Nobody likes revising. You’ve already worked so hard on a draft, after all. Why should you have to do even more work after that? Regardless of how you feel, revision is a necessary part of any writing job. In fact, the ability to perform quality revisions is what frequently separates the mediocre from the top of the class.
Real revision is more than just about replacing a word here or correcting a sentence there. Most of the best writing programs can do that with having your CPU break a sweat. Instead, we’re talking about honestly evaluating your paper and risking that huge parts of it may be due for a change, whether that be an omission, an update or a total overhaul.
Despite those risks of extending the work investment you put indefinitely, revisions are vastly important to your development as a writer. Look past getting good grades and you’ll realize that the act of revision helps you evolve into a more complete writer.
What do you think is the best way to improve as a writer? Most people will probably say, “by writing again and again.” While there is truth to that, there is one activity that’s even better at improving you and that’s rewriting. During revision, you do more than employ your writing abilities, applying both your reading and analytical skills as well. You challenge your own ideas and question the way you do things, leading to improving any perceived weaknesses in your writing.
