Principles of business 1.03C. Edit and revise written work consistent with professional standards

Revising and Editing Revising - Revision literally means to “see again,” to look at something from a fresh, critical perspective. It is an ongoing process of rethinking the paper: reconsidering your arguments, reviewing your evidence, refining your purpose, reorganizing your presentation, reviving stale prose. Editing - editing is only about grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Everything else is done. (the step after revision)

Revising Read over your whole piece quite quickly. Circle any typos and mistakes that you spot, but concentrate on overall flow. If it’s an essay, check for any gaps in logic or any sides of the argument you might have missed. If it’s a short story, do any passages drag – or go too fast? How do I go about the process of revising? Work from a printed copy; it’s easier on the eyes. Also, problems that seem invisible on the screen somehow tend to show up better on paper. Another tip is to read the paper out loud. That’s one way to see how well things flow. Find places where you might need to add, rearrange, remove ore replace information. Remember all those questions listed above? Don’t try to tackle all of them in one draft. Pick a few “agendas” for each draft so that you won’t go mad trying to see, all at once, if you’ve done everything. Ask lots of questions and don’t flinch from answering them truthfully. For example, ask if there are opposing viewpoints that you haven’t considered yet.

Editing Once you’ve sorted out the big picture, you can start fixing any individual sentences and words. Again, it’s a good idea to print out the document and do this on paper: I find I miss errors on screen (especially typos which are valid words, such as “they’re” for “their”). Look out for: Typos and misspellings (a good tip here is to read backwards! You’ll go much more slowly, focusing on every individual word). Clumsy sentences and confusing or misleading phrasing (try reading your work aloud). Unnecessary words Commonly misused or confused words 

Editing Five words you can cut: Just - This is one of the worst offenders for me. I over-use it in email, typing: “I just thought I’d drop you a note…” “Just writing to ask…”. In almost every case, striking out the word “just” will make a sentence stronger. It tends to make you sound either desperate when applied to yourself (“I just wondered if you could…”) or demanding when applied to the other person (“If you would just…”).

Editing – the five cut words Really -Like “just”, this is another word which can frequently be cut. It’s often found partnering “just”, in which case you might want to rewrite the whole sentence. “You can really improve by…” “You don’t really want to…” “I’m really just trying to …” Using the word “really” about yourself makes it sounds as though you believe the other person is unsure of your intentions; “I’m really writing the report” can sound defensive. And using it about someone else can sound patronizing – phrases like “that’s really good!” are best kept for the kindergarten.

Editing – the five cut words Quite - This insidious word tends to water down the meaning of a sentence or, worse, make it unclear. It usually means “a bit” as in “I quite liked it”, but can also mean “completely” as in “Quite right.” Most people have little difficulty understanding those, but sentences like “I was quite outraged” can be taken either way. “I’d quite like you to …” “I’m feeling quite upset about it.” “I don’t think you quite understand…” There are some circumstances where you may well want to keep the word “quite”, particularly when trying to justify something over-running. “Quite” is useful in suggesting both “almost there” and “soon”, and saying “The files aren’t quite ready yet …” implies it won’t be much longer, whereas “The files aren’t ready yet” can sound like stone-walling.

Editing –the five cut words Perhaps - Like many of the words above, “perhaps” makes your writing sound uncertain. It can obscure meaning, or weaken an otherwise powerful statement, and often causes confusion. “Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch.” “And then perhaps you’d like to …” “Perhaps if I …” The main problem in all these cases is that the word “perhaps” means your intention is unclear. If you email someone suggesting “Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch”, are you proposing a lunch meeting, or just idly wondering whether it’s possible? The “perhaps” also makes it unclear what part of the suggestion is in doubt; do you think twelve might not be the best time, or do you suspect the other person won’t want to get lunch?

Editing – the five cut words That -This is another word which creeps into my writing where it’s not needed. It’s fine when necessary, but can often be cut without any loss of meaning – usually when it’s preceded by a noun. “This is the house that Jack built.” “Can you remember the time that we asked people to arrive?” “I liked the design that you came up with.” Make sure you don’t cut valid instances of the word, usually where “that” comes before the noun. “I need that document by five” makes sense, “I need document by five” is only safe in a very informal context and if you’re sure the other person knows which document you mean.