The Writing Process: Revising, Editing and Proofreading

4 BASES UNITY, SUPPORT COHERENCE AND SENTENCE SKILLS!

UNITY -all materials are on the same target..same point

SUPPORT -enough specific evidence?

COHERENCE -is the paper organzied, transitions, tied together…DOES IT MAKE SENSE?

Sentence Skills - look for grammar errors

Evidence -support, reasons, facts, details, statistics, quote, anecdote, observation, interview, library, RELEVANT! Unified, adequate, dramatic, accurate,

Evidence Continued… Check…Tone, attitude, style, avoid cliché, word choice, avoid redundancy, wordiness, avoid slang! Use complex sentences

TRANSITIONS! -additonal signals, first of all furthermore -space signals, next, below, -change direction, but, however, yet, in contrast -illustration- for example, for instance Conlusion- therfore, consequently, thus, as a result, finally

Think about… Have an Editor’s Mindset Revising Editing Proofreading

An Editor’s Mindset Polishing rather than creating

Self Editing Issues Give yourself some space......But not too much Learn your tendencies What are your goals?

Peer Editing Issues Degree of help needed Have enough time before submission Balance criticisms with compliments

Procuring Peer Editors Writers need readers Good editors are worth their weight in gold Don’t abuse them; give them your best work

Layers of Effective Writing Content Organization Style Appearance Rewriting Revising Editing Proofreading

Revising For Organization Moving around and adding/removing major pieces of text This is an important aspect Hard, but rewarding

Don’t Forget: Elements of the Essay Thesis Statement/Hypothesis/Objectives Introduction/Body/Conclusion Topic Sentences for each paragraph

Logical Flow Linear process: A → B → C → D Does the content build on itself?

Audience Appropriateness Will the content be clear for the intended audience?

Editing for Style Micro-logical aspects of the text…is it logical? Is this readable? What style is appropriate? Do the sentences flow?

Clarity If it can be misinterpreted, it is wrong Make changes to vague, absolute, misleading, and commonly misinterpreted words

Conciseness If words or phrases can be removed while maintaining meaning, do it Change passive voice, negative form

More General Editing Tips Read aloud Hard copy vs. Electronic (edit with red pen) Tracking changes

Proofreading Grammar, spelling, formatting Spellcheck and grammar check are not enough Read each word and sentence carefully

Proofreading Yourself Best results when rested Learn your common mistakes

General Proofreading Tips Read aloud Watch every comma (and other punctuation)

WRITE!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE END!