“I'll rewrite the article to fix these two sentences.”
Usage Entry 1193 / 1350 60-second read
Revise vs. Rewrite
Adjust the existing draft versus start from scratch.
The comparisoni
“I'll revise the article to fix these two sentences. A rewrite would be starting over.”
The ruleii
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REVISE = adjust. REWRITE = redo.
REVISE keeps the existing draft and improves it — trims, restructures, tightens. REWRITE discards the draft and produces a new one. Editors say "revise" when structure's OK; they say "rewrite" when it's fundamentally broken.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Revise keeps. Rewrite replaces.