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University of Michigan
Writing and Editing: Revising
  • About
  • Outcomes
  • Modules
  • Testimonials
  • Reviews
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  1. Personal Development
  2. Personal Development
University of Michigan

Writing and Editing: Revising

This course is part of Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization

Patrick Barry

Instructor: Patrick Barry

Access provided by Coursera Learning Team

23,973 already enrolled

4 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(379 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 13 hours
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course

4 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

(379 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 13 hours
Learn at your own pace
98%
Most learners liked this course
  • About
  • Outcomes
  • Modules
  • Testimonials
  • Reviews
  • Recommendations

What you'll learn

  • Learn how to become a better reader of your own writing

  • Apply the E-D-I-T framework

  • Identify uselessly accurate information

  • Create multiple ways to communicate the same data

Skills you'll gain

  • Detail Oriented
  • Editing
  • Concision
  • Writing and Editing
  • Proofreading
  • Self-Awareness
  • Communication Strategies
  • Constructive Feedback
  • Creativity
  • Communication

Details to know

Shareable certificate

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Assessments

21 assignments

Taught in English

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 4 modules in this course

This fourth and final course in the “Good with Words: Writing and Editing” series will help you master perhaps the most important step in the writing process: revising. You’ll learn about the difference between editing and proofreading. You’ll practice “un-numbing the numbers” so that data and statistics you use are clear and compelling. And you’ll be introduced to a framework for giving and receiving feedback that helpfully systematizes what should be cut and what should be kept from each draft.

As with the other three courses in this series, you will also get access to a wide range of books and other resources you can use even after you finish the course. These include: (1) the readings and exercises provided to the students who have taken the in-person version of this course at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago; (2) two digital libraries of excellent writing from a diverse collection of journalists, scientists, novelists, poets, historians, and entrepreneurs; and (3) a monthly “Good Sentences” email.

This week, we will focus on becoming better readers of our own writing.

What's included

6 videos15 readings5 assignments3 app items2 discussion prompts4 plugins

6 videos•Total 10 minutes
  • Introduction•1 minute•Preview module
  • Ken Burns, Alice Waters, and Ira Glass•3 minutes
  • Punctuation and Professionalism: Dependent Clauses•3 minutes
  • Takeaways•1 minute
  • Student Takeaway: Extra Ear•0 minutes
  • Student Takeaway: Sound and Sense•0 minutes
15 readings•Total 109 minutes
  • Teaching Style + Resources •3 minutes
  • Meet Professor Barry•2 minutes
  • Syllabus•10 minutes
  • University of Michigan Survey•10 minutes
  • Editing and Empathy•10 minutes
  • User-friendly •1 minute
  • Introduction to the Gamut Workbook Tool•5 minutes
  • Gamut Workbook FAQ: Locked Exercises•3 minutes
  • Gamut Workbook FAQ: Error 403•10 minutes
  • Good with Words Chapter 4 ("Sound and Sense")•20 minutes
  • Edit Our Edits•2 minutes
  • Punctuation and Professionalism: Introduction and Review•10 minutes
  • Notes on Nuance: Introduction and Review•15 minutes
  • Nuance Spotlight: James Baldwin •3 minutes
  • Good Sentences: Introduction and Review•5 minutes
5 assignments•Total 50 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Punctuation Practice: Dependent Clauses•5 minutes
  • Nuance Practice: James Baldwin•5 minutes
  • Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
3 app items•Total 30 minutes
  • Exercise—Proofreading Practice•10 minutes
  • Good Sentences (Style)•10 minutes
  • Exercise—Takeaways •10 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 6 minutes
  • User-friendly (Helpful)•3 minutes
  • User-friendly (Annoying)•3 minutes
4 plugins•Total 11 minutes
  • Drafting and Editing: Pixar•2 minutes
  • Drafting and Editing: Extra Ear•3 minutes
  • Drafting and Editing: The Trouble With Intentions•3 minutes
  • Drafting and Editing: Braintrust•3 minutes

This week, we will focus on eliminating uselessly accurate information.

What's included

7 videos3 readings5 assignments6 app items1 discussion prompt4 plugins

7 videos•Total 12 minutes
  • Previously On•1 minute•Preview module
  • Steve Jobs•3 minutes
  • Punctuation and Professionalism: Isadora Duncan → Duncan, Isadora•3 minutes
  • Nuance Spotlight: William F. Buckley, Jr.•2 minutes
  • Takeaways•0 minutes
  • Student Takeaway: 100 Words•0 minutes
  • Student Takeaway: Uselessly Accurate•0 minutes
3 readings•Total 26 minutes
  • Good with Words Chapter 6 ("Uselessly Accurate")•20 minutes
  • Experiment ("100 Words") •1 minute
  • Nuance Spotlight: William F. Buckley Jr.•5 minutes
5 assignments•Total 50 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•7 minutes
  • Punctuation Practice: Isadora Duncan→Duncan, Isadora•3 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
6 app items•Total 122 minutes
  • Exercise—Previously On•10 minutes
  • Exercise—The Writer's Diet (Flabby or Fit?)•7 minutes
  • 100 Words - Part 1•30 minutes
  • 100 Words - Part 2•60 minutes
  • Good Sentences (Punctuation)•10 minutes
  • Exercise - Takeaways •5 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • The Writer's Diet (Flabby or Fit?)•10 minutes
4 plugins•Total 12 minutes
  • Clutter: Wiliam Zinsser, Pablo Picasso, and Reading Your Writing Like an Enemy Would•6 minutes
  • Clutter: Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication•1 minute
  • Clutter: Cleanest Components•2 minutes
  • Clutter: Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and the Longest Brief in the English Langwidge•3 minutes

This week, we will focus on how to better communicate statistics.

What's included

8 videos2 readings7 assignments5 app items4 plugins

8 videos•Total 19 minutes
  • Previously On•0 minutes•Preview module
  • Previously On: Clutter•2 minutes
  • Writer → Reader•3 minutes
  • Discipline of Breaks•3 minutes
  • Attention Restoration•1 minute
  • Punctuation and Professionalism: If, Then•4 minutes
  • Notes on Nuance: "What _____ is to _____"•1 minute
  • Takeaways•1 minute
2 readings•Total 7 minutes
  • Multitasking Sentences•2 minutes
  • Notes on Nuance: "What _____ is to _____"•5 minutes
7 assignments•Total 65 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice •5 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Punctuation Practice: If, Then•5 minutes
  • Nuance Practice•10 minutes
  • Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
5 app items•Total 55 minutes
  • Activity - Previously On Reflection•10 minutes
  • Exercise—Word Choice, Word Confusion•10 minutes
  • Good Sentences (Corresponding Clearly)•10 minutes
  • (Optional) Exercise—Credit Check•15 minutes
  • Exercise—Takeaways •10 minutes
4 plugins•Total 16 minutes
  • Zombie Nouns: Trying to Sound Smart is a Pretty Dumb Strategy•7 minutes
  • Zombie Nouns: Taxation Without Representation•3 minutes
  • Zombie Nouns: Sentences That Move, Sentences That Sing•2 minutes
  • Clutter and Zombie Nouns: Cover the Windows•4 minutes

This week, we will focus on improving the reading inputs that affect our writing output.

What's included

10 videos5 readings4 assignments6 app items6 discussion prompts

10 videos•Total 22 minutes
  • Previously On•0 minutes•Preview module
  • Previously On: The Discipline of Breaks•2 minutes
  • Shot Selection•0 minutes
  • Un-numb the Numbers •3 minutes
  • Keep/Cut•4 minutes
  • E-D-I-T•5 minutes
  • Takeaways: Premortem•4 minutes
  • Student Takeaway: Premortem•0 minutes
  • Student Takeaway: Un-numb the Numbers•0 minutes
  • Student Takeaway: Keep/Cut•0 minutes
5 readings•Total 46 minutes
  • Shot Selection•15 minutes
  • Un-Numb the Numbers•10 minutes
  • Book Recommendations (Memoir)•10 minutes
  • Course Feedback•10 minutes
  • "Good with Words: Speaking and Presenting" and Michigan Online•1 minute
4 assignments•Total 42 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice: Un-numb the Numbers•2 minutes
  • Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
  • Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
6 app items•Total 55 minutes
  • Previously On: Reflection Activity•10 minutes
  • Exercise—Shot Selection•10 minutes
  • Exercise—"E-D-I-T"•10 minutes
  • Good Sentences (Habits and Habitats)•10 minutes
  • Exercise—Takeaways•5 minutes
  • Course Discussion•10 minutes
6 discussion prompts•Total 60 minutes
  • Shot Selection•10 minutes
  • "E-D-I-T" (Eliminate)•10 minutes
  • "E-D-I-T" (Decrease)•10 minutes
  • "E-D-I-T" (Increase)•10 minutes
  • "E-D-I-T" (Try)•10 minutes
  • Book Recommendation (Memoir)•10 minutes

Instructor

Instructor ratings

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

4.9 (87 ratings)
Patrick Barry
Patrick Barry
University of Michigan
16 Courses•218,457 learners

Offered by

University of Michigan

Offered by

University of Michigan

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

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Learner reviews

4.8

379 reviews

  • 5 stars

    84.39%

  • 4 stars

    12.43%

  • 3 stars

    2.64%

  • 2 stars

    0.26%

  • 1 star

    0.26%

Showing 3 of 379

D
DB
5

Reviewed on May 15, 2021

Simply spectacular. All the tools and techniques certainly make a difference when it comes to write.

D
DJ
5

Reviewed on Aug 4, 2020

The course is a very good course to enhance your skills and helps you become an architect of words

M
ML
5

Reviewed on Mar 30, 2021

Excellent course. Professor Barry brings English to life through engaging lectures and video presentations, to recommended readings, the course flows.

View more reviews

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