1. A Student’s Guide to Editing Poetry
Editing a Poem
A Student’s Guide to Editing Poetry

2. Editing for Fluency
Begin by reading the poem out loud BACKWARDS! That’s right, begin at the bottom. Read the bottom line out loud. Then read the second-to-last line out loud, etcetera…
Here’s a sample poem, so your teacher can show you how this is done:
I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you Nobody too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! They’d banish us, you know!

3. Editing for Fluency Continued
Now that you’ve read the poem out loud, ask yourself these questions:
Does each line make sense by itself? If not, perhaps you need to adjust the poet’s lines, so that each line does make sense by itself. Use “line of poetry ends” to do so.
Did the poem require a pause? Are commas or periods helpful? If so, put them in, using the correct proofreading symbols.

4. Editing for Organization
Did the poet capitalize the first word in each line of poetry? If not, use the appropriate proofreading symbols to fix this problem.
Did the poem have a title? If not, write the word “title” above it.
Did the poem have terribly long lines, which might go into the margin on a small piece of paper? If so, suggest that the poet shorten their lines a bit.

5. Editing for Organization Continued
Take a look at this poem:
I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;
Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.
The fault must partly be in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.
And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.
This poem has four stanzas. Where do you think the poem you’re editing might need a stanza break? Mark this with a note to the poet.

6. Editing for Conventions
Take out your vocabulary lists.
Go over the poem, and look for any spelling words we’ve had this year.
Mark misspelled words with SP over the top of the words.
Check for capitalization errors in the title and the body of the poem. Use the correct proofreading symbol to mark these.
Do you agree with the poet’s choice of punctuation marks? If not, use proofreading symbols to change them.

7. Editing for Word Choice
Are there any lines of the poem which don’t fit the theme, don’t rhyme very well, or don’t seem like they belong in this poem?
Can you think of a better way to rhyme those lines? If so, use delete and caret marks to change the wording.
If there are any lines which don’t rhyme well, and you can’t think of a better rhyme for the poet, just mark them with WC.

8. Editing for Voice
Did the poem make you laugh? Did it make you feel sad? Did it make you angry? How did you feel when you read this poem?
Write a note to the poet explaining your reaction to the poem.

9. Editing for Ideas What is the theme of this poem?
How many other students wrote a poem on that theme?
Can you advise the poet to manipulate one or two lines to change the theme, so that their theme becomes more original?