Point Recovery (a.k.a. “extra credit”) through Revision

Because good writing is a matter of rewriting, and because writers learn and grow best through practicing the writing process, I encourage you to always take your papers through multiple drafts; however, if you would like to revise one (1) of your papers in order to earn more points, here is what you must do.

1. Choose the paper you want to revise.  I recommend that in making your decision you consider how much you feel you can significantly improve your paper.  Consider the following questions:

How much have you learned about writing that you can use to dramatically change your paper?  Do you now understand, for example, how more examples or stronger organization would improve your paper? Which paper do you feel the most passionate about? In other words, about which one do you now have much more to “say”?

2. Make an appointment to see me or—for you distant, on-line students—to call me. Bring your graded paper or have it available to look at. We will discuss how you can change and improve it for your revision.

3. Submit your original graded paper with your revision so that I may compare your before and after.

Other:

• You may choose any paper except our final paper.

• Your revised paper is due by the last day for which any work is due; however, I recommend you complete your effort long before then.

• Your will receive a grade in proportion to the effectiveness of your improvement efforts and the transformation for the better that your paper undergoes; therefore, you could receive any range of points from as little as one (1) for minor fixes to many more (20? 30?) for dramatic and effective fixes.

• For your final recorded paper grade, you will receive the higher of the two options (your original paper or the revision), so you cannot “lose” anything by trying.