Jumpstart Your Thesis/Dissertation Conference 2023

Revision, the Key to a Finished (and Well Done) Dissertation or Thesis

Dr. Marcus Meade

Graduate Writing Specialist UMKC

marcusmeade@umkc.edu

The Writing Process

Invention

• planning
• experimental design
• secondary/tertiary research
• outlining
• pre-writing

Drafting

• literally putting words on the page

Revision

• regorganization
• rewriting
• editing
• proofreading

Revision tends to be the most overlooked part of the process

Why is revision overlooked?

1. When we're taught to write in school, we're often not asked to revise so for many, it's not part of the process.
2. Students are not taught how to meaningfully engage with or utilize feedback (Bouwer and Dirkx 2023).
3. Students are not taught a process for effectively and efficiently revising (Sommers 1980).

Steps for engaging in Effective and Efficient Revision

1. Develop a revision process with your chair.
   • How long will they read for?
   • What type of feedback will come first, second, third, etc.?
   • How much will they read at one time?
   • Ask for certain things that will help in your revision...like a summary comment that prioritizes revision or positive feedback, as well.
2. Make revision plans that prioritize certain types of feedback over others
   • Content
   • Large-scale
   • Medium-scale
   • Small-scale
3. Treat revision like writing...small, manageable goals.

Prioritizing Feedback

1. Content
   • The ideas and concepts of the writing.
   • Validity of claims
   • Logics
   • Math
   • Science
   • Argument
   • Definitions
   • Base Assumptions
2. Large Scale
   • Section-size decisions about where things go
   • Organization (of whole piece or of sections)
   • Structure
   • Framing of sections
   • Are sections doing what they're supposed to be doing?
3. Medium Scale
   • The paragraph level
   • Paragraph development
   • Rhetoric of claims
   • Integration of evidence/sources (paraphrase, quote, summary)
4. Small Scale
   • The sentence level
   • Sentence structure
   • Syntax
   • Word Choice
   • Spelling and grammar
   • Citations

Revision Plan

A plan that has a clear prioritization and goals for revision

EX: 1 week to revise (3 writing days)

Days 1 and 2 (Content)

• revisit literature on small-scale air capture to rewrite my problem description (2 hours, day 1)
• recalculate environmental impact of community-based DAC based on 2022 data (1 hour, day 2)

Day 3 (Large Scale)

• Reframe scalability section and small-scale DAC section (2 hours, day 3)

Let's Practice!

The sample text is the Intro and first section of your literature review (which is about twice as long as this). You have received feedback on it and you have 1 week to revise it. Within that one week, you'll have a grand total of 5 hours spread out over 3 days to write.

Make a plan for your revision.

Tips

1. Discuss how feedback and revision will take place with your readers. Be specific, and make the decision of how to give and receive feedback a collaboration.
2. ALWAYS develop a revision plan.
3. Treat revision like writing...because it is! Budget time for it, and set small, manageable goals that allow you to build momentum.
4. Utilize resources such as the Graduate Writing Initiative, the Writing Studio, and the Library to help interpret feedback and revise.

Works Cited

Bouwer, R. & Dirkx K. (2023). The eye-mind of processing written feedback: Unraveling how students read and use feedback for revision. Learning and Instruction, 85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2023.101745.

Sommers, N. (1980). Revision strategies of student writers and experienced adult writers. College Composition and Communication, 31(4), 378-388.