Bring in a one-page message (email, memo, or letter) you have written in the past. Exchange papers with other students (so that you’re not revising the paper of the person who is revising yours). Spend a few minutes asking the writer to give you background information about the message: purpose, audience, and so on. Then, follow the three-step revision process described in Exercise 23.

Return the paper to the writer. Then, using the suggestions, prepare a final version of the message. You don’t have to take every suggestion; just those you believe will improve your message. Submit both the marked-up version and the final version of your paper to your instructor. For each suggestion that you didn’t accept, write a short note about why you decided to ignore it.

Exercise 23

Revise your draft email to the student organization. What changes will you make to improve the message? Follow these steps for the revision process:

a. Read the email once, revising for content. Make sure that all needed information—and no unnecessary information—is included for the audience. Check the sequencing.

b. Read the email a second time, revising for style. Make sure that the words, sentences, paragraphs, and overall tone are appropriate. How might the readers react?

c. Read the email a third time, revising for correctness. Make sure that grammar, punctuation, and word choice are error free.