Revising and Editing
You might be tempted to relax once you have a draft, but for most writers, revising begins the work in earnest. Each “Revising and Editing” section provides checklists as well as suggestions for working with a peer.
Revising. Revising means both reseeing and rewriting, making major changes so your paper does what you want it to. You may revise what you know and what you think while you write or when you reread. You might reconsider your purpose and audience, rework your thesis, decide what to put in or leave out, move paragraphs around, and connect ideas better. Perhaps you’ll add costs to a paper on parking problems or switch attention from mothers to fathers as you consider teen parents.
If you put aside your draft for a few hours or a day, you can reread it with fresh eyes and a clear mind. Other students can also help you — sometimes more than a textbook or an instructor can — by responding to your drafts as engaged readers.
See the Quick Editing Guide for editing advice. See the Quick Format Guide for format advice.
Editing. Editing means refining details, improving wording, and correcting flaws that may stand in the way of your readers’ understanding and enjoyment. Don’t edit too early, though, because you may waste time on parts that you later revise out. In editing, you usually make these repairs:
- Drop unnecessary words; choose lively and precise words.
- Replace incorrect or inappropriate wording.
- Rearrange words in a clearer, more emphatic order.
- Combine short, choppy sentences, or break up long, confusing ones.
- Refine transitions for continuity of thought.
- Check grammar, usage, punctuation, and mechanics.
Proofreading. Finally you’ll proofread, taking a last look, checking correctness, and catching doubtful spellings or word-processing errors.