How do you improve your writing based off of revisions you have been given?

Question

I have a writing/essay test coming up and I wanted to practice for it. I wrote a practice essay and sent it to an friend who is an English teacher to revise it. I got the revisions back however how is that suppose to help me do better on the test? What should I learn from the revisions I received?

Answer 1

It may help you to seek a tutor who provides comments on your revisions instead of just corrections. The best way to improve your writing is through conversation; if you can't do it in person, I would suggest finding someone who also has the time to talk with you about specific ways that you could improve your writing.

Answer 2

Whenever someone asks me to take a look at a paper or essay for them, I don't just make changes and send it back to them. If you are familiar with the Microsoft Word "track changes" feature, it makes the change into a link so that the editor can add comments in a bar that appears on the side of the screen. I always explain any changes and my suggestions.

Similarly, as a writing tutor, in order to help a student understand any grammatical, vocabulary, or other changes that should be made, I often do an exercise with them to see if they understood the reason for the correction.

It's definitely great that you are asking to understand WHY the changes to your essay needed to be made. If you didn't, you'd likely make those mistakes again, which is not helpful for you in the long run because you won't learn. Never be afraid to ask "why" !!!!

Hope this helps!!

Answer 3

Hello Riley,

I suggest that you look at the revisions first to see if you understand what was corrected and why. Is it a spelling error? Make a list of words that you misspelled so that you can work on them. Is it a grammar error? Use an English handbook to look up rules for grammar errors (sentence structure, punctuation, etc.). Did your friend correct the thesis statement or problems with the structure of the essay? You can also find suggestions for those in a good English handbook or even on Youtube. Some universities also have this type of help online. Once you have done this, if you still have questions, I suggest you go back to your friend and ask. Explain what you have done on your own and what you need help with. As an English teacher, I would be thrilled to help someone who is interested in learning from their mistakes. Your friend probably will be too.