REVISING / EDITING / PROOFREADING

REVISING AND EDITING YOUR WORK:

 

It is essential to revise and correct your work after you have finished keying it into the computer, or after having written it out. It goes without saying that the first attempt at writing should be considered as a first draft, which needs polishing. Leave at least a day after you have finished your first draft before returning to proofread your essay. It is easy to miss errors if you correct it immediately. When revising and editing, you should:

 

1. check that you have no sentence fragments or run-ons.

2. check for errors in verb tenses – that there are no unnecessary tense shifts.

3. check for errors in vocabulary. If you used a computer thesaurus, did you then go to a dictionary and confirm that the new word means what you hope it means? There is nothing worse than incorrectly used vocabulary.

4. check for punctuation errors.

5. check for spelling errors. Even if you have used spell-check on the computer, have you read through your work to catch those errors that the computer will miss?

6. check that you have used a good variety of sentence structures to avoid monotony. Make sure you haven’t used the First, Second, Thirdly format – (which is so boring for your reader!). Use a wide range of different transition words.

7. check that your essay has been formatted and presented correctly.