Transcript The Editing and Rewriting Process

Proofreading is the process of locating and
correcting errors in your paper, such as
spelling, punctuation, word usage errors,
and paragraph and sentence structure
errors. Proofreading is essential in good
writing so that your readers don’t get
distracted by careless mistakes.
Editing and Rewriting Process
To check sentence structure and sentence errors
To check paragraph structure
To check typographical errors
To check punctuation
To check word choice and usage
Strategies
Don’t rely on spell checkers.
They have a limited dictionary.
Read slowly and aloud.
This helps you read every word that is on the page and not what you think is there.
Read with a cover.
Having a blank sheet of paper sliding down the page as you read helps you make a line-by-line
overview of your paper.
Note common mistakes.
If you know you routinely misspell a word, learn how to spell it correctly.
Proofread your work more than once.
You will notice mistakes you missed the first time.
Have someone else proofread for you.
Another set of eyes can locate errors our eyes may miss.
Read your work backwards.
Start with the final sentence, and then read the one before it, and then the one before that, etc. Do this
process twice. Once for editing and once for proofreading. This will help you with your sentence
structuring.
Editing Checklist
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Can you point to a Thesis Statement in the essay? Is it clearly stated?
Does the text carry out the purpose of the thesis statement? If not, does the
body of the paper need some paring down or elaboration or does the thesis
statement need to be refined to reflect an improved text?
Are the ideas in the essay clearly ordered? If the reader had to, could he or
she devise an Outline that would reveal the order of development in your
argument? Is there any part of the essay that could be left out to good
effect? (If so, could a revised organization "save" that part?)
Are there any serious fallacies in the Logic of your argument?
Are paragraphs adequately developed and is there a clear Transition
from one idea to the next?
Is the Introduction clear and adequately developed?
Does the Conclusion do what you want it to? Does the conclusion remind
us of what the Thesis Statement told us (but not too simplistically).
Is the Tone consistent and appropriate for the audience you want to reach
and the subject you're treating? Have you avoided slang and being overly
casual; at the other extreme, have you avoided sounding pretentious and
stuffy?
Personal Grammatical Issues
•Fragments
•Run-ons
•Comma Usage
•Other Punctuation Marks
•Articles
•Subject/Verb Agreement
•Tense Sequence
•Capitalization
•Italics and Underlining
•Using Numbers
•Plurals and Possessives
•Pronouns
•Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
•Modifier Misplacement
•Wordiness
•Parallelism
•Confusion
•Spelling
Other Concerns
Style
Lack of clarity
Lack of fluency
Inappropriate vocabulary
Sentence Boundaries
Fragments
Run-ons/comma splices
Awkward constructions
Diction
Correct verb form/tense
Subject/verb agreement
Appropriate word choice
Punctuation
Comma use/misuse
Semicolon/colon misuse
Hyphens
Mechanics
Spacing
Capitalization
Dash (not hyphen)
Quotation marks
The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t
have to get it right the first time, unlike, say,
a brain surgeon. You can always do it better,
find the exact word, the apt phrase, the
leaping simile.
--Robert Cormier
Works Cited
"The Editing and Rewriting Process." The Guide to Grammar and
Writing. Capital Community College. 29 June 2006
<http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/editing.htm>.
Iten, Michelle. "General Stratagies for Editing and Proofreading." The Write
Place. 28 Sept. 1997. 13 Jun 2006
<http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/genproofed.html>.