Revision is an opportunity to see again. After reading your drafts to E.1, I suggest that most of you focus on a few key aspects as your revise. Using the on-line version of Conventional Language, consider the following:
• Begin your essay with something that urges the reader to continue reading. Be specific and vivid from the beginning. Narrative techniques and specific (and real) examples often work to engage the reader. Consider some of the following openings:
From Barbara Kingsolver, "Letter to My Mother" and "High Tide in Tucson"
From Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"
• All aspects of your writing must be purposeful. A key part of your purpose is to choose your words carefully for specificity, clarity, and appropriateness (particularly tone). See (24) and (19).
• Simply writing a statement doesn't make it true. Know your topic well; this requires research in many cases. Once you are writing from an informed position, it is crucial that you show the reader the evidence supporting those claims.
• Know your focus, (41), and organize, (31), your essay in some way that best presents that focus clearly and coherently to your reader.
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