What is the difference between revise and rewrite?

Asked by: Ross Bode  |  Last update: November 14, 2025
Score: 4.9/5 (55 votes)

For our purposes, rewriting would essentially mean throwing away your draft and starting again, whereas revising would mean making incremental improvements to your draft. For example, you begin to draft a business letter to a supplier because you have a complaint about recent late deliveries.

How is rewriting different from proofreading?

Good writing is rewriting.

New writers often mistake rewriting for proofreading. While proofreading is essential for good copy, proofreading means looking for grammatical and spelling errors. Editing, or revising, means changes of structure, format, and content. Rewriting doesn't mean using your spell check.

What does revise mean in writing?

What does it mean to revise? Revision literally means to “see again,” to look at something from a fresh, critical perspective. It is an ongoing process of rethinking the paper: reconsidering your arguments, reviewing your evidence, refining your purpose, reorganizing your presentation, reviving stale prose.

What does it mean to rewrite a paper?

Rewriting is a different process than writing. While writing means creating the paper from scratch, rewriting means changing an existing one to alter the way it looks and reads. There are many different reasons for rewriting an academic paper.

What is the difference between revise and revision?

The word revision is made up of re, as in "repeat" or "redo," and vision. So you can think of a revision as a redo of your original vision. It's related to the word revise, which is the act of making changes to something original.

Understand the difference between revising vs editing

19 related questions found

Do revision and rewriting mean the same thing?

For our purposes, rewriting would essentially mean throwing away your draft and starting again, whereas revising would mean making incremental improvements to your draft. For example, you begin to draft a business letter to a supplier because you have a complaint about recent late deliveries.

Does revise mean redo?

a. : to look over again in order to correct or improve. revise a manuscript. b. British : to study again : review.

What is an example of rewrite?

The teacher asked him to rewrite the essay. I had to rewrite the computer program. Then rewriting it in 2019, that took nine months or so.

Does editing mean rewriting?

Definition of Rewriting

Unlike copy editing, which focuses on refining the existing text, rewriting can involve reimagining entire sections, altering the narrative flow, or even changing the perspective from which the story is told.

What does it mean to revise an exam?

to study again something you have already learned, in preparation for an exam: We're revising (algebra) for the test tomorrow. Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples. to study something.

What is an example of revise?

revise verb (CHANGE)

in order to correct or improve it: His helpfulness today has made me revise my original opinion/impression of him. His publishers made him revise his manuscript three times. Fewer examples. Casualty figures were revised downward after the war had ended.

How to revise a paper?

How to Revise
  1. First, put your draft aside for a little while. Time away from your essay will allow for more objective self-evaluation. ...
  2. Check the focus of the paper. ...
  3. Get feedback. ...
  4. Think honestly about your thesis. ...
  5. Examine the balance within your paper. ...
  6. Proofread. ...
  7. Tips for writing good sentences:

What do you mean by revise?

to amend or alter: to revise one's opinion. Synonyms: correct, emend, change. to alter something already written or printed, in order to make corrections, improve, or update: to revise a manuscript.

What comes first proofreading or revising?

Revision should be done prior to proofreading. Revision tackles the biggest issues first. If you proofread first, you may spend time polishing text that won't make it into the final paper.

What is the difference between writing and rewriting?

Rewriting is the process of revising and editing what you've written to fix any grammatical errors and to ensure the information is correct, concise, and complete.

Is revising the same as proofreading?

Proofreading involves a surface-level scan of your paper. Revising refers to the process of making substantive changes to a written work. This post discusses the main differences between proofreading and revising.

Does revising mean rewriting your story True or false?

Rewriting involves completely reworking sections or the entire manuscript, often changing plot points, characters, or structure. Revision focuses on refining existing content, improving clarity, coherence, and style while maintaining the core story.

What does writing rewriting mean?

First draft. There's a great phrase, 'all writing is rewriting', which means that a final piece is actually rewritten in parts (sometimes over and over again) until it's the best it can be, rather than written start to finish perfectly the first time.

Does an editor rewrite the book?

Does a book editor rewrite? No. While some editors may offer rewriting services, that is usually separate from a developmental edit.

What is the synonym of rewrite?

rewrite (verb as in revise) Strongest matches. edit rework. Strong matches. recast redraft rephrase reword.

What is edit and rewrite?

Unlike editing, rewriting requires you to completely rephrase the entire content. Usually, when you rewrite a document you have to divide the current piece into several main ideas. Once that has been done, you can create a new text based on those ideas. There are many situations when you need to rewrite documents.

What is the difference between rewrite and rephrase?

Rephrasing may involve more substantial changes to the original text, including changing the order of sentences or the overall structure of the text. Rewording is changing individual words in a text without changing its meaning or structure, often using synonyms.

What is a better word for revise?

Some common synonyms of revise are amend, correct, emend, rectify, redress, reform, and remedy. While all these words mean "to make right what is wrong," revise suggests a careful examination of something and the making of necessary changes.

What comes after revise?

You have examined your essay for word choice, revising to cut unnecessary words and to replace weak wording with specific and appropriate wording. The next step after revising the content is editing.

Why do people revise?

The importance of revision for students is the students can turn in papers that are readable and will receive good grades.