Revising, Editing and Proofreading

1. Revising, Editing and Proofreading Editing isn’t a cosmetic process. It’s a thinking process. Richard Rhodes, author Making of the Atomic Bomb

2. Revision is an ongoing process of rethinking your paper. • Reconsider your arguments • Review your evidence • Refine your purpose • Reorganize your presentation • Revive stale or wordy prose

3. During the revision process, focus on two or three main areas each time. • Wait awhile after you’ve finished a draft before you look at it again. • Concentrate on the large issues in the paper, not the commas.

4. Start at the beginning of the document. • Start reading at the beginning when you are drafting and revising, and read until you come to a section where you will be working. • BUT be careful not to do endless revisions of the beginning of the paper!

5. Rename your drafts. • Every time you open your file, save it as a different file. • Put a date/time header on each draft.

6. Check the FOCUS of your paper. • Is your topic too big or too narrow? • Do you stay on track through the entire paper, or do you have extraneous information that can be deleted?

7. Consider your THESIS. • Does your paper follow through with what the thesis promises? • Do you support all the claims in your thesis? • Does it generalize instead of taking a specific position?

8. Think about your PURPOSE in writing. • Does your introduction state clearly what you intend to do? • Will your aims be clear to your readers?

9. Check the ORGANIZATION of your paper. • Does your paper follow a pattern that makes sense? • Do the transitions move your readers smoothly from one point to the next? • Do the topic sentences of each paragraph introduce what that paragraph is about?

10. Check your INFORMATION. • Are all your facts accurate? • Are any of your statements misleading? • Have you provided enough detail to support your thesis and back up your arguments? • Have you cited all your information appropriately?

11. Examine the BALANCE within your paper. • Are some parts out of proportion with others? • Do you spend too much time on one trivial point and neglect a more important point? • Do you give lots of detail early on and then let your points get thinner by the end?

12. During the revision process, look at your content first. • Revision doesn’t necessarily mean rewriting the entire paper. • Revision does mean tightening up your document.

13. How do I go about the process of revising? • Work from hard copy rather than on the computer screen. • Read your paper out loud. • Pick a few of the questions on content to examine each time you revise. • Solicit feedback and criticism of your writing.

14. How do I get to be good at revising? • Do it often. Be disciplined. • The more you write, the more you can cut. • Imagine yourself as a reader looking at your paper for the first time.

15. Give yourself time to revise. Something that sounded brilliant the moment you wrote it can prove to be less-than-brilliant when you give it a chance to incubate!

16. Pay attention to the “big picture” elements. Higher Order Concerns • Thesis or focus • Audience and purpose • Organization • Development

17. Pay attention to the “big picture.” • Lower Order Concerns • Sentence structure • Punctuation • Word choice • Spelling

18. Revising a document is like leveling a piece of land. • In the first couple of revisions, you use a pick or shovel for groundbreaking. • In your remaining revisions, you use a rake for smoothing. • At some point, you have to say “enough.”

19. Revising And Editing On Computers

20. Revising “On Screen” vs. “On Paper” • Avoid doing a lot of revising on screen. (Numerous research studies show that text revised on screen tends to be digressive, unfocused, wordy, and less concise.) • Print out a double-spaced copy of your draft for major revisions and for editing. Source: leo.stcloudstate.edu

21. Using spell checkers • Check a print dictionary for the correct spelling of a word before you add the word to your custom dictionary. • Look carefully at each word the spell checker isolates. Source: leo.stcloudstate.edu

22. Use the Search & Replace Feature • To scan for commonly misused words or phrases • To scan for your favorite punctuation errors • To scan for your wordiness patterns Source: leo.stcloudstate.edu

23. Editing andProofreading Your Paper Source: UNC Writing Center

24. When editing your paper, check for the following: Run-on Sentences and Sentence Fragments • Does each sentence have a subject, verb, and a complete thought? • Are your sentences too long or too short? • Does each sentence follow clearly and logically from the one before it?

25. How do I edit at the sentence level? • Use forceful verbs. • Look for places where you’ve used the same word or phrase twice or more in consecutive sentences. • Check your sentence variety.

26. How do I edit at the sentence level? • Cut as many prepositional phrases as you can without losing your meaning. • Be precise in word choice. • Get rid of extraneous words and phrases.

27. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Eliminate unnecessary determiners and modifiers. • Wordy • Any particular type of dessert is fine with me. • More Concise • Any dessert is fine with me. Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

28. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Change phrases into single words. • Wordy • The employee with ambition… • The department showing the best performance… • More Concise • The ambitious employee • The best-performing department

29. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Change unnecessary that, who, and which clauses into phrases. • Wordy • The report, which was released recently… • All applicants who are interested in the job must… • More Concise • The recently released report… • All job applicants must… Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

30. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Avoid using expletives at the beginning of sentences. • Wordy • It is the governor who signs or vetoes bills. • There are four rules that should be observed:… • More Concise • The governor signs or vetoes bills. • Four rules should be observed: … Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

31. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Use active rather than passive verbs. • Wordy: • An account was opened by Mrs. Simms. • Your figures were checked by the research department. • More Concise: • Mrs. Simms opened an account. • The research department checked your figures. Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

32. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs. • Wordy: • The function of this department is the collection of accounts. • The current focus of the medical profession is disease prevention. • More Concise: • This department collects accounts. • The medical profession currently focuses on disease prevention. Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

33. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Reword unnecessary infinitive phrases. • Wordy: • The duty of a clerk is to check all incoming mail and to record it. • More Concise: • A clerk checks and records all incoming mail. Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

34. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Replace circumlocutions with direct expressions. • Wordy: • At this/that point in time… • In accordance with your request… • More Concise: • Now/then… • As you requested… Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

35. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Omit words that explain the obvious or provide excessive detail. • Wordy: • I received your inquiry yesterday. Yes, we do have… • More Concise: • Yes, we do have… Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

36. Methods of Eliminating Wordiness • Omit repetitive wording. • Wordy: • The supply manager considered the correcting typewriter an unneeded luxury. • More Concise: • The supply manager considered the correcting typewriter a luxury. Source: owl.english.purdue.edu

37. Eliminating Wordiness For more information, consult today’s handout on conciseness, Now let’s try an exercise on eliminating wordiness at the sentence level. You may work alone, in pairs, or in small groups.

38. More Editing andProofreading Techniques Source: UNC Writing Center

39. When editing your paper, check for the following: Punctuation • Have you ended every sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation point? • Are your thoughts within sentences broken up correctly by commas? Have you broken up series with commas? • Have you used a period after abbreviations?

40. When editing your paper, check for the following: Quotation Marks • Did you place exact quotes within quotation marks? • Did you place all periods and commas inside the quotation marks?

41. When editing your paper, check for the following: Subject-Verb Agreements • Check every subject and verb to make sure that if you have used a singular subject, you have also used a singular verb.

42. When editing your paper, check for the following: • Apostrophes • Tenses • Capitalization • Spelling • Paragraphing • Omissions

43. Editing and Proofreading Strategies • Don’t rely entirely on spelling and grammar checkers. • Proofread for only one kind of error at a time. • Read slowly, and read every word. • Try changing the look of your document (size, spacing, color or style).

44. Editing and Proofreading Strategies • Circle every punctuation mark. • Read the paper backwards. • Keep reference materials nearby. • Keep practicing.

45. Strategies to Personalize Editing and Proofreading • Find out what errors you typically make. • Rank order the errors (most serious on top). • Learn concepts. Write rules and sample sentences in a notebook. • Develop strategies. • Write, then apply your strategies.