should you prioritise first?

• A. Fix every spelling mistake before looking at the structure.
• B. Check the thesis, paragraph order and main reasoning, then proofread the remaining language errors.
• C. Add more advanced vocabulary to every paragraph.
• D. Rewrite the introduction without reading the body.

Answer: B. Problems with purpose and structure affect the whole text, so they should normally be addressed before final proofreading.

• Planning helps you answer the actual task.
• A first draft is a working version, not the finished product.
• Revision improves ideas, organisation and clarity.
• Proofreading focuses on language accuracy and presentation.
• Feedback is evidence about how a reader experiences your text, not a command to change everything.
• Revise large-scale problems before small-scale errors.