What are some effective strategies to proofread your own writing?
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Revision and editing are essential steps in the writing process, but they can also be challenging and time-consuming. How can you improve your own writing and catch errors before submitting an essay? In this article, we will share a revision and editing checklist for essays that you can use to polish your work and avoid common mistakes.
Identify your purpose and audience
Before you start revising and editing, you need to have a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve and who you are writing for. Focus on the following questions: What is the main goal of your essay? Who are you trying to persuade or inform? How do you want them to feel or think after reading your essay? These questions will help you focus your revision and editing on the content, tone, and structure of your essay.
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Before I start writing, I think of my audience. If I were sitting right across from them, what would I want to say to them in one sentence or less? By keeping my audience at the center of my writing process, I ensure that I'm producing a piece that is effective towards my end goals.
Review your thesis and outline
Your thesis statement is the backbone of your essay, and your outline is the roadmap that guides your writing. You need to make sure that they are both clear, coherent, and consistent. Review your thesis statement and focus on these questions: Does it answer the essay question or prompt? Does it express your main argument or position? Review your outline and ask the following: Does the outline support your thesis statement? Does it follow a logical order and flow? Does it include enough evidence and analysis?
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If you find that you're having trouble fitting your essay into your thesis, consider if you need to tackle it in reverse by fitting your thesis into your essay. Sometimes the scope of an idea changes as we develop it; rather than fighting against the grain and spending hours editing, be mindful of when it's time to take a step back and say, "This piece isn't going where I thought it was, and that's okay." Altering your thesis is a quick way to better align your piece without introducing extensive revisions.
Check your paragraphs and transitions
Each paragraph in your essay should have a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. You need to check that your paragraphs are well-developed, well-organized, and well-connected. Check your paragraphs and ask the following: Does each paragraph have a clear main idea and purpose? Does each paragraph have enough evidence and explanation? Does each paragraph have a smooth transition to the next one? Check your transitions and ask yourself: Do they show the relationship between your ideas? Do they use appropriate words and phrases? Do they vary in length and style?
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Paragraphs shouldn't be too long especially if the topic is technical and the audience isn't. Don't cover too many technical concepts in the same paragraph. You may have to break it up into smaller units. And they should follow in a logical order. Sometimes illustrations or images can be helpful.
Revise your language and style
The language and style of your essay should align with your purpose and audience, as well as the conventions of your discipline and genre. You need to revise your language and style to make sure that your writing is clear, concise, and correct. Revise your language and style and focus on these questions: Do you use formal and academic language? Do you avoid slang, jargon, and clichés? Do you use precise and varied vocabulary? Do you use active and passive voice appropriately? Do you use consistent and appropriate verb tenses?
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By far the best thing you can do as you revise is to give the piece distance. Run through it, let it sit, and then come back with fresh eyes. If you don't give yourself this kind of break, then biases and fatigue set in, which means you'll miss errors and fail to consider alternatives that could improve the draft.
Edit your grammar and punctuation
Grammar and punctuation are the nuts and bolts of your writing, and they can affect your credibility and readability. You need to edit your grammar and punctuation to make sure that your writing is accurate and error-free. Edit your grammar and punctuation and focus on the following: Do you follow the rules of grammar and syntax? Do you use correct spelling and capitalization? Do you use commas, periods, colons, semicolons, and other punctuation marks correctly? Do you use quotation marks, parentheses, brackets, and other symbols correctly?
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I would suggest reading your work out loud and look for places that you naturally pause or change your inflection. That doesn't necessarily mean a punctuation mark will go there but, often, it does.
Proofread your final draft
The last step in the revision and editing process is to proofread your final draft and make sure that it is ready for submission. You need to proofread your final draft carefully and attentively, and preferably more than once. Proofread your final draft and focus on these questions: Have you followed the instructions and requirements of the assignment? Have you formatted your essay according to the style guide and citation system? Have you checked for typos, misspellings, and other minor errors? Have you read your essay aloud or used a tool to check for readability and clarity?
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A fun way to make sure you've included key phrases and haven't overused garbage words (really, very, just, etc.) is to use a word cloud generator, like this: https://www.freewordcloudgenerator.com/ Copy and paste your text into the generator. Words that you use more frequently appear larger, while less frequent words are smaller. This can be an interesting visual guide to your word use. If you can download it, it can also make a fun visual to include on a website or on social media :-)