ENG 100
English Composition
Gunn

First Rewrite

Rewrite one of your first two papers and resubmit it, with the first version and my typed note attached.

By a "rewrite," I mean a thorough and careful reworking of the paper, including (as appropriate) clarifying or redefining the central idea, expanding, cutting, and reordering earlier material, developing significant new material, combining or dividing paragraphs, changing the emphasis, making adjustments in voice and style, editing sentences, eliminating clutter, correcting errors, sharpening phrasing, and doing whatever else you can to strengthen the writing, in the light of the original assignment and the suggestions I've given you.

You should look at this as an opportunity to continue working on one of the first two assignments.  A few weeks ago, you did the best you could to finish the paper off as the end of the week approached.  Now, you have a whole new week, plus some feedback.  How strong can you make this paper?

Three things you should avoid doing:

(1) Don't just fix a few spelling errors.  The assignment is to do a substantial rewrite, not a little minor editing.

(2) Along the same lines, don't limit yourself to responding to comments I've made in the margins of your paper.  You need to look at the entire paper, not just the few places I've called to your attention.  The broad suggestions I've made in the typed note will be much more help to you than the marginal comments.

(3) Don't throw away your first paper and start from scratch.  That would be writing a new paper, rather than rewriting.  The goal here is for you to rework and play around with material that you've already produced.

If you haven't visited the Writing Center yet, this might be a good time to try them.  The tutors there are trained to help with rewriting, and they can offer advice at any stage of the process.  Their hours are Monday through Thursday, 1-4 PM, at 102B Main Street.

Please note: I am assuming that you'll spend as much time on this assignment as you would on any other weekly assignment--that is, a minimum of six to eight hours.

You should have a draft of the rewrite by Tuesday's class (B group) or your conference (A group).  By "draft," I mean a new version of the essay, printed out, not a few notes scrawled on the first version.

The final version is due Friday, October 8, at 2 PM, in my office.

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