After toiling to write your text, it is now time to cross your t’s and dot your I’s. you will need to do some editing before making it a complete paper. It allows you to remove distractions like errors in paragraph structure, grammar, and choice of words.
Difference between Editing, Revising, and Proofreading
- Revising: it involves the process of writing and re-writing your text. When adjusting, you will rearrange, add, replace, or remove information.
- Proofreading: it is a practice that gets involved in the process of editing the overall text. Its primary focus is on spelling, punctuation, syntax, formatting, and grammar.
- Editing: this step takes a look at the presentation of a paper. It involves proofreading and also checks to see if the article is more comfortable to comprehend.
These are the steps to get included.
- Read for the structure of the paper
On the initial times of reading, look for the overall paper organization, flow, and structure. Ask these questions while going through your work;
- Does the text contribute to and support your thesis from the intro?
- Do you have a smooth flow between your paragraphs?
- Is your tone matching in the whole paper?
- Are the sentences clear and vivid?
- Read for Punctuation and Grammar
The next step is to look at the details of your text. In this part, you will check on the punctuation, grammar, and choice of words. Ask yourself the following questions;
- Do you have the correct spellings?
- Have you accurately used the punctuation marks?
- Have you correctly formatted your citations?
- Do you have a parallel structure in your sentences?
- Are there many clichés that closed your argument?
- Halt your Working
Yes, stop. It may seem as though it is the most efficient time to switch on your turbo and visit all the stages of editing, but no. when you take time away from your paper, whether it is a day or an hour, you will go back to the article with fresh eyes. You will see the flaws you may have skipped as you were too engrossed during the writing process.
- Read loudly again
If you have not done this yet, now is the time. It will help you notice the nitty-gritty that you may have skipped in your first read. You can either do it yourself or have someone step in for you. That way, the brain will get the information in a new way, and you may notice some mistakes you did not earlier do.
- Call an ally
You have now written your work and read it several times. You can easily recall your thesis by now, and the information is lying bare in your mind. The next step is to have a friend, mentor, or classmate go through your paper. It will allow you to give the article to a fresh set of eyes, and you may highlight mistakes that you may have skipped. You may easily forget errors while editing your own since your brain may fill out the blanks for you on what you wanted to say. Let your friend ask you the questions as you answer them, for example;
- What is the main point of the author in the paper?
- Do the issues have enough support?
- Can you easily follow through with the article and understand it?
- Are there grammatical errors?
- Is the punctuation correct?
Do not get discouraged if your friend makes many corrections as they want you to pass the test.
After reviewing the changes made by your peer:
- Go through the paper one last time.
- Cross-check your citations.
- Get confident in your blocks and word choices.
- After making the corrections you want in your paper, get over it. You could obsess over some phrase, paragraph, or sentence somewhere in the body of your text, but you can also be cocksure that you have given your all in the paper and is ready for submission.
Editing does not mean to discourage you from your paper or the process of writing. It gets intended to make sure that whatever you have written is crisp and that readers and instructors can understand and comprehend your writing.
When you follow the steps mentioned above, you will get better positioned to submit a high-quality paper that can fetch you excellent grades and help you become a better writer.