One of my main strategies for revising is reading through my writing as if I'm reading it aloud. While (fake) reading it aloud, I can catch any parts that either sound awkward or that aren't explained well enough. What really helped in my revision process was commenting on other essays before I revised my own. I printed out the two essays and my own, and I marked up the other two before I moved on to my own. By the time I got to marking up and commenting on my own, I was in editing mode and I already knew what to look for. I knew what may be lacking and what should be emphasized more. I used that momentum from commenting on the two essays to revise my own and in comparing my essay to others', I was able to make some revisions that I wouldn't have made if I was comparing my essay to my own. Also, in looking at my essay the way I did others', I found a lot of parts that needed more explanation.
Another strategy I used to revise was going back to it multiple times. I'm never in the same "writing mood," so looking at the essay while in different moods gives me different ways of revising. For example, if it's 1am, I may be in "analytical mode," and I may go through my analysis, making sure everything is explained properly. If it's 8pm and I'm feeling lazy, I may only look at the grammar and organization of my writing. It's nearly impossible to revise everything all at once, so it helps me to do it over a period of time, revising different parts at different times.
As a result of my revisions, the thing that changed the most is the structure of my essay and the explanations of my analysis. I have found that I have moved around paragraphs several times trying to find a god organization for my ideas. I have also been adding explanations to things that may have previously been vague.
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