The Writing Process:
EDITING
- Editing is the process of looking
at the mechanics of your paper. You edit your paper after completing
all other revisions in order to produce your final copy. Here you
check your sentence structure, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
word usage, so you will want to have a dictionary, thesaurus, and
perhaps an English handbook available.
- It is very difficult to read your
own writing and pick up grammar, spelling, punctuation and other
editing mistakes. Make use of the computer's spell checker and
grammar checker, but don't rely on them alone. Always edit your
paper in printed version, not on the computer screen. It is often
useful to read your paper backwards, one sentence at time, to find
those last few spelling and punctuation errors.
- When editing, look at each
sentence alone and then look at how they work together.
- Here
are some questions to think about when you are revising your
sentences:
- Are they parallel? Do they
have the same point of view?
- Do you use active voice and
active verbs? Have you made sparing use of the passive voice?
- Are you specific? Have you
eliminated unnecessary words, phrases, or entire sentences?
- Is your diction economical,
clear and varied? Do you avoid slang, clichés, and wordiness?
- Does your spelling and
punctuation conform to conventional English usage?
LINKS to Related External
Sources:
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