EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology & Handbook for College Writers

Appendix A: Strategies and Concepts for Revision 453 Add another voice: Instead of just the speaker of the essay narrating, add a listener. This listener can agree, disagree, question, heckle, sympathize, apologize, or respond in any other way you can imagine. (See “the nay- sayer’s voice” in Chapter Nine.) Change timeline (narrative sequence): Instead of moving chronologically forward, rearrange the events to bounce around. Change tense: Narrate from a different vantage point by changing the grammar. For example, instead of writing in past tense, write in present or future tense. Change tone: Reimagine your writing in a different emotional register. For instance, if your writing is predominantly nostalgic, try a bitter tone. If you seem regretful, try to write as if you were proud. Reverse Outlining Have you ever written an outline before writing a draft? It can be a useful pre-writing strategy, but it doesn’t work for all writers. If you’re like me, you prefer to brain-dump a bunch of ideas on the paper, then come back to organize and refocus during the revision process. One strategy that can help you here is reverse outlining. Divide a blank piece of paper into three columns, as demonstrated below. Number each paragraph of your draft, and write an equal numbered list down the left column of your blank piece of paper. Write “Idea” at the top of the middle column and “Purpose” at the top of the right column. ¶ Idea (What is the ¶ saying?) Purpose (What is the ¶ doing?) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 . . .