Here are things to keep in mind about planning how you will revise:

1. It’s about love!!!! Ask yourself: What do you love about this piece? What do you want to return to and work on more? Why? Choose “love” and not “well, this was bad” or “well, this was pretty good.” Instead, what did you enjoy working on most? What is the most exciting part of this text? Why? How do you build off of that? Or, what about this text, generally, interests you the most? There will always be moments where you’ll have to revise something you don’t want to ever look at again. Still, even for something you rather not look at again (which will happen to you), finding something that attracts you to it, something that can make it a positive experience, will both motivate you and also help you to identify its strength.
2. Let yourself be guided. How can you let that excitement and energy guide you? What enhances that energy? What takes away from that energy?
3. Hear out others (including yourself). Part of (but not ONLY) what should inform you is the feedback you have received previously: my comments on your draft, peer response feedback, your old notes as you were working on the draft, etc.
4. Task list. Begin to develop some tasks that can assist you in addressing the above. (e.g., revise this paragraph, move this section up earlier and adjust it so it fits, add this supporting argument, do this analysis and see where it takes me, do more research for secondary sources). Consider what YOU want to do with the piece and the comments you received from others (NOTE: always feel free to reach out to you me if you can’t access my comments or you have questions).
5. Be specific. As you write out your tasks, you MUST be specific. Why are you doing this task? As in, what about your writing has led you to think you should do x to enhance the essay overall? How will you do this task? As in, what specifically do you have in mind as some potential changes that would work to address the “why” of the task you chose. For example: I will add more examples or secondary sources to support the claim I make in paragraph 4, I need to show a more cohesive transition between section 3 and 4, my argument is too broad so I need to be more specific about the limits of my argument when I make the main argument early on, I want to incorporate more examples, etc.
6. Be a planner. Finally, if helpful, begin to develop a schedule of when and how you will work on your revision. Revision (or any aspect of writing!) benefits from work that is spread out rather than work that happens all at once. A fresh mind is an asset. Backwards plan. “This is due 4/26, what do I need done by 4/22? By 4/24? By 4/24? Etc.”.
7. Are there new constraints? Are there new things you have to consider now? For instance, in our Literacy Narrative assignment you have to: consider the Liao reading in terms of the sorts of things Literacy Narratives tend to do, you have to consider the genre of the piece and audience expectations for that genre, and you have to pay more attention to style (e.g., what sorts of words does your audience expect?)