REVISION CHECKLIST: NARRATIVES
Look critically at your draft, get response—and revise
Read your draft slowly and carefully. Try to see it as if for the first time: Does
the story grab your attention, and can you follow it? Can you tell what the point
is, and will your audience care? If at all possible, get feedback from others.
Following are some questions that can help you or others examine a narrative
with a critical eye:
• Who’s telling the story? Have you maintained a consistent point of view?
• Is the setting of your story clear? Have you situated the events in a well-
described time and place?
• Are there any visuals? If not, should you add some?
• Does the story have a clear point? Is the point stated explicitly—and if not,
should it be? If the main point is implied rather than stated, is the significance of
the story still clear?
• How satisfying is the conclusion? What does it leave the audience thinking?
How else might the narrative end?