Writing & StyleStyle guide

Document Revision History

Cornell’s document-control policy defines version control as tracking document versions, including revision history, modification dates and approval status, and requires changes to be documented. A revision history is therefore a governance/audit tool, not merely decorative front matter.

Quick answer

A document revision history records controlled changes across versions—typically enough information to identify the version, modification/revision date and what changed. Exact fields and numbering follow the organization’s document-control policy.

Key details

Core IssueInstitutional document-control policy uses revision history as part of version control to track changes, modification dates and approval status
Registercontrolled policies, procedures and maintained organizational documents

Important caveats

Scope Boundary

["Version numbering and approval rules are organization-specific; do not impose one numbering scheme as a universal standard."]

Further guidance

Fields

["Record the fields required by the governing process, commonly version/revision identifier, date and a concise change description; owner/approval fields may also be required."]

Purpose

["Use a revision history when readers or maintainers need an auditable record of document changes across controlled versions."]

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. Document Development, Review, and Control Policy — Cornell Research Services (opens in a new tab)Cornell University Research Services · Institutional document-control policy covering version control, modification dates, approval status and revision history

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