Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 82, No. 8, August 2009
Below is a sample revision checklist. It is a general checklist; not all points may be relevant to all documents. You may want to add checklist points that are specific to your own writing.
Large-scale Revision
- Does the document contain all necessary parts and sections?
- Do all the parts and sections contain everything they need to contain?
- Have you followed all formatting requirements, including page or word limits, if any?
- Does the document have visual appeal?
- Are hard-copy pages in the proper order?
Small-scale Revision
Paragraphs
- Do paragraphs begin with strong thesis sentences?
- Do paragraphs stay on topic?
- Do all sentences in each paragraph connect together?
- Does one paragraph transition to the next?
- Are paragraphs a reasonable length?
Sentences
- Have you omitted needless words?
- Do the lengths of your sentences vary?
- Are the subjects and verbs close together, near the beginning of the sentence?
- Have you chosen active over passive voice, unless you need passive voice for a particular reason (such as preferring to downplay the actor or subject in the sentence)?
Words
- Have you eliminated legal jargon?
- Do you use strong, precise verbs?
- Have you eliminated nominalizations (e.g., words that end in -tion, -ability, -ment), changing them back to verbs?
- Can you turn a multiple-word phrase into a single word?
Proofread
- Are all words spelled correctly? DO NOT rely solely on the spell-checking function!
- Do subjects and verbs agree in tense?
- Are commas and other punctuation properly used?
- Are citations placed where needed?
- Is your citation format correct?
- Have you followed all other Bluebook or firm- or court-mandated conventions?
Wisconsin Lawyer
