Summarize the following:
When you’ve finished your first draft of your paper, step away from it for at least a little while. Waiting to revise for a day or two is ideal, although that may not be possible under a deadline. Getting your mind away from your essay is beneficial in that it allows you to come back at it with a fresh perspective. You’ll see errors and areas for expansion that you never would have considered before. This is another reason why it is best to not procrastinate when writing an essay of this type. You will need ample time to complete the process in a patient way in order to create your best possible work. As soon as you know that you’ll need to write an essay it is a good idea to approach a friend or classmate and ask them to spend a bit of time looking over your rough draft. Before you hand over your draft it is a good idea to let you reader know if there are any particular ‘trouble areas’ that you would like them to focus on. You might say, “Please focus on the word choice as that is a weakness of mine.” Once you’ve given your paper some down time and had another person look it over you will then need to start the personal revision process. Find a quiet place where you can sit down and closely read over your essay word-by-word. Look for both macro (large, major) and micro (smaller, details) issues and make these changes.  Some people find it helpful to print out your paper at this point and make your revisions on a hard copy. This can also protect you in the event that you experience any computer troubles. One strategy is to split your revisions into two parts: one revision for grammar and spelling and another to examine the organization and content of your paper. When you are writing a ‘split’ topic essay, such as a compare/contrast or cause/effect, it is particularly important to make your transitions clear and obvious to the reader. This will signal to your reader that you are switching from one area to another. Good transition words include, “therefore,” “consequently,” “thus,” and many others.
Leave it alone. Ask a friend to read it. Read it again and revise. Pay attention to the transitions.