To Revise, Be a Bat or a Boat or a Plane.

What do all those seemingly-random nouns have in common?

Radar.

Kelly Gallagher — and some equally-great teachers here at school — use radar in writing.

Just in different way.

And it’s called R.A.D.R.. Yay, acronyms.

We use it for the difficult and sometimes-cumbersome process that is Revision.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Replace words. Aim for stronger vocabulary and seek to improve style and fluency. That is, does the writing fit the audience and the writer? Does the writing flow from one thought to another gracefully? Add the necessary words to make it classy, purposeful, and flow-y (?). Style, really, is all about making sure your writing does what you need it to do and what you want it to do.

Just like a style of clothes, a style of writing is unique to every person. Make it yours!

Coincidentally, each style of clothing needs to do what you need it to do and what you want it to do. You wouldn’t want to wear your Sunday pants to a job interview, right? And you probably don’t sit around in a suit on the weekend. (If you do, disregard previous statement…) Don’t bring your Sunday-pants writing style to a formal, in-class writing; wear a suit.

Add details and specifics. Think imagery. Can you picture what’s going? At this stage, we’re still in revision; the more details and specifics you add the better. We can cut them down later. So add away.

Delete, Delete, Delete. It’s later. Delete repeated, unnecessary, or off-topic words. Find the point and get to it. Make sure, though, you don’t delete too much.

Here’s an analogy: A human can’t function with just a skeleton; we need our muscles and organs, too. Right? But, you know, we don’t need ALL our organs. (Appendix, we’re looking at you.) The same is true for writing. Do we need ALL details? No. Some details are just nice to have, and some are essential. (Spleens are nice to have; livers are essential.) You see?

Reorder. This is where we think about organization: What information should come first? Second? After that? This may be the most logical aspect of writing because information and stories should go in order. Right? What do you need to know in order for the next step to make sense?

When you’re climbing the stairs, you can’t just jump right up to the middle step. You have to walk on the steps below it to help you get there. Sure, you can make jumps, but they have to be planned out and logical. Otherwise, you’re just bouncing up and down on a staircase.

Here’s how all this helps you:

These simple steps can help you engage in the process of revision.

For teachers, using this acronym can be done simply right after a writing assignment. Just make sure your students are using a different color. Once they get the hang of it, it becomes natural.

The more natural we can make the entirely unnatural process of writing, the better it is for everyone.

Happy Writing.