You are almost finished, but now is not the time to fizzle out. This close to the end is exciting, so use that excitement to rocket your way through the final draft rather than rushing through it and missing important things. If you have not already printed your rough draft do so. This will allow you to make changes on the hard copy and incorporate all of the peer reviewers' suggestions without confusing yourself or rewring the same sentence multiple times as you might do on a computer.
When going through the suggestions of the peer reviewers you should always remember two things. First of all, keep in mind that just because it makes sense to you there is no guarantee that you are explaining it so that others will understand. You selelcted your reviewers as people you trust and value the opinion of; therefore, give their suggestions and ideas your full attention and though. Secondly, though, it is ultimately your paper and the final decisions are up to you. Do not blindly make all of the changes your reviewers suggested. Take them into consideration and even ask them why they changes what they did. Even though you might not take their suggestions, it is probable that their ideas will give you a new perspective and guide you to something you like even better.
Once you have worked out all the corrections you wish to make on paper return to the saved rough draft and make the changes there. Be sure to read over the paper after you have made your changes to ensure there are no typos or other errors left. DO NOT simply trust spell check. Remember that while spell check is a great help, it is only just a computer and it CANNOT read. Make any final corrections you need to make before you save your final draft.
Created by Gayle Taylor
Last Updated August 8, 2007