Editing Tips from The Learning Portal

• Ask questions. As you read your writing, ask yourself if there is information that you should add, remove, or move?
• Read critically. When you revise your writing, make sure your ideas are expressed clearly.
• Consider your purpose. Does your writing fit the purpose?
• Consider your audience. Does your writing fit what your audience would expect?
• Check your spelling and grammar. They count.
• Edit after you revise the content. Once you have revised the content, you can begin editing for spelling and grammar errors.
• Read your writing out loud. You may have an easier time catching a mistake when you hear it spoken.
• Use spelling and grammar checks. These tools are useful, but not perfect, so make sure you are still reading critically.
• Start at the end. Working backwards will stop your brain from seeing what it expects, and may help you catch errors.
• Keep a record of the major errors you have made in past written assignments. Usually we make the same errors in our writing. Review those error types to ensure that you understand the problems and how to correct them for next time.
• Work with your sentences until they sound right. If a sentence doesn’t sound right to you, look at the elements of the sentence to find where it can be improved.
• Work with a writing coach or tutor at your college. Tutors won’t go through your writing line-by-line, but they will answer specific questions and teach you how to correct your own mistakes. Make sure you are ready to ask your questions before your appointment.

Editing Checklist from the Learning Portal

• Have I read a hard copy of my work? Editing on paper is different from editing on a screen, and will help you to catch errors that you do not see on a screen.
• Have I identified my main point or argument? Is the main point immediately clear?
• Have I evaluated my argument? (Does it have a point? Is it opinionated? Is it referred to and proven in the body of the work? Can you tell what the piece is about from the introduction?)
• Does each main paragraph have a topic sentence? The topic sentence clearly state the topic ofa paragraph and makes a connection to the thesis of the assignment or essay. The topic sentence is usually at the beginning of the paragraph.
• Is the work coherent? Are ideas easily understood? Do they connect to one another in a way that makes sense?
• Is there an introduction and a conclusion? 
• Am I within the length requirements for the assignment? How many words or pages are required?
• Do I primarily use active voice?
• Have I edited out repetition?
• Have I answered the question that was posed in my assignment? Look at the original assignment and the marking rubric. Has all of the criteria been met?
• Has someone else read my work? Ask a friend or classmate to read the assignment or essay to see if they find any errors. Do the same to help someone else if they ask!

What’s Next?

Hand in your assignment or essay! Not sure if everything has been included? Use the checklist in Appendix C.