Editing and Proofreading  

Editing and proofreading your finished rough draft is the most important step in completing any writing assignment. It is the time to catch any grammar and spelling errors, as well as faulty logic, organizational errors, point of view, formatting, and stylistic errors.

Many students believe that this step is unnecessary and a waste of time. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, a strong edit can make or break a successful paper.

Editing For Spelling and Grammar Errors:

• Double check spelling errors of commonly misspelled words: to, two, too; their, there, they’re; its and it’s; your and you’re

• Do not rely entirely on spell check

Commonly Misspelled Words

Example I: Affect/Effect:

Affect means to cause or influence.

Sample Sentence: This school affects me everyday.

Effect means result or outcome.

Sample Sentence: Yet, this school has a positive effect on me everyday.

Example II: Accept/Except:

Accept means to receive.

Sample Sentence: People accept awards everyday.

Except means to exclude.

Sample Sentence: I like all vegetables except tomatoes.

Using Numbers in Text

Rule #1: Numbers under 10 are spelled out; use numerals for numbers 10 and over.

Sample Sentence: There are seven fish in the tank.

Sample Sentence: There are 25 fish in the pond.

Rule #2: Spell out numbers that are greater than ten if they start a sentence.

Sample Sentence: Twenty five students are in the classroom.

Use question marks, exclamation points, and quotation marks appropriately.

Editing For Content

• What is the purpose of the writing assignment? If you can’t answer this question, you need to do some rewriting.

• Who is the intended audience? Remember writing for your peers is different than writing for a teacher or another adult.

• Did you follow an outline or just simply started writing? Students who think they can write anything that comes to their mind are often frustrated when the paper doesn’t come together at the end. A solid outline can prevent this from happening.

• Is there a clear beginning, middle and end? Sometimes, writers don’t realize until their paper is finished that the end is really the beginning. Double check the logic.

• Are there clear examples to illustrate your main points? Writers often think because they said something that readers should be able to understand and imagine what they intended. However, readers want to see evidence and examples before they can become fully engaged in the writing. Use figurative language devices and sensory details where appropriate.

Additional Tips:

• Edit when you have fresh eyes and a clear head. Try not to edit or proofread as the last thing you do before going to bed.
• Use music to help you concentrate and stay focused.
• Use lamps instead of fluorescent lights when proofing for errors.
• Set aside your paper for at least a day before starting to edit. Coming back to it fresh will help you catch spelling and grammar errors.
• Have multiple colored pens and pencils available.
• Read aloud difficult sentences and paragraphs to see if they make sense.
• Break up large papers (10-20 pages) into two or more editing sessions.