Revising your own work is difficult. We are so accustomed to our own writerly style, tone, and voice, and so immersed in our own prose, that we often struggle to consider it critically. Creating distance by taking a few days off between finishing a draft and reviewing it certainly helps, as does working with a consultant at the Writing Center. But, if you are revising by yourself, we suggest you consider your prose through fresh eyes by reading it out loud in this exercise we call “Writing for the Ear.”

There are many benefits to reading aloud, but the main one in regards to revising your own text is that listening to your work rather than silently reading it, means using a different mechanism — ears rather than eyes — for comprehension. While your eyes are accustomed to reading your work and will start to overlook awkward and vague phrasing, your ears are unaccustomed to hearing your work and therefore act more like an outside reader. The result is that your ear will pick up syntactical errors, monotonous phrasing, and run-on sentences that your eyes have missed. In short, you become your own audience.

It can be helpful to read an entire essay, conference presentation, chapter, thesis, or dissertation aloud, but here we’ll focus on reading a section or even just a few paragraphs in need of revision. 

Step 1: Pick a section in need of revision and find a place where you can read aloud without being interrupted and without bothering anyone else. Then, start reading slowly and deliberately, paying attention to the following: 

• • Are there moments when your voice stumbles and pauses? This could indicate that the prose there is awkward.
  • Are there phrases or sentences that feel unmanageable to say? Reread them and listen to your breath. Did you have to pause midway through a sentence to take a breath or feel breathless after reading those sentences? This could indicate that the sentence is too long.
  • Are there sentences where you find yourself wondering how you got there from the previous sentence? This could indicate that your sentences do not flow as smoothly as they could.
  • Are there places where you hear yourself droning or feel bored? Does every sentence sound like it lasts the same amount of time? This could indicate that you need to vary your sentence length to make your prose more dynamic. To address this particular issue, try using the strategy in “Does Your Writing Feel Dull and Flat? Use Ventilation to Make it More Dynamic.”

When you notice any of these things, highlight the corresponding text and create a marginal note that describes what you heard. You’ll use these notes to guide your revision work.

Step 2: At the end of each paragraph, stop reading and ask yourself the following questions: Does that make sense? Do all of the sentences flow together? Can I make my argument more efficiently and elegantly in this paragraph? Make notes to help you revise before moving onto the next paragraph. You might even try revising phrases or sentences that don’t feel quite right by voicing alternative versions out loud to test how they sound and then include those possibilities in your marginal note for future reference.

Step 3: When you reach the end of your section, decide how you want to approach the revision process to adjust your style. For instance, you might choose to address all the moments where you stumbled first and then shift your attention to introducing more variety in your sentence length. Alternatively, you might focus on trying to make your sentences flow first and then go back to rewrite any awkward phrases you identified. After you’ve revised the paragraph or section, read it aloud again to test whether the changes you’ve made have the effect you want them to.

Reading your work out loud is particularly helpful if you are writing against a deadline because it reduces the amount of time you have to wait between finishing a draft and revising it. “Writing for the Ear” is also helpful when you are writing in a genre that requires a specific style and voice, like a grant or fellowship applications. Your ears will pick up on deviations from the desired sound more than your eyes.

For more revision strategies that help you become your own audience, see “Unsure of Reader Objections to Your Work? Strengthen Your Argument by Playing Devil’s Advocate” and “Is Your Prose Murky and Full of Jargon? Try This Writing Exercise: “What I Really Mean Is…”