From Drab to Fab: Turning Your Writing with Confidence and Style! Written By Parisa

From Drab to Fab: Turning Your Writing with Confidence and Style!

Written By Parisa

 

Hello grad folx! I am Parisa, a third-year PhD student in the Literature program at the English department. If you have made it this far in your writing journey, congratulations! It means you stopped procrastinating, and leaned into your inner boss, you didn’t let the blank page win, YOU WON, and kept yourself validated and motivated along the way (I have used some titles from the previous blog posts by my amazing fellow grad consultants here).

Now let’s get down to business and turn that bland first draft into a masterpiece, to wave hands and bid a happy farewell to that old draft by the end! In this blog post, I'll be sharing some tips and tricks to help you revise your academic writing with confidence, befriend your inner voice, and turn your work into something truly fabulous.

As writers, we can get bogged down by the nitty-gritty details of formatting like grammar, style, and organization. Our perfectionist side can make us spend more time agonizing over the perfect word choice than we actually need to write the content. But the key is to continue writing without caring too much about these details. However when it’s time for revision, our inner academic voice can take over and the result would be a dialogue like this one I had with myself the other day:

 

“Hey Parisa, look at the messy first draft you have written. What are you hoping to achieve with this? Seriously?”

 

I would respond: “Hey, I'm not turning in a dissertation with this first draft here, I’ve just tried to get my thoughts on paper. Give me a break folk! Sit tight and wait for the revision magic to happen. I'll tell you exactly what I’ve done in this paper.”

 

During the revision process, it’s important to remember that content comes first, and style comes second. To start, I recommend using a reverse outline method to distance yourself and see the paper from a bird’s-eye view. Start by noting the main ideas in each paragraph or section in bullet-point form. This will help you see if your argument or narrative flow makes sense, or if any rearrangements are needed to form a logical sequence of ideas. Additionally, you’ll identify any gaps in your argument or areas where you need to add more information to strengthen your thesis.

After you have established the content, focus on the style. Look for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting to ensure that your writing is polished and professional. Don’t forget to take a break before the final read-through, as it can be easy to get lost in the revisions and lose sight of the big picture.

Once you have finished revising, read through your work one last time, and feel proud of yourself for all the hard work you have put in. Hit that send button and celebrate your accomplishment by treating yourself to a victory dance or a quick nap, whichever feels right at the moment!

Remember that the revision process can be a challenging but rewarding journey. Stay motivated, be kind to yourself, and trust your inner voice. You’ve got this. Happy revising my fellow writing warriors!


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