Writing and Editing: Revising
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Writing and Editing: Revising
This course is part of Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization
Instructor: Patrick Barry
27,572 already enrolled
Included with
408 reviews
408 reviews
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
Details to know
21 assignments
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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
- Ken Burns, Alice Waters, and Ira Glass•3 minutes
- Punctuation and Professionalism: Dependent Clauses•4 minutes
- Takeaways•1 minute
- Student Takeaway: Extra Ear•1 minute
- 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
- Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
- Punctuation Practice: Dependent Clauses•5 minutes
- Nuance Practice: James Baldwin•5 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 13 minutes
- Previously On•2 minutes
- Steve Jobs•3 minutes
- Punctuation and Professionalism: Isadora Duncan → Duncan, Isadora•4 minutes
- Nuance Spotlight: William F. Buckley, Jr.•2 minutes
- Takeaways•1 minute
- 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
- Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•7 minutes
- Punctuation Practice: Isadora Duncan→Duncan, Isadora•3 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•5 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•1 minute
- Previously On: Clutter•2 minutes
- Writer → Reader•3 minutes
- Discipline of Breaks•3 minutes
- Attention Restoration•1 minute
- Punctuation and Professionalism: If, Then•5 minutes
- Notes on Nuance: "What _____ is to _____"•2 minutes
- Takeaways•2 minutes
2 readings•Total 7 minutes
- Multitasking Sentences•2 minutes
- Notes on Nuance: "What _____ is to _____"•5 minutes
7 assignments•Total 65 minutes
- Weekly Review (Graded)•30 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
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 23 minutes
- Previously On•1 minute
- Previously On: The Discipline of Breaks•2 minutes
- Shot Selection•1 minute
- Un-numb the Numbers •3 minutes
- Keep/Cut•4 minutes
- E-D-I-T•5 minutes
- Takeaways: Premortem•5 minutes
- Student Takeaway: Premortem•0 minutes
- Student Takeaway: Un-numb the Numbers•1 minute
- Student Takeaway: Keep/Cut•1 minute
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
- Weekly Review (Graded)•30 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•5 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice: Un-numb the Numbers•2 minutes
- Low-Stakes Practice•5 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
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Reviewed on Jun 2, 2026
I truly enjoyed Professor Barry's presentations. I would recommend the course to anyone who wants to write with confidence.
Reviewed on Aug 3, 2020
The course is a very good course to enhance your skills and helps you become an architect of words
Reviewed on Mar 29, 2021
Excellent course. Professor Barry brings English to life through engaging lectures and video presentations, to recommended readings, the course flows.
Frequently asked questions
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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
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