Editing

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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, cliches, and wordiness?
	Does your spelling and punctuation conform to conventional English usage?

Paradigm

Editing Your Writing

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