What Are Your Responsibilities When You Review and Edit the Work of Others?

Affiliate 12. Peer Review and Last Revisions

12.1 Revision

Learning Objectives

• Identify major areas of concern in the draft essay during revising
• Employ peer reviews and checklists to assist revising
• Revise your newspaper to better organization and cohesion
• Determine an advisable style and tone for your paper
• Revise to ensure that your tone is consistent
• Revise the start draft of your essay and produce a final draft

Revising and editing are the 2 tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed first typhoon means that petty improvement is needed. However, even experienced writers need to improve their drafts and rely on peers during revising and editing. You may know that athletes miss catches, fumble balls, or overshoot goals. Dancers forget steps, turn too slowly, or miss beats. For both athletes and dancers, the more than they do, the stronger their performance volition go. Web designers seek better images, a more clever pattern, or a more highly-seasoned background for their web pages. Writing has the same capacity to profit from comeback and revision.

You should revise and edit in stages: practice not wait to catch everything in 1 get. If each time you review your essay you focus on a different attribute of construction, you will be more likely to grab any mistakes or place whatsoever issues. Throughout this chapter, yous will see a number of checklists containing specific things to await for with each revision. For example, you volition first wait at how the overall newspaper and your ideas are organized.

In the 2nd section of this affiliate, you lot will focus more on editing: correcting the mechanical issues. As well at the finish of the affiliate, you volition see a comprehensive simply more full general list of things you should be looking for.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

Revising and editing allow yous to examine two important aspects of your writing separately, so that yous can give each chore your undivided attention.

When you revise , you take a 2nd look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information in order to make your ideas clearer, more than accurate, more interesting, or more than disarming.

When you lot edit , you have a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add together or change words. You fix whatsoever bug in grammar, punctuation, and sentence construction. Y'all improve your writing style. You brand your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your all-time efforts.

Tip

How practise you become the best out of your revisions and editing? Here are some strategies that writers have developed to look at their starting time drafts from a fresh perspective. Try them throughout the writing process; then keep using the ones that bring results.

Take a interruption. You are proud of what yous wrote, but you might be also close to it to make changes. Set bated your writing for a few hours or even a solar day until you can look at it objectively.

Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.

Pretend y'all are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?

For many people, the wordscritic,disquisitional, andcriticism provoke merely negative feelings that make them blush, grumble, or shout. Withal, equally a writer and a thinker, you demand to learn to be critical of yourself in a positive way and take high expectations for your piece of work. You also need to railroad train your eye and trust your power to fix what needs fixing. To do this, y'all need to teach yourself where to wait.

Revising Your Paper: Organization , Cohesion , and Unity

When writing a research newspaper, it is easy to become overly focused on editorial details, such every bit the proper format for bibliographical entries. These details practice matter. However, before you begin to address them, it is important to spend time reviewing and revising the content of the paper.

A good research newspaper is both organized and cohesive.Organization means that your argument flows logically from one point to the adjacent.Cohesion means that the elements of your newspaper work together smoothly and naturally. In a cohesive enquiry paper, information from enquiry is seamlessly integrated with the writer's ideas.

Revise to Meliorate Organization

When you revise to improve organization, you lot wait at the catamenia of ideas throughout the essay as a whole and within individual paragraphs. Y'all check to meet that your essay moves logically from the introduction to the trunk paragraphs to the decision, and that each section reinforces your thesis. Apply Checklist 12.1 : Revise for Organization to aid you.

Checklist 12.i : Revise for Organization

At the essay level

Does my introduction continue clearly from the opening to the thesis?

Does each body paragraph have a articulate chief idea that relates to the thesis?

Do the main ideas in the body paragraphs period in a logical social club? Is each paragraph connected to the one earlier information technology?

Do I demand to add or revise topic sentences or transitions to brand the overall flow of ideas clearer?

Does my conclusion summarize my main ideas and revisit my thesis?

At the paragraph level

Does the topic sentence clearly state the principal thought?

Do the details in the paragraph relate to the main idea?

Do I need to recast whatever sentences or add transitions to better the catamenia of sentences?

Jorge reread his draft paragraph by paragraph. As he read, he highlighted the primary thought of each paragraph so he could see whether his ideas proceeded in a logical social club. For the most function, the period of ideas was articulate. However, he did notice that 1 paragraph did not have a clear principal thought. It interrupted the flow of the writing. During revision, Jorge added a topic sentence that clearly connected the paragraph to the i that had preceded information technology. He also added transitions to improve the period of ideas from sentence to sentence.

Read the following paragraphs twice, the first time without Jorge'due south changes, and the 2nd fourth dimension with them.

Self – exercise Exercise 12.ane

Follow these steps to begin revising your newspaper'southward overall organization.

Print out a hard copy of your paper. (You volition use this for multiple self-practice exercises in this chapter.)

Read your newspaper paragraph past paragraph. Highlight your thesis and the topic sentence of each paragraph.

Using the thesis and topic sentences as starting points, outline the ideas you presented—just as y'all would do if you were outlining a affiliate in a textbook. Do not look at the outline you created during prewriting. Y'all may write in the margins of your draft or create a formal outline on a separate canvass of paper.

Next, reread your paper more slowly, looking for how ideas menstruation from sentence to judgement. Identify places where calculation a transition or recasting a sentence would make the ideas flow more logically.

Review the topics on your outline. Is there a logical menstruum of ideas? Identify whatsoever places where you may need to reorganize ideas.

Begin to revise your paper to improve arrangement. Kickoff with any major issues, such as needing to motility an entire paragraph. So proceed to modest revisions, such as adding a transitional phrase or tweaking a topic sentence so it connects ideas more than clearly.

Optional collaboration: P lease share your paper with a classmate. Repeat the half-dozen steps and accept notes on a split up piece of newspaper. Share and compare notes.

Tip

Writers choose transitions carefully to show the relationships betwixt ideas—for instance, to make a comparison or elaborate on a point with examples. Brand certain your transitions suit your purpose and avoid overusing the same ones.

Creating Coherence

Careful writers utilize transitions to clarify how the ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are related. These words and phrases assistance the writing period smoothly. Calculation transitions is not the but way to improve coherence, but they are frequently useful and give a mature experience to your essays. Earlier chapters take discussed using transitions for specific purposes in the planning of your writing.Tabular array 12.1: Common Transitional Words and Phrases groups many mutual transitions according to their purpose.

Tabular array 12.1: Common Transitional Words and Phrases According to Purpose

Transitions That Show Sequence or Time
later	before	afterwards
later on	before long	meanwhile
as soon as	finally	next
at first	starting time, second, 3rd	soon
at last	in the first place	and then
Transitions That Show Position
above	across	at the bottom
at the top	behind	below
beside	beyond	within
near	next to	reverse
to the left, to the right, to the side	under	where
Transitions That Bear witness a Decision
indeed	hence	in conclusion
in the final assay	therefore	thus
Transitions That Continue a Line of Idea
consequently	furthermore	additionally
because	besides the fact	post-obit this idea further
in improver	in the same way	moreover
looking further	considering…, it is articulate that
Transitions That Change a Line of Thought
but	nonetheless	however
notwithstanding	on the reverse	on the other manus
Transitions That Show Importance
to a higher place all	best	especially
in fact	more important	>almost of import
most	worst
Transitions That Introduce the Concluding Thoughts in a Paragraph or Essay
finally	last	in conclusion
most of all	least of all	final of all
All Purpose Transitions to Open Paragraphs or to Connect Ideas Within Paragraphs
admittedly	at this bespeak	certainly
granted	it is true	generally speaking
in full general	in this state of affairs	no doubt
no one denies	obviously	of course
to be sure	undoubtedly	unquestionably
Transitions that Introduce Examples
for instance	for instance	such as
Transitions That Clarify the Order of Events or Steps
first, 2nd, third	generally, furthermore, finally	in the offset place, also, last
in the outset identify, furthermore, finally	in the first identify, likewise, lastly

When Mariah (who you were introduced to in Chapters five and 6) revised her essay for unity, she examined her paragraph well-nigh televisions to cheque for coherence. She looked for places where she needed to add a transition or perhaps reword the text to make the flow of ideas clear. In the version that follows, she has already deleted the sentences that were off topic.

Tip

Many writers make their revisions on a printed re-create and so transfer them to the version on screen. They conventionally use a small arrow called a caret (^) to show where to insert an improver or correction.

Self – practice EXERCISE 12.2

Respond the following questions well-nigh Mariah's revised paragraph.

Practise you agree with the transitions and other changes that Mariah made to her paragraph? Which would you keep and which were unnecessary? Explain.

What transition words or phrases did Mariah add together to her paragraph? Why did she choose each ane?

What effect does adding additional sentences accept on the coherence of the paragraph? Explain. When you lot read both versions aloud, which version has a more than logical flow of ideas? Explain.

Revise to Improve Cohesion

When you lot revise to improve cohesion, y'all analyze how the parts of your paper work together. You expect for anything that seems awkward or out of place. Revision may involve deleting unnecessary material or rewriting parts of the paper so that the out of place material fits in smoothly.

In a research paper, problems with cohesion usually occur when a writer has trouble integrating source material. If facts or quotations have been awkwardly dropped into a paragraph, they distract or confuse the reader instead of working to support the writer's point. Overusing paraphrased and quoted material has the aforementioned outcome. Utilize Checklist 12.2 : Revise for Cohesion to review your essay for cohesion.

Checklist 12.two : Revise for Cohesion

Does the opening of the paper clearly connect to the broader topic and thesis? Make sure entertaining quotes or anecdotes serve a purpose.

Accept I included support from enquiry for each principal point in the torso of my paper?

Have I included introductory cloth earlier whatever quotations? Quotations should never stand alone in a paragraph.

Does paraphrased and quoted material conspicuously serve to develop my own points?

Exercise I demand to add to or revise parts of the newspaper to help the reader empathise how certain data from a source is relevant?

Are at that place any places where I have overused material from sources?

Does my conclusion make sense based on the rest of the paper? Make sure whatever new questions or suggestions in the conclusion are clearly linked to earlier textile.

Every bit Jorge reread his typhoon, he looked to see how the unlike pieces fit together to prove his thesis. He realized that some of his supporting data needed to be integrated more advisedly and decided to omit some details entirely. Read the following paragraph, offset without Jorge's revisions and so with them.

Jorge decided that his comment about pizza and birthday cake came beyond as subjective and was not necessary to make his point, and so he deleted it. He besides realized that the quotation at the end of the paragraph was bad-mannered and ineffective. How would his readers know who Kwon was or why her opinion should be taken seriously? Adding an introductory phrase helped Jorge integrate this quotation smoothly and establish the credibility of his source.

Self – exercise EXERCISE 12.3

Follow these steps to begin revising your paper to improve cohesion.

Print out a difficult copy of your paper, or work with your printout fromSelf – Practice Exercise 12.1.

Read the torso paragraphs of your paper first. Each time yous come to a place that cites information from sources, ask yourself what purpose this information serves. Check that information technology helps support a point and that information technology is clearly related to the other sentences in the paragraph.

Identify unnecessary information from sources that yous can delete.

Identify places where you demand to revise your writing and then that readers understand the significance of the details cited from sources.

Skim the body paragraphs once more, looking for any paragraphs that seem packed with citations. Review these paragraphs carefully for cohesion.

Review your introduction and conclusion. Brand sure the information presented works with ideas in the torso of the newspaper.

Revise the places yous identified in your paper to improve cohesion.

Optional c ollaboration: P lease exchange papers with a classmate. Complete step four . On a separate slice of paper, notation any areas that would benefit from clarification. Render and compare notes.

Writing at Work

Understanding cohesion tin can likewise benefit y'all in the workplace, particularly when you take to write and evangelize a presentation. Speakers sometimes rely on beautiful graphics or funny quotations to hold their audience's attention. If you choose to use these elements, make sure they piece of work well with the substantive content of your presentation. For example, if y'all are asked to requite a financial presentation, and the financial report shows that the company lost money, funny illustrations would not be relevant or appropriate for the presentation.

Tip

Reading your writing aloud will often assistance you notice bug with unity and coherence. Listen for the clarity and flow of your ideas. Identify places where y'all find yourself confused, and write a annotation to yourself about possible fixes.

Creating Unity

Sometimes writers go caught upward in the moment and cannot resist a good digression. Even though y'all might savour such detours when y'all conversation with friends, unplanned digressions usually impairment a piece of writing.

Following your outline closely offers yous a reasonable guarantee that your writing volition stay on purpose and non drift away from the controlling thought. All the same, when writers are rushed, are tired, or cannot find the right words, their writing may become less than they want it to be. Their writing may no longer be clear and concise, and they may add information that is not needed to develop the main idea.

When a piece of writing hasunity, all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong and are bundled in an order that makes logical sense. When the writing hascoherence, the ideas menstruum smoothly. The wording conspicuously indicates how one idea leads to some other within a paragraph and from paragraph to paragraph.

Mariah stayed close to her outline when she drafted the three body paragraphs of her essay she tentatively titled "Digital Applied science: The Newest and the Best at What Toll?" But a recent shopping trip for an HDTV upset her enough that she digressed from the main topic of her third paragraph and included comments virtually the sales staff at the electronics store she visited. When she revised her essay, she deleted the off-topic sentences that affected the unity of the paragraph.

Read the following paragraph twice, the offset fourth dimension without Mariah'south changes and the second fourth dimension with them.

Cocky – practise EXERCISE 12.4

Respond the following two questions about Mariah'south paragraph:

Do you lot agree with Mariah's conclusion to make the deletions she made? Did she cut as well much, too little, or just enough? Explicate.

Is the explanation of what screen resolution means a digression? Or is it audition friendly and essential to understanding the paragraph? Explicate.

Collaboration: P lease share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Now, print out another copy of your essay or use the printed version(s) you used in Cocky – Practice Exercises 12.i and 12.iii . Reread it to observe any statements that affect the unity of your writing. Decide how best to revise.

Tip

When you reread your writing to find revisions to brand, await for each blazon of problem in a separate sweep. Read information technology straight through once to locate any issues with unity. Read it straight through a second time to discover bug with coherence. You lot may follow this same exercise during many stages of the writing process.

Writing at Work

Many companies hire copy editors and proofreaders to assist them produce the cleanest possible final drafts of large writing projects. Copy editors are responsible for suggesting revisions and manner changes; proofreaders check documents for whatsoever errors in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation that have crept in. Many times, these tasks are done on a freelance basis, with one freelancer working for a diverseness of clients.

Using a Consistent Mode and Tone

Once you are certain that the content of your newspaper fulfills your purpose, you tin can begin revising to improvemode andtone. Together, your style and tone create the voice of your newspaper, or how you come up beyond to readers. Fashion refers to the fashion you use language as a writer—the sentence structures you use and the give-and-take choices you make. Tone is the attitude toward your subject and audience that you convey through your word choice.

Determining an Appropriate Way and Tone

Although accustomed writing styles will vary within different disciplines, the underlying goal is the same—to come across to your readers as a knowledgeable, authoritative guide. Writing nigh inquiry is similar being a tour guide who walks readers through a topic. A stuffy, overly formal tour guide can make readers feel put off or intimidated. Too much informality or humor can brand readers wonder whether the tour guide actually knows what he or she is talking almost. Extreme or emotionally charged language comes across equally unbalanced.

To aid preclude beingness overly formal or informal, determine an appropriate style and tone at the beginning of the research process. Consider your topic and audience because these tin help dictate style and tone. For instance, a newspaper on new breakthroughs in cancer research should be more formal than a paper on means to become a expert nighttime's slumber.

A strong research paper comes across equally straightforward, appropriately academic, and serious. Information technology is generally best to avoid writing in the first person, as this can make your newspaper seem overly subjective and opinion based. Use Checklist 12.three : Revise for Way to review your paper for other problems that affect style and tone. You can cheque for consistency at the stop of the writing process. Checking for consistency is discussed later in this department.

Checklist 12.3 : Revise for Way

My newspaper avoids excessive wordiness.

My sentences are varied in length and structure.

I take avoided using get-go person pronouns such as I and we.

I have used the active vocalism whenever possible.

I have defined specialized terms that might exist unfamiliar to readers.

I have used clear, straightforward linguistic communication whenever possible and avoided unnecessary jargon.

My paper states my point of view using a balanced tone—neither too indecisive nor too forceful.

Word Pick

Annotation that discussion choice is an especially important attribute of style. In addition to checking the points noted on Checklist 12.three, review your newspaper to make sure your language is precise, conveys no unintended connotations, and is free of bias. Hither are some of the points to check for:

Vague or imprecise terms

Slang

Repetition of the same phrases ("Smith states…, Jones states…") to introduce quoted and paraphrased material (For a total listing of strong verbs to apply with in text citations, run acrossChapter 9: Citations and Referencing.)

Exclusive employ of masculine pronouns or awkward use ofhe or she

Apply of language with negative connotations, such equally haughty or ridiculous

Use of outdated or offensive terms to refer to specific indigenous, racial, or religious groups

Tip

Using plural nouns and pronouns or recasting a sentence can help you lot keep your linguistic communication gender neutral while avoiding awkwardness. Consider the post-obit examples.

• Gender biased : When a writer cites a source in the torso of his paper, he must listing it on his references page.
• Awkward : When a writer cites a source in the torso of his or her newspaper, he or she must list it on his or her references page.
• Improved : Writers must list whatsoever sources cited in the body of a paper on the references page.

Keeping Your Style Consistent

As you lot revise your newspaper, brand certain your style is consequent throughout. Await for instances where a word, phrase, or sentence does not seem to fit with the rest of the writing. It is best to reread for style subsequently y'all accept completed the other revisions and so that yous are not distracted by whatever larger content issues. Revising strategies you tin can use include the post-obit:

Read your newspaper aloud. Sometimes your ears catch inconsistencies that your eyes miss.

Share your paper with another reader whom you trust to give you honest feedback. It is frequently difficult to evaluate one'due south own style objectively—especially in the concluding phase of a challenging writing project. Some other reader may be more than probable to notice instances of wordiness, confusing linguistic communication, or other bug that impact style and tone.

E dit your paper slowly, sentence past sentence. Yous may even wish to utilise a sheet of paper to encompass up everything on the page except the paragraph you are editing. This practice forces yous to read slowly and carefully. Mark any areas where you notice problems in style or tone, and so take time to rework those sections.

On reviewing his paper, Jorge found that he had generally used an accordingly academic style and tone. Withal, he noticed i glaring exception—his beginning paragraph. He realized in that location were places where his overly informal writing could come across as unserious or, worse, disparaging. Revising his word choice and omitting a humorous aside helped Jorge maintain a consistent tone. Read his revisions.

Self – practice EXERCISE 12.five

Using Checklist 12.3 : Revise for Way , revise your paper line by line. You lot may use either of these techniques:

Impress out a difficult copy of your paper or piece of work with your printout fromSelf – Practise Exercise 12.1. Read it line by line. Check for the bug noted on Checklist 12.three, as well as whatsoever other aspects of your writing style you have previously identified as areas for improvement. Mark whatsoever areas where you detect bug in way or tone, and and then take time to rework those sections.

If y'all prefer to work with an electronic document, use the menu options in your word processing programme to enlarge the text to 150 or 200 percent of the original size. Brand sure the type is large plenty that yous can focus on i paragraph at a time. Read the paper line by line as described in step 1. Highlight whatsoever areas where you detect problems in style or tone, and then take time to rework those sections.

Optional c ollaboration: P lease exchange papers with a classmate. On a separate piece of newspaper, notation places where the essay does not seem to menstruation or y'all have questions well-nigh what was written. Return the essay and compare notes.

Completing a Peer Review

After working so closely with a piece of writing, writers ofttimes need to step back and ask for a more than objective reader. What writers need most is feedback from readers who can respond only to the words on the folio. When they are ready, writers show their drafts to someone they respect and who can give an honest response virtually its strengths and weaknesses.

Yous, too, can inquire a peer to read your draft when information technology is ready. Subsequently evaluating the feedback and assessing what is virtually helpful, the reader's feedback volition assistance you when you revise your draft. This process is calledpeer review.

Y'all can work with a partner in your class and place specific ways to strengthen each other'due south essays. Although you lot may be uncomfortable sharing your writing at first, think that each writer is working toward the same goal: a final draft that fits the audition and the purpose. Maintaining a positive mental attitude when providing feedback will put you lot and your partner at ease. The box that follows provides a useful framework for the peer review session.

Questions for Peer Review: Organization, Unity, and Coherence

Title of essay: ____________________________________________

Engagement: ____________________________________________

Writer's name: ____________________________________________

Peer reviewer's name: _________________________________________

This essay is about____________________________________________.

Your principal points in this essay are____________________________________________.

What I nigh liked nearly this essay is____________________________________________.

These three points struck me every bit your strongest:

Point: ____________________________________________
Why: ____________________________________________

Betoken: ____________________________________________
Why: ____________________________________________

Signal: ____________________________________________
Why: ____________________________________________

These places in your essay are not clear to me:

Where: ____________________________________________
Needs improvement because__________________________________________

Where: ____________________________________________
Needs improvement because ____________________________________________

Where: ____________________________________________

Needs comeback because ____________________________________________

The i additional change you could brand that would improve this essay significantly is ____________________________________________.

Writing at Work

One of the reasons why word processing programs build in a reviewing feature is that piece of work groups have become a common characteristic in many businesses. Writing is oft collaborative, and the members of a work group and their supervisors oftentimes critique grouping members' piece of work and offer feedback that will lead to a better final product.

Self – practice EXERCISE 12.6

Exchange essays with a classmate and complete a peer review of each other's draft in progress. Retrieve to give positive feedback and to exist courteous and polite in your responses. Focus on providing one positive comment and one question for more than information to the author.

Using Feedback Objectively

The purpose of peer feedback is to receive constructive criticism of your essay. Your peer reviewer is your first existent audition, and you take the opportunity to learn what confuses and delights a reader and so that y'all can amend your piece of work before sharing the terminal draft with a wider audience (or your intended audience).

It may non be necessary to comprise every recommendation your peer reviewer makes. However, if you first to observe a pattern in the responses y'all receive from peer reviewers, you might want to consider that feedback in future assignments. For instance, if you read consequent comments about a demand for more inquiry, and so you may want to consider including more inquiry in future assignments.

Using Feedback from Multiple Sources

You might become feedback from more one reader as you share different stages of your revised draft. In this situation, you may receive feedback from readers who do non understand the consignment or who lack your involvement with and enthusiasm for it.

You need to evaluate the responses you receive co-ordinate to 2 important criteria:

Make up one's mind if the feedback supports the purpose of the assignment.

Determine if the suggested revisions are appropriate to the audience.

Then, using these standards, accept or pass up revision feedback.

Self – exercise Exercise 12.7

Consider the feedback you received from the peer review and all of the revision exercises throughout this section. Compile a final draft of your revisions that you can use in the next section to complete your final edits.

Cardinal Takeaways

• Revising and editing are the stages of the writing procedure in which you lot meliorate your work before producing a last draft.
• Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay conspicuously vest together and are arranged in an social club that makes logical sense.
• Coherence in writing means that the writer's wording clearly indicates how 1 thought leads to some other within a paragraph and betwixt paragraphs.
• Transitional words and phrases effectively make writing more coherent.
• Writing should be clear and curtailed, with no unnecessary words.
• Effective formal writing uses specific, appropriate words and avoids slang, contractions, clichés, and overly general words.
• Peer reviews, done properly, can give writers objective feedback about their writing. Information technology is the author's responsibleness to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate just useful feedback.

12.2 Editing and Developing a Terminal Draft of a Enquiry Paper

Learning Objectives

• Edit your paper to ensure that language, citations, and formatting are correct

Given all the time and effort you take put into your research paper, you will want to brand sure that your final draft represents your best work. This requires taking the time to revise and edit your paper carefully.

You may feel like yous need a pause from your newspaper before you edit information technology. That feeling is understandable, so you want to exist sure to leave yourself enough fourth dimension to complete this important stage of the writing process. This department presents a number of opportunities for you lot to focus on dissimilar aspects of the editing process; as with revising a draft, you should approach editing in unlike stages.

Some of the content in this department may seem repetitive, but again, it provides you with a chance to double-check whatever revisions you take fabricated at a detailed level.

Editing Your Draft

If yous have been incorporating each ready of revisions as Mariah and Jorge have, you lot have produced multiple drafts of your writing. So far, all your changes take been content changes. Possibly with the help of peer feedback, you have made sure that you sufficiently supported your ideas. You have checked for problems with unity and coherence. You lot have examined your essay for word selection, revising to cut unnecessary words and to supplant weak diction with specific and appropriate wording.

The next stride later revising the content is editing. When yous edit, you examine the surface features of your text. You examine your spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation. You also make sure you apply the proper format when creating your finished assignment.

Tip

Editing takes time. Be sure to budget time into the writing process to complete additional edits after revising. Editing and proofreading your writing helps y'all create a finished work that represents your best efforts. Here are a few more tips to recall about your readers:

Readers do not detect correct spelling, but theypractise notice misspellings.

Readers expect past your sentences to get to your ideas—unless the sentences are awkward, poorly synthetic, and frustrating to read.

Readers notice when every judgement has the same rhythm as every other sentence, with no multifariousness.

Readers practise not cheer when you lot usethere,their, andthey're correctly, but they notice when you do not.

Readers will find the intendance with which you handled your assignment and your attention to item in the commitment of an error-free certificate.

Being Clear and Concise

Some writers are very methodical and painstaking when they write a showtime draft. Other writers unleash a lot of words in order to get out all that they feel they need to say. Do either of these methods match your style? Or is your composing style somewhere in between? No affair which description best fits you, the starting time draft of about every slice of writing, no matter its author, tin exist made clearer and more concise.

If yous have a tendency to write besides much, you lot volition demand to look for unnecessary words. If you lot have a tendency to be vague or imprecise in your wording, you lot will need to detect specific words to replace any overly general linguistic communication.

Identifying Wordiness

Sometimes writers employ besides many words when fewer words will appeal more to their audition and better fit their purpose. Here are some common examples of wordiness to expect for in your draft. Eliminating wordiness helps all readers, considering it makes your ideas clear, direct, and straightforward.

• Sentences that begin withThere isorAt that place are
• Wordy . At that place are two major experiments that the Biology Department sponsors.
• Revised . The Biological science Department sponsors two major experiments.
• Sentences with unnecessary modifiers
• Wordy . 2 extremely famous and well-known consumer advocates spoke eloquently in favour of the proposed important legislation.
• Revised . Two well-known consumer advocates spoke in favour of the proposed legislation.

Sentences with deadwood phrases that add together fiddling to the significant. Be judicious when you use phrases such equallyin terms of,with a listen to,on the subject of,as to whether or non,more than or less,equally far equally…is concerned, and similar expressions. You tin can unremarkably detect a more straightforward way to state your point.

• Wordy . Equally a world leader in the field of green engineering science, the visitor plans to focus its efforts in the area of geothermal energy. A written report as to whether or not to utilise geysers as an energy source is in the process of preparation.
• Revised . Equally a earth leader in greenish technology, the company plans to focus on geothermal energy. Researchers are preparing a written report almost using geysers as an energy source.

Sentences in the passive vox or with forms of the verbto be : Sentences with passive vocalization verbs oft create confusion considering the bailiwick of the sentence does not perform an action. Sentences are clearer when the discipline performs the action and is followed by a strong verb. Employ strong agile voice verbs in place of forms ofto be, which tin lead to wordiness. Avert passive vocalism when y'all can.

• Wordy . It might perhaps be said that using a GPS device is something that is a benefit to drivers who have a poor sense of direction.
• Revised . Using a GPS device benefits drivers who accept a poor sense of direction.

Sentences with constructions that can be shortened

• Wordy . The e-book reader, which is a recent invention, may become as commonplace equally the cell telephone. My over-60 uncle bought an e-book reader, and his wife bought an eastward-book reader, too.
• Revised . The e-volume reader, a recent invention, may go as commonplace every bit the cell phone. My over-sixty uncle and his married woman both bought e-volume readers.

Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words

About essays at the mail-secondary level should exist written in formal English suitable for an academic state of affairs. Follow these principles to exist sure that your discussion choice is appropriate. For more than data about word choice, seeChapter ii: Working with Words: Which Word Is Correct?

Avoid slang . Notice alternatives tobummer,kewl, andrad.

Avert language that is overly casual . Write almost "men and women" rather than "girls and guys" unless you are trying to create a specific event. A formal tone calls for formal language.

Avoid contractions . Utilisedo not in place ofdon't,I am in identify ofI'grand,have not in place ofhaven't, then on. Contractions are considered coincidental speech.

Avoid clichés . Overused expressions such asgreen with envy,face the music,better late than never, and similar expressions are empty of meaning and may not appeal to your audience.

Be careful when y'all use words that sound alike just take unlike meanings . Some examples areallusion/illusion; complement/compliment; council/counsel; concurrent/sequent; founder/flounder; and historic/historical. When in doubt, check a lexicon.

Cull words with the connotations you desire . Choosing a word for its connotations is as important in formal essay writing as information technology is in all kinds of writing. Compare the positive connotations of the give-and-takeproud and the negative connotations ofarrogant andconceited.

Use specific words rather than overly general words . Detect synonyms forthing,people,nice,expert,bad,interesting, and other vague words. Or use specific details to make your verbal meaning clear.

Now read the revisions Mariah made to make her third paragraph clearer and more concise. She has already incorporated the changes she made to meliorate unity and coherence.

Cocky – exercise EXERCISE 12.eight

Reply the post-obit questions virtually Mariah's revised paragraph:

Read the unrevised and the revised paragraphs aloud. Explain in your own words how changes in word selection have affected Mariah's writing.

Do yous concord with the changes that Mariah made to her paragraph? Which changes would you proceed and which were unnecessary? Explain. What other changes would you have fabricated?

What event does removing contractions and the pronoun ^you have on the tone of the paragraph? How would you lot characterize the tone now? Why?

Now return once more to your essay in progress. Read carefully for problems with word choice. Be sure that your typhoon is written in formal language and that your word choice is specific and appropriate.

Self – practice EXERCISE 12.nine

R eturn again to the get-go draft of the essay y'all have been revising. Check information technology for unnecessary words.

Try making your sentences as concise as they can be.

Brief Punctuation Review

Throughout this book, you have been presented with a number of tables containing transitional words. Table 12.2: Punctuating Transitional Words and Phrases shows many of the transition words you accept seen organized into unlike categories to help you know how to punctuate with each one.

Tabular array 12.2: Punctuating Transitional Words and Phrases

Joining Independent Clauses (coordination)
2 IND	Analogous conjunctions: FANBOYS		Conjunctive adverbs and other transitional expressions
IND ; IND	IND , ____ IND		IND . _____, IND or IND ; _____, IND
	for		accordingly		afterward all
	and		after a while		also
	nor		anyway		every bit a result
	but		at any rate		at the aforementioned time
	or		as well		consequently
	withal		for instance		for instance
	and then		furthermore		hence
			henceforth		however
			in addition		indeed
			in fact		in other words
			in particular		instead
			in the showtime identify		too
			meanwhile		moreover
			withal		however
			on the contrary		on the other paw
			otherwise		all the same
			so		therefore
			thus
Forming Dependent Clauses (subordination)
IND + DEP or DEP , IND
after	although	every bit		every bit if		as though
because	earlier	if		in guild that		since
so that	that	though		unless		until
when	whenever	where		wherever
*which	while	who		whom		whose

* This row contains relative pronouns, which may be punctuated differently.

Joining Independent Clauses

There are iii means to join contained clauses. By using a mix of all three methods and varying your transition words, you will add complexity to your writing and improve the menses. You will as well be emphasizing to your reader which ideas y'all want to connect or to show things similar crusade and upshot or contrast. For a more than detailed review of independent clauses, expect back at Chapter three: Putting Ideas into Your Ain Words and Paragraphs. Option one By but using a semicolon (;), you can make the ideas connect more if y'all were to use a menstruum. If you are trying to reinforce that connexion, use a semicolon because it is not as potent of a break as a period and reinforces the link. Pick 2 When you want to link two independent sentences and increment the period between ideas, you can add a comma and a coordinating conjunction between them. With analogous conjunctions (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and then), you exercise not use a comma every time: you lot would only practice so if what is on either side of the conjunction is a consummate sentence not just a phrase. You would non put a comma if you are but giving a list of two items. For example:

Comma:It is cold outside, so I wore an extra warm coat.

No comma: It is cold outside. I wore an extra warm glaze and gloves.

The first example contains a consummate sentence (independent clause) on either side of the conjunction so. Just the conjunction by itself or simply a comma past itself is not strong enough to join two contained clauses. However, if you put the two together with so, you lot tin can link the two. In the second example, and is but connecting two noun phrases: warm coat and gloves. What comes after the conjunction is non a complete sentence, then you would not add a comma. To check if there is a complete, independent clause, ask yourself, "Can that part stand up by itself as a complete sentence?" In the case of the no comma example, gloves is what comes subsequently the comma. That is non a complete sentence, only a substantive: that means it is part of a list and is not a consummate sentence = no comma. The point of these examples was to testify y'all that you have to be conscientious how you use commas and conjunctions. As easy as it would be to just always toss in a comma, doing and then would misfile your reader every bit what is and is not role of a listing and what ideas are joined. Option three Your third choice is to join 2 independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb or another transition word. These words are very useful considering they clearly show your reader how you lot would like your ideas to connect. If y'all wanted to emphasize contrasting ideas, you would apply on the other mitt or all the same. If you wanted to evidence cause and event, you lot could apply as a result. Refer to the tables you lot have seen in other chapters to make certain you are using the transitions you actually mean to exist using; then, cheque Table 12.two to confirm how you should punctuate it. Afterwards your outset independent clause, you tin can choose to either apply a period or a semicolon, again depending on how much of a link yous desire to bear witness. You may also want to consider how many long sentences you have used prior to this. If y'all use a lot of complicated sentences, you should probably use a period to allow your reader to take a suspension. You must also remember to include a comma after the transition word.

Menstruum:It is common cold outside. Therefore, I wore an extra warm coat.

Semicolon: Information technology is cold outside; therefore, I wore an extra warm coat.

Joining Dependent Clauses

If i of the clauses in a judgement is independent and tin stand on its own, but the other is not, you have to construct the sentence a little differently. Whenever y'all add a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun to an contained judgement, you lot create a dependent clause—i that can never stand solitary. In the examples below, observe that when the contained clause comes first, information technology is strong enough to carry the dependent clause at the end without any helping punctuation. Notwithstanding, if you desire the dependent clause first, you must add a comma betwixt it and the independent clause: the dependent clause is non potent plenty to support the independent clause later on without a piddling help. In the examples below, the independent clauses are double underlined and the dependent clause has a unmarried underline.

IND kickoff:I wore an actress warm glaze as it is cold exterior.

DEP kickoff: As it is cold outside, I wore an actress warm coat.

Tip

If you lot want to showtime a sentence with Because, you need to brand sure there is a 2d half to that sentence that is independent. A Because (dependent) clause can never stand by itself.

At the lesser on Table 12.2, y'all tin can meet a list of v dependent markers that can be used a little differently. These are relative pronouns, and when yous use them, y'all need to ask yourself if the information is 100 percent necessary for the reader to understand what you are describing. If information technology is optional, you can include a comma earlier the relative clause even if information technology comes afterward the independent clause.

Non – essential:Every bit it is common cold exterior, I wore an actress warm coat, which was blueish.

Essential: My coat which is blueish is the 1 I habiliment when information technology is actually cold outside.

In the non – essential example, the fact that the coat was warm was probably more of import than that the glaze was bluish. The information that the coat is blue probably would not brand a departure in keeping the person warm, and then the information in that relative clause is not terribly important. Adding the comma before the clause tells the reader it is actress information. In the essential example, the use of the same clause without a preceding comma shows that this data is of import. The writer is implying he has other coats that are not as warm and are non blue, so he is emphasizing the importance of the blue glaze. These are the only v subordinators, or relative pronouns, for which y'all tin do this; every other one needs to follow the previous explanation of how to use these dependent transition words. If you do decide to add a comma with one of the relative pronouns, you lot demand to think critically about whether or not that clarification is completely essential.

Using whatsoever of these sentence joining strategies is helpful in providing sentence diversity to help your reader stay engaged and reading attentively. By post-obit these punctuation rules, you lot will also avert creating sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices, all of which improves your end product.

Given how much work y'all have put into your inquiry paper, you will want to bank check for whatsoever errors that could distract or misfile your readers. Using the spell checking characteristic in your word processing program can be helpful, it should not supervene upon a total, conscientious review of your document. Exist sure to check for whatever errors that may have come frequently for you in the by. Employ Checklist 12.four: Editing Your Writing to assistance you as y'all edit.

Checklist 12.4 : Editing Your Writing

Grammar

Are some sentences actually sentence fragments?

Are some sentences run-on? How tin I correct them?

Exercise some sentences need conjunctions betwixt contained clauses?

Does every verb agree with its subject?

Is every verb in the correct tense?

Are tense forms, specially for irregular verbs, written correctly?

Have I used bailiwick, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?

Have I usedwho andwhom correctly?

Is the antecedent of every pronoun clear?

Do all personal pronouns hold with their antecedents?

Have I used the correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?

Is information technology clear which word a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?

Sentence Structure

Are all my sentences uncomplicated sentences, or exercise I vary my sentence structure?

Accept I chosen the best coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to join clauses?

Accept I created long, overpacked sentences that should exist shortened for clarity?

Do I meet whatever mistakes in parallel structure?

Punctuation

Does every sentence end with the right cease punctuation?

Can I justify the use of every exclamation point?

Have I used apostrophes correctly to write all singular and plural possessive forms?

Have I used quotation marks correctly?

Mechanics and Usage

Tin can I detect any spelling errors? How can I correct them?

Have I used capital letters where they are needed?

Accept I written abbreviations, where immune, correctly?

Can I find any errors in the use of commonly confused words, such as to/too/two?

Tip

Be careful about relying likewise much on spelling checkers and grammar checkers. A spelling checker cannot recognize that you meant to write principle but wrotemain instead. A grammar checker oftentimes queries constructions that are perfectly right. The plan does not understand your meaning; it makes its check confronting a general fix of formulas that might not apply in each case. If you use a grammar checker, accept the suggestions that brand sense, but consider why the suggestions came upwards.

Tip

Proofreading requires patience; it is very easy to read by a error. Set your paper bated for at least a few hours, if not a 24-hour interval or more, and then your mind will residual. Some professional proofreaders read a text backward so they can concentrate on spelling and punctuation. Some other helpful technique is to slowly read a paper aloud, paying attention to every word, alphabetic character, and punctuation marking.

If yous demand boosted proofreading help, enquire a reliable friend, classmate, or peer tutor to brand a concluding laissez passer on your paper to expect for anything you missed.

Formatting

Your finished assignment should be properly formatted, following the fashion required of you. Formatting includes the fashion of the championship, margin size, page number placement, location of the writer's name, and other factors. Your teacher or department may require a specific fashion to be used. The requirements may be more detailed and rigid for inquiry projects and term papers, which oftentimes observe the American Psychological Association (APA) way guide, especially when citations of sources are included.

To ensure the format is correct and follows any specific instructions, make a final cheque earlier you submit an assignment.

Self- practise EXERCISE 12.10

With the help of Checklist 12.4, edit and proofread your essay.

Checking Citations and Formatting

When editing a inquiry paper, it is also of import to check that yous take cited sources properly and formatted your document according to the specified guidelines. At that place are two reasons for this. Start, citing sources correctly ensures that y'all give proper credit to other people for ideas and information that helped you lot in your piece of work. Second, using correct formatting establishes your paper as ane student's contribution to the work developed by and for a larger academic community. Increasingly, American Psychological Association (APA) manner guidelines are the standard for many academic fields. Use Checklist 12.5: Citations and Formatting to assist.

Checklist 12.5 : Citations and Formatting

Within the body of my paper, each fact or idea taken from a source is credited to the correct source.

Each in-text commendation includes the source writer'due south proper noun (or, where applicable, the arrangement name or source championship) and twelvemonth of publication. I take used the right format of in text and parenthetical citations.

Each source cited in the body of my paper has a respective entry in the references section of my paper.

My references section includes a heading and double-spaced alphabetized entries.

Each entry in my references section is indented on the second line and all subsequent lines.

Each entry in my references section includes all the necessary information for that source type, in the correct sequence and format.

My paper includes a title page.

My paper includes a running head.

The margins of my paper are set at one inch. Text is double spaced and gear up in a standard 12-point font.

For detailed guidelines on APA citation and formatting, seeAffiliate 9: Citations and Referencing.

Writing at Work

Post-obit APA citation and formatting guidelines may require time and try. Nevertheless, it is good do for learning how to follow accepted conventions in whatsoever professional field. Many big corporations create a fashion manual with guidelines for editing and formatting documents produced by that corporation. Employees follow the fashion manual when creating internal documents and documents for publication.

During the process of revising and editing, Jorge made changes in the content and way of his newspaper. He also gave the paper a concluding review to cheque for overall correctness and, especially, correct APA citations and formatting. Read the last draft of his paper.

With the help of Checklist 12.5, edit and proofread your essay.

Although yous probably do not want to look at your paper again before you submit it to your instructor, take the time to do a final cheque. Since you have already worked through all of the checklists above focusing on certain aspects at 1 fourth dimension, working through 1 final checklist should ostend you lot have written a strong, persuasive essay and that everything is the way you want information technology to be. Every bit extra insurance you lot have produced a potent paper, you may even want someone else to double-check your essay using C hecklist 12.half dozen: Concluding Revision. Then you tin compare to run into how your perceptions of your paper match those of someone else, essentially having that person human action as the one who volition be grading your paper.

Checklist 12.half-dozen: Terminal Revision

Commencement Revision i : Organisation
___	Exercise you lot bear witness y'all sympathise the assignment: purpose, audience, and genre?
___	Focus: Take y'all clearly stated your thesis (your controlling idea) in the first paragraph?
___	Does your thesis statement grab the reader's attention?
___	Unity: Write your opening and closing paragraphs and place each topic judgement in between. You should have a "mini essay" with several unlike main points supporting your thesis.
___	Are your paragraphs organized in a logical manner?
___ ___	Does each topic sentence (per paragraph) logically follow the 1 preceding it?
	Exercise y'all take several points to support your thesis?
___ ___ ___	Cheque whether your paragraphs are organized according to a specific pattern.
	Would rearranging your paragraphs support your thesis ameliorate?
	Have you provided a comprehensive conclusion to your essay? Does it summarize your primary points (using dissimilar words)?
First Revision 2 : Paragraphs and Sentences
___ ___ ___ ___ ___   ___ ___ ___   ___   ___	Does each paragraph accept primary points and supporting details?
	Does each paragraph have only one primary signal?
	Is your approach or design used to develop your paragraph's principal point followed?
	Check that each sentence is relevant to the master point of the paragraph.
	Are there several sentences giving details, facts, quotes, reasons, and arguments in each paragraph?
	Is each supporting detail specific, physical, and relevant to the topic sentence?
	Does each sentence logically follow the preceding one?
	Have you used transitional words to help the reader follow your thoughts? If not, add them.
	Paragraph length: If too brusque, develop further. If also long, break into smaller paragraphs or consolidate some sentences.
	Check your essay for tone and betoken of view.
Second Revision 1 : Sentences and Usage
___ ___ ___ ___	Confirm that each sentence has a subject field and a verb.
	Revise fragments, splices, and run-on sentences.
	Check modifiers to see if they have been put in unclear places.
	Do y'all have a multifariousness of sentence structures? (uncomplicated and complex)
___ ___   ___ ___ ___	Scan for field of study-verb agreement in each sentence.
	Are yous consequent with your verb tenses? Cheque to make sure there are not whatsoever confusing or irrelevant tense changes.
	Make sure that words in lists are in parallel forms.
	Think through your pronouns; what is each ane referring to?
	Check for confusing "person" shifts within paragraphs. Go on the subjects consistent.
___ ___ ___ ___   ___	Identify all verbs and change any that are passive to active.
	Use stiff verbs not weak adverbs. Say something "is" non that information technology "may be."
	Check for wordiness.
	Scan to make sure yous have not used the same word repeatedly in the same sentence and paragraph. Use a thesaurus.
	Look for and eliminate clichés.
Second Revision ii : Documentation
___ ___ ___ ___	Accept you documented all your references?
	Have you used in text citations every fourth dimension they were needed? Have yous formatted all your citations correctly?
	Is your references' section complete and correct according to the JIBC APA Style Guide.
Second Revision 3 : Mechanics
___ ___	Cheque that all words and sentences are punctuated according to standard usage.
	Check for spelling and typographical errors.
Third Revision: Content
___ ___ ___ ___	Read your essay aloud. Exercise you believe what you take written?
	At this betoken practice you develop your decision-making idea in a way that makes sense?
	Have you lot provided plenty background data? Is it relevant/necessary?
	Have you lot primarily used paraphrasing as opposed to direct quotations?

You should now be confident you have produced a strong argument that is wonderfully constructed and that you will be able to persuade your audience that your points and point of view are valid.

Key Takeaways

• During revising, you add, cut, movement, or alter data in order to amend content.
• During editing, y'all take a 2d wait at the words and sentences you used to limited your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and judgement structure.
• Remember to budget time for careful editing and proofreading. Use all available resources, including editing checklists, peer editing, and your institution's writing lab, to improve your editing skills.
• Organization in a research paper means that the statement proceeds logically from the introduction to the body to the conclusion. It flows logically from i point to the next. When revising a enquiry paper, evaluate the organization of the newspaper as a whole and the organization of individual paragraphs.
• In a cohesive research paper, the elements of the paper piece of work together smoothly and naturally. When revising a enquiry paper, evaluate its cohesion. In particular, check that information from research is smoothly integrated with your ideas.
• An effective research paper uses a style and tone that are appropriately academic and serious. When revising a inquiry paper, check that the style and tone are consistent throughout.
• Editing a research paper involves checking for errors in grammar, mechanics, punctuation, usage, spelling, citations, and formatting.

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Source: https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/chapter/chapter-12-peer-review-and-final-revisions/