Creating an editing checklist

To improve your editing of future assignments, keep a personal checklist of the patterns of editing problems you find. Your computer can help: if you notice that you often misuse a certain word, find every instance of that word, and then check the usage carefully.

To begin a checklist, jot down all the errors or corrections marked on the last piece of writing you did. Then note the context in which each error appeared, and indicate what you should look for in the future. You can add to this inventory every time you write and edit a draft. Here is an example of one student’s checklist:

ERRORS MARKED IN CONTEXT I NEED TO LOOK AT
fragment starts with when sentences beginning with when
missing comma after however sentences that include however
missing apostrophe company’s all possessive nouns
tense shift go for went my use of the present tense
wrong word defiantly for definitely the spell checker’s suggestions
incomplete documentation no page number the guidelines for documenting sources

This writer has begun to isolate patterns, such as her tendency to accept the spell checker’s suggestions too readily.

Storyboards on revising and editing