Macro to Micro Revision

My writing students are encouraged to revise their work systematically. Instead of tearing into it with little forethought, I suggest they take a more measured approach. First, I suggest they review their work from a macro viewpoint, looking at the larger structural issues such as format, length, coherence and purpose. In other words, does the writing as a whole generally accomplish the purpose it was intended to accomplish? If not, it may need to undergo major additions, deletions, or rearrangements of text. Or it may need to be scrapped entirely. These larger issues need to be dealt with first before progressing to specific revisions. It makes no sense to tinker with sentence construction, for instance, when the entire paragraph is out of sync with the rest of the text. Once the larger issues are addressed and the draft is in alignment with the assignment or purpose, then the work can be reviewed from a micro viewpoint. This involves revising for grammar, punctuation, wording and nuance. This is the real nitty-gritty part of the revising process that often involves tedious manipulation of text. It's important at this point not to over-revise. If your revision feels like improvement and each rewording makes your writing smoother, keep working. However, if you're down to deciding between "and" or "the," it's probably time to stop revising. At this point, you're just swapping words, not making the draft better. Knowing when to stop revising is as important as knowing when to begin. Working at your revision process in an organized way from a wide angle lens to a zoom lens will make the rewriting easier and the results more rewarding.