1. C enter for A cademic E xcellence SmartSlides

2. Editing Improving Text One Sentence at a Time

3. 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.

4. 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. Final Stages of the Writing Process: Editing

5. 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!

6. 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 yourself the following questions:

7. Ask yourself... Is this really a sentence? Does it express one complete thought? Does it make complete sense? Is it ambiguous? Does it really say what I mean?

8. Ask yourself... Is there any way to improve it? Could I word the sentence more effectively? Could my word choice be more precise? Are there any phrases I could reduce to single words? Are the tenses consistent?

9. Ask yourself... Are there any pronouns? Are they used correctly? Would the average reader know what each pronoun is referring to? What would the professor dislike about the text, with that professorial, English teacher’s mind? Could the sentence be punctuated more effectively?

10. Ask yourself... Is the sentence grammatically sound? Do I use “would have,” where “had” will do? Is the sentence necessary, or could I leave it out completely? Do I use “I” or “you”?

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

12. 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, with a tutor, or with the Writing Center. Remember that 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.

13. 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.

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

15. C enter for A cademic E xcellence SmartSlides