Posted: May 2nd, 2015

Position Paper Revision

Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

For Project 5 you will prepare a complete editorial revision of Project 4: the Position Paper. Most people think revision is correcting the typos, changing a word or two, and throwing in a comma here and there, but as I have emphasized this semester, revision is an integral part of the total writing process. Most people have deadline problems either that have been imposed on them by a supervisor or they have caused themselves by procrastinating when it comes to getting started with writing. As a result, revision is usually neglected. In class I will present two systematic revision techniques: one from Richard Lanham and the other from Peter Elbow. I will ask you to present evidence that you have thoughtfully revised your project by submitting a rough draft with your changes inserted (that will be the graded Project 4 which will become a rough draft) and a clean Project 6.
I will want you to reduce the length of the position paper between 10-15 percent, while continuing to be effective in making your point. 

Grade sheet for Revision Project

1. Requirements for the assignment have been met. Rough Draft and new project were both submitted on time. 25 points 

Points for your project:____________

2. Improved sentence construction with fewer words and better use of verbs. All grammatical and mechanical errors have been corrected. The Lanham PM method has been demonstrated to achieve improved sentence flow. Prepositions and verbs being used as the main verbs are circled in at least one full page of the draft. 25 points

Points for your project:____________

3. Revision is obvious in the original document that became a rough draft for this project. Deletions and additions should be clearly shown on the rough draft. (You may choose to create an intermediate draft to do this if you think that all your changes may be too hard to follow on the draft.) 25 points 

Points for your project:____________

4. Revision should have 10-15 percent fewer words than the original. Explain in 2-4 paragraphs why and how you made the changes. (You may cut more than that, but the 10-15 percent is minimum required.)
5. Provide a 2-4 paragraph memo that explains your revisions. Talk about why you made the decisions that you did. If you ended up adding words because you forgot something, or were told that you needed more detail, talk about that.
When preparing your revision, you may select either option 4 or option 5 on this grade sheet. Each is worth 25 points.
Points for your project:____________

Total Points:____________ Grade:____________