Revising to Make It Stronger
Aligned to W.6.5 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Good writing is rewritten. Plan before drafting, then revise for ideas and organization, edit for grammar and spelling, and be willing to try a new approach when a section isn't working.
Worked examples
Example 1
First draft: 'The trip was fun and we did stuff.' Revision: 'We hiked to the falls, then swam until our fingers wrinkled.' The revision adds specifics and cuts the vague words — the same event, sharpened.
Example 2
First draft: 'The game was intense.' Revision: 'We were down by one with eleven seconds left and nobody on the bench was sitting.'
Example 3
Revising is not adding. Half the improvements in a second draft come from deleting a sentence that was doing no work.
Practice questions
- Reread a draft and mark one vague sentence to make more specific.
- Rewrite that sentence with concrete detail.
- Edit a paragraph for one grammar or spelling error, then reread aloud to check flow.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Revisar para Mejorar el Texto
Un buen texto se reescribe. Planea antes de redactar, luego revisa las ideas y la organización, corrige la gramática y la ortografía, y ten disposición para intentar un nuevo enfoque cuando una parte no funciona.
Ejemplo 1: Primer borrador: 'El viaje fue divertido e hicimos cosas.' Revisión: 'Caminamos hasta la cascada y nadamos hasta que se nos arrugaron los dedos.' La revisión agrega detalles y quita las palabras vagas — el mismo hecho, más nítido.
Ejemplo 2: Primer borrador: 'El partido estuvo intenso.' Revisión: 'Íbamos abajo por uno con once segundos en el reloj y nadie en la banca estaba sentado.'
Ejemplo 3: Revisar no es agregar. La mitad de las mejoras de un segundo borrador vienen de borrar una oración que no hacía nada.
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