Rewrite, Revise

Writers, take a note. Once you have filled the page-count requirement of your professor's assignment, you are not done!

All good writing has been through multiple drafts. Yours is no exception.

Strunk and White's Rule 17 states, "Omit Needless Words." In fact, this is a great place to start any good revision.

Read through your work and search out those redundant words and phrases. I would start with adverbs. Any word ending in "ly" is a suspect here. What do adverbs do? Adverbs modify verbs and adjectives, among other things. They don't do anything. Adjectives do a bit more, but adverbs are like the guy who shows up two hours late to help you move. He carries a lamp and then sits down to have some pizza. Ask him to go home.

What you need to do when revising is to maximize the clarity of your ideas. When you ideas are clear, your professors will see them and give you credit for them. Plus, these poor souls are overworked in this abysmal economy. More students are heading to school, but there's less money to pay teachers - at least at public schools.

So, do yourself a favor and omit needless words. Clear the brush so that your professors might see your meaning. Your grades will see an improvement as a result.