Introduction. Taking the time to revise and proofread your paper is an essential part of the writing process, for the revising process is where errors are caught, arguments are strengthened and clarified, and the overall paper takes its final shape. Skipping this step is a sure way to make disaster more likely.

The material below is divided into the following sections:

• What is essential to the revising and proofreading process
• Content-related revising
• Mechanics-related revising
• Final suggestions

Essentials of Revising and Proofreading

Just what is the revising and proofreading process all about? At the very least, the revising and proofreading process will involve some careful rereading of whatever your draft happens to be at the time. The process is also a critical one: Consider your draft as if you weren't the author, and ask yourself some tough critical questions about the content and mechanics of the paper. Then you'll probably be making some changes, and after that you'll repeat the process of looking critically at successive drafts until you have the paper in the sort of shape you want.

Content-related Revising

The content of your paper includes the thoughts you're aiming to express in the paper. Evaluating your draft isn't just a matter of going through the paper to see if what's said makes sense to you: It's a process of making sure the thoughts presented are clear both to yourself and whoever your intended audience happens to be. If you're writing a paper for a class, your audience will be the professor. If the paper is to be read as part of a presentation, everyone in the room will be your audience. If it's to be published somewhere, then consider that audience when you're making your revisions. The basic idea is that unfortunately (and I've found this by experience), even if your paper seems clear to you, that isn't sufficient for it to be clear to whatever the paper's audience happens to be.

Structural considerations. Critical reading of your own draft should take place on multiple levels, too. For there are content-related matters to consider at the level of considering the paper as a whole, of considering each individual section of the paper, of considering each paragraph of the paper, of considering each sentence of the paper, and even of considering every word in the paper.

When considering the paper as a whole, make sure that everything fits into a coherent overall plan. That plan should be to defend your thesis statement. The paper should have the appropriate sections necessary for implementing your defense of that thesis statement, and of course those sections should consist of an introduction, a presentation of the positron or argument you're considering, critical remarks about that argument or position, consideration of objections to your critical remarks, and a conclusion. However you accomplish those overall tasks, do it in a way such that the overall structure of the paper is clear.

When considering each individual section, be sure that each section fulfils the function that it's supposed to as far as its role in the overall paper is concerned. The introduction should do a good clear job of introducing the material to come, for instance, and it should do only that. A section of the paper that presents an argument or position should be focused only on that argument or position, and anything else (like some criticism of that argument or position) should go in a different section. Transitions between sections should also be clearly indicated.

Individual paragraphs also need to be considered to be sure that the paragraph in question serves a clear function within the section of which it is a part. Furthermore, make sure that each paragraph has just one function. For instance, if a paragraph presents both an argument and a response to that argument, then that paragraph needs to be divided into two separate paragraphs. Each paragraph should have just one main point, and that paragraph should fit properly into the section of which it is a part.

For individual sentences, every one of them should be clear and grammatically well-formed. But there's more to it than that. Each sentence should have a specific role to play in the paragraph of which it is a part. If you have any sentences that just don't fit with the plan for that particular paragraph, then that sentence should be excluded or revised so that it does fit.

As for words, the main thing to aim for with respect to content is that each word is used in a way where its meaning is clear. If you use any technical terms (like 'valid' and 'sound', for instance), be sure that those terms are used in the proper way. If you use a fairly normal word in some technical sense (like 'thinking' or 'perceiving', for instance), be sure that the reader knows how you're using that term. A word like 'thinking' can be used to mean the same thing as 'contemplating' or 'considering', for instance, but it can also be used to speak of any kind of conscious thought whatsoever. So be clear with respect to your terminology: You might know what you mean by your use of a given word, but don't count on the reader to grasp what you mean right away.

Evaluating your arguments. All of the above considerations have to do with making your thoughts clear with respect to the structure and clarity of the paper. That's only half the battle with respect to making content-related revisions, though. It's also important when proofreading and revising to verify that one has done an effective job of arguing for one's main thesis. But how does one do that?

Of course, if you're out to defend some thesis or other (which you are), then your paper will have some overall argument for that thesis. But ask yourself some critical questions about the details of that argument: Am I entitled to the premises of my argument? Have I provided good reason to think the premises of my argument are true? If not, then you'll need to make some additions in order to press your argument in an effective way. If you have other arguments that are intended to defend the premises of your overall argument, ask yourself the same kind of critical questions about those arguments. Lots of things are controversial in philosophy, naturally, so beware of making some controversial claim without also giving some defense of that claim.

Be careful about what you're entitled to conclude, too. For instance, if your paper sets out to show that a given argument is unsound, then remember that you're not entitled to conclude that the conclusion of that argument is false. There might be some other argument out there in favor of that conclusion that really does work, right? Here's another example: Suppose that you're aiming to defend some argument against an objection. You present the argument, the objection, and your answer to that objection. Are you then entitled to conclude that the argument is sound? No. You've done a good thing if you successfully defended that argument against that objection, but that's all you've done. For there might be some other objection out there that really does show the argument to be unsound.

Another thing to beware of is that of committing an informal fallacy. Make sure that you haven't begged any questions, for instance. Verify that you haven't somehow assumed what you're trying to prove, and that you haven't assumed the truth of some controversial claim in the course of making your argument. Beware of committing a straw man fallacy too: Don't attack a watered-down version of the argument or position that you're considering, because the stronger version of that argument or position might be immune to the criticism that you make.

Mechanics-related Revising

Most of what follows below goes without saying, but here are some hints with respect to seeking out and eliminating mechanical errors. The spelling of every word needs to be checked, and so does the grammar of every sentence. You'll also need to verify that everything that needs a citation has indeed been cited (and properly cited, for that matter).

Spelling. Nearly everyone uses a word processor these days, so use the spellcheck tool. But beware of accepting every change recommended. If you do that, 'dualist' might get changed to 'duelist', and 'Descartes' might get changed to 'Desecrate'. It might also let 'weather' through as acceptable, when you really needed to use the word 'whether'. After you check the spelling once, read everything through again carefully while verifying that you really do have every word spelled correctly with respect to how each word is used in the context of that sentence.

Some common errors that often slip by:

• "its" and "it's" The word "its" is the possessive form of "it". The word "it's" is a contraction that is short for "it is".
• "everyday" and "every day". The word "everyday" is an adjective, and the expression "every day" is used to refer to all days.
• "your" and "you're". "Your" has a possessive sense (as in "Your hair is on fire."). "You're" is a contraction that is short for "you are".
• "then" and "than". A conditional is expressed as "If...,then...," not "If..., than..."
• "weather", "whether", and "wether". The first is a meteorological term, the second is used in the expression "Whether or not...," and the third is another name for a castrated sheep.
• "effect" and "affect". "Effect" is a noun used to speak of the result of some cause. "Affect" is a verb.
• "valid" and "sound". Both of these logical terms are used to speak of whole arguments. Validity has to do with an argument's logical form, and soundness requires that an argument is both valid and has all true premises. Individual claims or sentences aren't valid or sound.
• "true" and "false". These apply only to sentences or claims. Arguments aren't true or false.
• "there", "their", and 'they're". "There" may be used to refer to a place, and also as an expletive (as in "There are..."). "Their" has a possessive sense (as in "The neighbors had their roof replaced."), and "they're" is a contraction that is short for "there are".
• "conscious", "conscience". What it is to be conscious is an important issue in the philosophy of mind. To have a conscience means to have some sort of moral code that one lives by.

Grammar. Make sure that every sentence is grammatically well-formed. Your word processor's grammar checker is a useful tool, as is the writing handbook that you probably already own. If you don't own a writing handbook, get one.

Awkward and wordy sentences need to be eliminated or revised, and sentences that are too long need to be broken up into more than one sentence. It sometimes can be helpful to read your paper out loud: If you wind up stammering or taking a lot of extra breaths while reading your paper, then you probably have some sentences that are awkward, wordy, or too long.

Citations. The basic rule of thumb is this: If you say something in your paper that isn't your own idea, then you need a citation. Follow a proper format for providing citations, and include a list of works cited if your citation method calls for it.

Final Suggestions

(1) Sometimes it can be helpful to have someone else read your draft. But be careful: If that person has no grasp of what counts as good writing, then your paper could wind up being worse. Philosophical comments by other readers can of course be good, but always let yourself be the final judge of what changes to make. Don't forget that I'm willing to read drafts and offer suggestions. That's part of what I get paid to do.

(2) If you make any major changes while revising your paper, it's always a good idea to keep a saved copy of the draft you started with. You might need to look back at what you had in the earlier draft, for instance, and you might find that you need to start over with the revising process from the point of your first draft. Keeping extra copies of earlier drafts also can eliminate some headaches: If some major malfunction occurs and you lose the draft that you're working on, then you can go back to the previous draft and start from there.

(3) When is the revising process over? Well, in the absence of a due date, the revising process could in principle go on forever. But at some point you have to make a decision as to whether the paper is in a final form or not, and that may well coincide with the date and time that the paper is due. So leave yourself plenty of time beforehand to proofread, revise, and make changes.

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