Revision, Peer Review and Citation Conventions: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
25 flashcard terms for College Writing & Rhetoric Topic 8, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards, or test yourself with the 15-question quiz — free, no account needed.
Rethinking claim, structure, and evidence rather than polishing sentences. It is the stage where a paper's grade is usually determined, and it must come before line editing to avoid wasted effort.
Local revision
Work at the level of paragraphs and sentences, improving flow, emphasis, and word choice once the argument is settled. Doing it too early means polishing material that will be cut.
Line editing
Sentence-by-sentence attention to clarity, rhythm, and economy. It differs from proofreading in that it changes how ideas are expressed rather than correcting outright errors.
Proofreading
The final pass catching typographic, spelling, punctuation, and formatting errors. It works best slowed deliberately, since fluent reading makes the eye supply what the page does not contain.
Reverse outline
Listing after drafting what each paragraph actually claims and does. Comparing that list to the intended structure exposes repetition, gaps, and paragraphs that serve no function.
Revision triage
Ranking possible changes by their effect on the reader so limited time goes to the argument before the commas. Without it, writers spend the last hour on the least consequential layer.
Descriptive feedback
Reader response that reports the experience of reading, such as where attention lagged or a claim seemed unsupported. It is more useful than verdicts because it gives the writer something to act on.
Evaluative feedback
Response that judges quality, such as calling a section strong or weak. It orients a writer quickly but leaves the diagnosis and the repair unspecified.
Directive feedback
Response that prescribes a specific change to make. It is efficient for conventions and risky for argument, since it can substitute the reviewer's paper for the writer's.
Reader-response protocol
A structured peer review routine in which the reviewer reports understanding first, then questions, then suggestions. The order prevents the session from collapsing into surface corrections.
Writer's agenda in review
The short list of questions a writer supplies before peer review so readers examine the parts most in doubt. Reviews without an agenda drift toward whatever is easiest to comment on.
Feedback triage by the writer
Deciding which comments to act on, defer, or decline, with a reason recorded. Authorship includes the right to reject advice, provided the underlying confusion is addressed some other way.
Global coherence check
Reading only the first sentence of each paragraph in order to test whether the argument advances. Breaks in the resulting sequence mark where transitions or reordering are needed.
Cut list
A separate document holding material removed during revision. Keeping it makes writers far more willing to delete, because nothing feels permanently lost.
Citation system
A coordinated set of conventions for signalling borrowed material in the text and describing sources in a list. Systems differ in emphasis, and disciplines adopt the one matching how they use evidence.
Author-page style
A humanities convention pairing a brief in-text reference to author and location with a full alphabetical list of works cited. It suits close textual work where readers may check exact passages.
Author-date style
A social and natural science convention placing the author and year in the text with an alphabetical reference list. Foregrounding the date reflects fields where recency bears on credibility.
Notes-bibliography style
A convention using numbered notes for source details and commentary alongside a bibliography. It suits history and some humanities work where sources are varied and discussion of them is part of the argument.
In-text signal of borrowing
The brief marker showing that specific words or ideas came from elsewhere and pointing to the full entry. Its function is identical across systems even though its punctuation differs.
Reference list versus bibliography
A reference list records only works actually cited, while a bibliography may also include works consulted. Submitting the wrong one misreports what the research actually used.
Locator
The pointer to the exact place within a source, such as a page, section, or timestamp. Including it lets a reader verify the use, which is the underlying purpose of citation.
Persistent identifier
A stable link or code assigned to a digital work so it remains findable when site addresses change. Preferring it to a raw address protects a bibliography from decaying over time.
Citation management tool
Software that stores records and generates formatted entries. It speeds work but imports flawed metadata silently, so its output still requires checking against the source.
Format consistency
Applying one system uniformly across in-text markers, the source list, and headings. Inconsistency signals carelessness to readers even when every individual entry is defensible.
Submission audit
A last check confirming that every in-text marker has a matching entry, every entry is cited, and file naming and length requirements are met. It catches the errors that cost marks for no intellectual reason.