Unlock Student Success with the CUPS & ARMS Editing Strategy

Editing and revising — two words that can strike fear into even the most confident young writers. But what if you had a teacher resource that makes this tricky process simple, structured, and actually enjoyable for your students?

Enter the CUPS and ARMS Editing & Revising Bundle from Gifted and Talented Teacher — your new secret weapon for teaching students how to polish their writing like pros.

What are the CUPS and ARMS strategies?

CUPS and ARMS are easy-to-remember acronyms that guide students through the essential steps of editing and revising their writing. Think of them as the ultimate checklists for self-editing.

CUPS focuses on Editing — correcting mechanical errors:

• Capitalisation
• Understanding 
• Punctuation
• Spelling

ARMS tackles Revising — improving the content and structure:

• Add (details, descriptions)
• Remove (unnecessary info)
• Move (sentences or ideas for flow)
• Substitute (better words or phrases)

Together, these strategies empower students to take ownership of their writing process and develop stronger, clearer texts.

5 Teacher Tips for Teaching CUPS and ARMS

1. Model the Process Out Loud: Show students your own writing and talk through how you apply CUPS and ARMS. Hearing your thinking makes it less mysterious.

2. Start Small: Focus on one or two elements at a time (e.g., punctuation and spelling first). Gradually add more as students master each skill.

3. Use Peer Editing: Pair students up and have them use the CUPS and ARMS checklists on each other’s work. It builds critical reading skills and teamwork.

4. Celebrate Improvements: Highlight before-and-after writing samples to show how revising and editing make a difference. It motivates students to keep improving.

5. Make It Routine: Incorporate CUPS and ARMS into every writing task so students naturally begin self-editing without prompts.

With the CUPS and ARMS Editing & Revising Bundle, editing and revising stop being a chore and start being a skill— one that your students can confidently own and apply across subjects and grade levels.

This teacher resource is more than just a poster set; it’s a complete system that transforms how students approach writing. And when students write better, they feel better about writing.

Ready to empower your writers with CUPS and ARMS?

Grab the bundle today and watch your students become editing experts — one capital letter and one powerful revision at a time.