Transcript Self-Editing

Self-Editing
How to edit your own writing the
right way.
What is editing?
 Making specific surface changes to
correct obvious (and sometimes not
so obvious) mistakes.
 Rearranging what you already have to
ensure all parts are in the correct
places.
 Running through your paper with a
fine tooth comb.
Things to look for:
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Erroneous words/word choice
Spelling errors
Awkward phrasing
Punctuation
Sentence/Paragraph order
Run-ons
Passive/Active Voice
Subject-verb agreement
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Verb tense shifts
Transitions
MLA Citation
To Begin:
 Read your paper aloud to yourself, or
into a recorder if you are at home.
 You don't have to do this in front of
other people. Surprisingly enough,
even reclining on your sofa all alone
you can immediately catch awkward
phrasings and words that you are
using too frequently.
Erroneous words/word choice
 Read through carefully and watch out for extra
words. Sometimes saying less can do more for
your work.
 Look for contractions and split the words up. It
will make you sound more academic (trust me).
 Get your hands on a thesaurus. Read your
creation and look up synonyms wherever you feel
a better word might more accurately describe
your ideas. Be careful though: keep in mind that
your audience has a certain level of sophistication
and might be turned away from words that are
overly complex.
 Make sure you are not repeating words too much
Spelling errors
 Go through your document and look up in a
dictionary any words where you aren't 101
percent sure of their meaning. I've
surprised myself a couple of times when I
have used a word repeatedly only to look it
up and find it has another meaning entirely.
 Only after you have manually checked your
spelling should you even consider using
spell check. Remember, spell check does
not catch human error. (which/witch)
Awkward phrasing
 When you read through your paper if some
of your wording seems weird, it probably is.
 When a sentence or phrase does not seem
to flow, you need to fix it. If your car
seems to jerk while you are driving you
would get it fixed, right?
 Sometimes reading can be awkward due to
the "bumpiness" of the accented syllables.
 If something sticks in your mind as being
"ever so clever" you probably should
remove it.
Punctuation errors
 The most common error is comma usage.
 A comma followed by the word "but" is okay.
Commas separating a list of things are okay.
Commas setting off parenthetic expressions are
okay. Other commas, however, need careful
scrutiny -- should it be a semicolon, a colon, or
parentheses?
 Be aware of end punctuation. Only use an
exclamation mark if you are making a bold
statement. Make sure when you ask a question
there is a question mark.
 If you are feeling unsure of punctuation rules,
break down your sentences and phrases.
Sentence/Paragraph order
 Keep related words together -- adjectives
next to their nouns. The important words
go at the end of the sentence; the
important sentences tend to go at the end
of the paragraph.
 Make sure you are keeping importance in
order or cause and effect throughout the
entire paper.
 Consistency is of the utmost importance.
 If parts of your paper are out of order ideas
will seem to jump around to your readers.
Run-ons
 If your sentences take control of you
they will seem long winded.
 Do not be afraid to separate into
multiple sentences.
 While you are reading aloud run-ons
will make you feel like you are
running out of gas by the end.
Passive/Active Voice
 Your writing will be clearer if you structure
your sentences as subject-verb-object; tell
action rather than describing situations.
Use your word processor to search for
words ending in "-ed" -- if you preceded
this word by "is" or "was" (or similar verbs)
the phrase would be better rewritten. Also
check for the word "there" followed by "is"
or "are" (or similar verbs).
Subject-verb agreement
 Basic Principle: Singular subjects
need singular verbs; plural subjects
need plural verbs.
 My brother is a nutritionist.
My sisters are mathematicians.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
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Pronoun
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A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. It refers to a person, place, thing, feeling, or
quality but does not refer to it by its name. The pronoun in the following sample
sentence is bolded.
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Antecedent
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An antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers,
understood by the context. The antecedent in the following sample sentence is
bolded.
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The critique of Plato's Republic was written from a contemporary point of view. It
was an in-depth analysis of Plato's opinions about possible governmental forms.
Agreement
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The critique of Plato's Republic was written from a contemporary point of
view. It was an in-depth analysis of Plato's opinions about possible governmental
forms.
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways:
Person refers to the quality of being.
Number is the quality that distinguishes between singular (one entity) and
plural (numerous entities).
Gender is the quality that distinguishes the entities as masculine or
feminine.
Verb tense shifts
 Make sure you are not switching your verb tense and
contradicting yourself. You cannot travel through time.
 Strictly speaking, in English, only two tenses are marked
in the verb alone, present (as in "he sings") and past (as
in "he sang"). Other English language tenses, as many
as thirty of them, are marked by other words called
auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows one
to re-create much of the reality of time in his writing.
The six are
 Simple Present: They walk
 Present Perfect: They have walked
 Simple Past: They walked
 Past Perfect: They had walked
 Future: They will walk
 Future Perfect: They will have walked
Transitions
 Make sure you are using proper transitions
throughout your paper.
 You need to make sure that you move from
one idea to the next by allowing all parts to
work together.
 You must transition between paragraphs, as
well as ideas within paragraphs.
 You must also make sure you are following
the same patterns with your transitions.
MLA Citation
 Make sure all of your in text citation is
where it needs to be. There are tricky rules
to how they must be placed within your
text.
 Quotes get quotation marks, paraphrases
do not. However, they both get
parenthetical citations.
 Check your bibliography information to
ensure your works cited page is in the right
structure.
 If you are ever unsure refer to the MLA
citation guide on the OWL Purdue Page.
Reread your edited text
 After you have made adjustments to
your text read it again to check for
any errors you may have missed or
created.
 If you have an opportunity to let
someone else read your paper they
may find errors you missed.