Improving the Text One Sentence at a Time Editing Improving the Text One Sentence at a Time

There are no final drafts—only deadlines. The Writing Process 1. Discovery. 2. Determining Rhetorical Stance. 3. Invention and Pre-Writing. 4. Gathering Data. 5. Planning and Organizing. 6. Outlining. 7. Composing/Drafting. 8. Reviewing. 9. Revising and Rewriting. 10. Editing. 11. Proofreading. 12. Publishing. There are no final drafts—only deadlines.

Final Stages of the Writing Process: Editing Editing comes late in the Writing Process. Only when you are satisfied that all ideas are in place and that there are no further changes likely do you turn your attention to editing.

What is Editing? Editing is focusing on your text one sentence at a time. It is an attempt to make each sentence clearer and more readable. This is a fairly laborious part of the process and should take several hours. Editing is a courtesy to your reader. No one deserves to read unedited text. No one!

Editing Sentences After letting your text sit for a while, come back to it as if you were a stranger to it. As you read each sentence aloud, ask it the following questions:

Ask your sentence . . . Are you really a sentence? Do you express one complete thought? Do you make complete sense? Are you ambiguous? Do you say what I mean?

Ask your sentence . . . Is there any way I can improve you? Could I word you more effectively? Could my word choice be more precise? Are there any phrases I could reduce to single words? Are your tenses consistent?

Ask your sentence . . . Do you have any pronouns? Are they used correctly? Would the average reader know what each pronoun is referring to? What would Professor Spalding dislike about you, with his picky, English teacher’s mind? Can I punctuate you more effectively?

Ask your sentence . . . Are you grammatical? Do you say “would have,” where “had” would do? Are you necessary, or could I leave you out completely? Do you say “I” or “you”?

Ask your sentence . . . Could I re-word you to leave “I” and “you” out? Do you contain slang, or any sort of language which might be considered non-academic? Do you contain any spelling errors? Do you use the verb “to get”? Are you easy to understand?

Move on to the Next Sentence Only after thoroughly familiarising yourself with the first sentence should you consider moving on to the next. Satisfy yourself (a) that every word counts, (b) that every sentence counts, and (c) that every paragraph counts—this is a courtesy that you owe to your reader(s). If necessary, share this task with your instructor, or with the Writing Center. Remember, stages 8-12 of the Writing Process are shared with friends, professors, and counselors. You are not expected to be experts, but you are expected to seek expert advice.

There are no final drafts—only deadlines. The Writing Process 1. Discovery. 2. Determining Rhetorical Stance. 3. Invention and Pre-Writing. 4. Gathering Data. 5. Planning and Organizing. 6. Outlining. 7. Composing/Drafting. 8. Reviewing. 9. Revising and Rewriting. 10. Editing. 11. Proofreading. 12. Publishing. There are no final drafts—only deadlines.

PowerPoint Presentation by Mark A. Spalding, BA, MEd, MA, 2007. The End PowerPoint Presentation by Mark A. Spalding, BA, MEd, MA, 2007.