C1 Lesson 3: Critical Self-Revision
You have planned your essay and written a first draft. The next stage, revision1, is where good writing becomes excellent writing. At the C1 level, revision is not just fixing mistakes; it's a critical2 process of questioning and strengthening your own work.
To revise effectively, you must learn to read your own writing with objective, critical eyes, focusing on "big picture" issues like clarity, organization, and the strength of your argument.
The Mindset of a Reviser: Be Your Own Toughest Critic
The goal of revision is to improve your ideas and how you express them. You must be willing to make big changes: delete weak sentences, reorder paragraphs, or add better evidence. A great practical tip is to let your draft rest for a day before revising it. Coming back with fresh eyes helps you see its weaknesses more clearly.
Revising in Action: From a Good Draft to a Great Draft
Let's look at a "good" first draft of a paragraph and see how critical revision can make it much stronger.
First Draft (Good, but simple):
A big advantage of technology is that it helps students learn. For example, students can use the internet to find information for their homework. This is much faster than using books from the library. So, technology makes learning better.
Revised Draft (Sophisticated and Developed ✅):
Unquestionably, one of the most significant benefits of modern technology is its transformative impact on education. (Style: Stronger vocabulary and topic sentence). With internet access, students are no longer limited to physical textbooks. They can, for instance, access academic journals, historical archives, and expert lectures from around the globe instantly. (Content: More specific and stronger evidence). This immediate access to a vast repository of information fosters a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of any subject, far beyond what a single library could offer. Ultimately, technology empowers students to become more independent and resourceful learners. (Clarity & Content: Better explanation and concluding thought).
✍️ C1 Critical Revision Checklist
Use these questions to guide your revision process. Be honest with your answers!
- ✔️ Argument & Coherence: Is my thesis statement truly nuanced and arguable? Does every single paragraph directly support it? Is the order of my paragraphs as persuasive as possible?
- ✔️ Paragraph Development: Is each body paragraph well-developed with strong Evidence and, most importantly, deep Explanation? Have I answered the "so what?" question for every piece of evidence?
- ✔️ Clarity and Conciseness: Is every sentence crystal clear? Have I removed any repetitive or unnecessary "filler" words to make my points more powerful?
- ✔️ Style and Fluency: Have I used a variety of advanced sentence structures? Could I upgrade my vocabulary to be more precise and academic? Does the text flow smoothly?
🧠 Practice Quiz: Identify the Weakness
Read the paragraph below. From a C1 perspective, what is its main weakness that needs revision?
Paragraph: "The main reason to visit Kampot is because of the river. The river is very nice. You can see the sunset on the river. You can take a boat on the river. The river is a good part of the town."
- The grammar is incorrect.
- The paragraph lacks stylistic variety and is very repetitive.
- The paragraph is off-topic.
Answer: B. The paragraph is grammatically correct and on-topic, but it is extremely monotonous. A C1-level revision would combine sentences, vary the sentence beginnings, and use more sophisticated vocabulary to improve the style and fluency.
📝 Homework: The Critical Revision
This is one of the most important homework assignments you will do. It is time to be a critical editor of your own work.
Your Task: Take the complete first draft of the essay you wrote in the last lesson.
- Read your essay aloud to check for flow and awkward phrasing.
- Use the C1 Critical Revision Checklist to analyze your work. Focus on the "big picture" issues first (argument, coherence, development).
- In your notebook, rewrite one of your body paragraphs to make it significantly stronger. Your goal is not just to fix errors, but to improve the quality of the argument, the depth of the explanation, or the sophistication of the style.
Be prepared to delete sentences, add new evidence, and completely rephrase your ideas. This is the heart of the revision process!
Vocabulary Glossary
- To revise: (Verb) - កែសម្រួល (ខ្លឹមសារ) - To re-examine your writing to improve ideas, organization, clarity, and style. ↩
- Critical (thinking): (Adjective) - ការគិតពិចារណា - The objective analysis and evaluation of your own work to improve it. ↩
- Coherence: (Noun) - ភាពស៊ីសង្វាក់គ្នា - The quality of a text's "big picture" logic and consistency. ↩
- Nuanced: (Adjective) - លម្អិត - Characterized by subtle but important differences in meaning and thought. ↩
- To interrogate: (Verb) - សួរចម្លើយ - To question something thoroughly and critically.