Revising Your Speech

Revising for Word Choice- When you revise for word choice, you read your writing and
change words or ideas that might seem vague, repetitive, clich, weird, or too wordy to
your reader.
Revising for Spelling- When you revise for spelling, you change words that are
misspelled into words that are correctly spelled. Refer to online lists of commonly
misspelled words.
Example: I like wearing my neclace. Revision: I like wearing my necklace.
Revising for Capitalization- When you revise for capitalization, you make sure the
appropriate words are capitalized.
Quick Capitalization Rules: capitalize proper nouns, family relationships (Example: I saw
Auntie Agusta), directions that are names (Example: I went to the South this summer),
days of the week, months, holidays, the first word in a sentence that has a direct quote,
and time periods
Revising for Punctuation- You revise your writing to correctly punctuate sentences.
; Use a semicolon to separate 2 closely related independent clauses
, Use a comma to separate items in a series, two or more adjectives preceding a noun,
before a coordinating conjunction when it joins independent clauses in a compound
sentence, to set off an expression that interrupts a sentence, to set off words of direct
address, to set off a parenthetical expression, after certain introductory elements
: Use a colon before a list of items, before a statement that explains or clarifies a
preceding statement, before a long quotation
Transition Between Ideas or Paragraphs- when you revise your writing to make
effective transitions between ideas or paragraphs, you make sure your ideas flow from
one to the next in a way that makes sense. You could incorporate transition words into
your writing to make your writing flow better. For a list of transition words, refer to
websites online.
Revising for Consistent Point of View-When you revise your writing for a consistent
point of view, you check to make sure your writing does not fluctuate between different
points of view.
Example of Inconsistent Point of View: Though Im a teenager, I confess that I too feel
thrilled to receive a letter in the mail. I love seeing my name written by hand on an
envelope. You make yourself a nice cup of cocoa or lemonade, sit down in a cozy place
Revising for Parallelism- Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to
show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the
word, phrase, or clause level. The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of
coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."

Incorrect:
My degree, my work experience, and ability to complete complicated projects qualify me
for the job.
Correct:
My degree, my work experience, and my ability to complete complicated projects qualify
me for the job.
Revising for Apposition- An appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside another
noun or pronoun to identify or describe it. Appositives and appositive phrases that are not
essential to the meaning of the sentence are set off by commas.
Example: Rachel Carson, a biologist and a writer, published the book Silent Spring in
1982.
Revising for Sensory Language: When you revise for sensory language, you revise your
writing so that the reader can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell as the reader reads your
writing.
Sentence A: The cat is nice.
Revision: The fat, grey (SEE) cat with the softest (TOUCH) fur in the world is beyond
nice.
Revising for Active Voice- When you revise for active voice, you make the subject of the
sentence act upon the verb.
Active voice: Marilyn mailed the letter. Marilyn (subject) is doing the mailing.
Passive voice: The letter was mailed to Marilyn.

Directions: Read the speech we wrote together. Revise the speech in at least 4
different ways. See ways to revise above.
Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you
believe. Oprah Winfrey
I was told I would be nobody. That I wouldnt be successful in life because I did
everything wrong. I talked the wrong way. I dressed the wrong way. I hung out with the
wrong crowd. I didnt believe there lies fuled by their own insecurities.
I didnt believe in their lies. I believed in my ability to be the best musician in the
school. I am now the head violin player in the orchestra.