when editing your essay make sure that each sentence is concise

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8.4 Revising and Editing

Learning objectives.

Identify major areas of concern in the draft essay during revising and editing.
Use peer reviews and editing checklists to assist revising and editing.
Revise and edit the first draft of your essay and produce a final draft.

Revising and editing are the two tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed first draft means little 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 they practice, the stronger their performance will become. Web designers seek better images, a more clever design, or a more appealing background for their web pages. Writing has the same capacity to profit from improvement and revision.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

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

When you revise , you take a second look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information in order to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more convincing.
When you edit , you take a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add or change words. You fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You improve your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your best efforts.

How do you get the best out of your revisions and editing? Here are some strategies that writers have developed to look at their first drafts from a fresh perspective. Try them over the course of this semester; then keep using the ones that bring results.

Take a break. You are proud of what you wrote, but you might be too close to it to make changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a day until you can look at it objectively.
Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.
Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?
Use the resources that your college provides. Find out where your school’s writing lab is located and ask about the assistance they provide online and in person.

Many people hear the words critic , critical , and criticism and pick up only negative vibes that provoke feelings that make them blush, grumble, or shout. However, as a writer and a thinker, you need to learn to be critical of yourself in a positive way and have high expectations for your work. You also need to train your eye and trust your ability to fix what needs fixing. For this, you need to teach yourself where to look.

Creating Unity and Coherence

Following your outline closely offers you a reasonable guarantee that your writing will stay on purpose and not drift away from the controlling idea. However, 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 be adding information that is not needed to develop the main idea.

When a piece of writing has unity , all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense. When the writing has coherence , the ideas flow smoothly. The wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and from paragraph to paragraph.

Reading your writing aloud will often help you find problems with unity and coherence. Listen for the clarity and flow of your ideas. Identify places where you find yourself confused, and write a note to yourself about possible fixes.

Creating Unity

Sometimes writers get caught up in the moment and cannot resist a good digression. Even though you might enjoy such detours when you chat with friends, unplanned digressions usually harm a piece of writing.

Mariah stayed close to her outline when she drafted the three body paragraphs of her essay she tentatively titled “Digital Technology: The Newest and the Best at What Price?” 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 about 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 first time without Mariah’s changes, and the second time with them.

Nothing is more confusing to me than choosing among televisions. It confuses lots of people who want a new high-definition digital television (HDTV) with a large screen to watch sports and DVDs on. You could listen to the guys in the electronics store, but word has it they know little more than you do. They want to sell what they have in stock, not what best fits your needs. You face decisions you never had to make with the old, bulky picture-tube televisions. Screen resolution means the number of horizontal scan lines the screen can show. This resolution is often 1080p, or full HD, or 768p. The trouble is that if you have a smaller screen, 32 inches or 37 inches diagonal, you won’t be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. The 1080p televisions cost more, though, so those are what the salespeople want you to buy. They get bigger commissions. The other important decision you face as you walk around the sales floor is whether to get a plasma screen or an LCD screen. Now here the salespeople may finally give you decent info. Plasma flat-panel television screens can be much larger in diameter than their LCD rivals. Plasma screens show truer blacks and can be viewed at a wider angle than current LCD screens. But be careful and tell the salesperson you have budget constraints. Large flat-panel plasma screens are much more expensive than flat-screen LCD models. Don’t let someone make you by more television than you need!

Answer the following two questions about Mariah’s paragraph:

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Now start to revise the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” . Reread it to find any statements that affect the unity of your writing. Decide how best to revise.

When you reread your writing to find revisions to make, look for each type of problem in a separate sweep. Read it straight through once to locate any problems with unity. Read it straight through a second time to find problems with coherence. You may follow this same practice during many stages of the writing process.

Writing at Work

Many companies hire copyeditors and proofreaders to help them produce the cleanest possible final drafts of large writing projects. Copyeditors are responsible for suggesting revisions and style changes; proofreaders check documents for any 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 variety of clients.

Creating Coherence

Careful writers use transitions to clarify how the ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are related. These words and phrases help the writing flow smoothly. Adding transitions is not the only way to improve coherence, but they are often useful and give a mature feel to your essays. Table 8.3 “Common Transitional Words and Phrases” groups many common transitions according to their purpose.

Table 8.3 Common Transitional Words and Phrases

After Maria revised for unity, she next examined her paragraph about televisions to check 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.

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

1. Answer the following questions about Mariah’s revised paragraph.

2. Now return to the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” and revise it for coherence. Add transition words and phrases where they are needed, and make any other changes that are needed to improve the flow and connection between ideas.

Being Clear and Concise

Some writers are very methodical and painstaking when they write a first 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 composing styles match your style? Or is your composing style somewhere in between? No matter which description best fits you, the first draft of almost every piece of writing, no matter its author, can be made clearer and more concise.

If you have a tendency to write too much, you will need to look for unnecessary words. If you have a tendency to be vague or imprecise in your wording, you will need to find specific words to replace any overly general language.

Identifying Wordiness

Sometimes writers use too many words when fewer words will appeal more to their audience and better fit their purpose. Here are some common examples of wordiness to look for in your draft. Eliminating wordiness helps all readers, because it makes your ideas clear, direct, and straightforward.

Sentences that begin with There is or There are .

Wordy: There are two major experiments that the Biology Department sponsors.

Revised: The Biology Department sponsors two major experiments.

Sentences with unnecessary modifiers.

Wordy: Two extremely famous and well-known consumer advocates spoke eloquently in favor of the proposed important legislation.

Revised: Two well-known consumer advocates spoke in favor of the proposed legislation.

Sentences with deadwood phrases that add little to the meaning. Be judicious when you use phrases such as in terms of , with a mind to , on the subject of , as to whether or not , more or less , as far as…is concerned , and similar expressions. You can usually find a more straightforward way to state your point.

Wordy: As a world leader in the field of green technology, the company plans to focus its efforts in the area of geothermal energy.

A report as to whether or not to use geysers as an energy source is in the process of preparation.

Revised: As a world leader in green technology, the company plans to focus on geothermal energy.

A report about using geysers as an energy source is in preparation.

Sentences in the passive voice or with forms of the verb to be . Sentences with passive-voice verbs often create confusion, because the subject of the sentence does not perform an action. Sentences are clearer when the subject of the sentence performs the action and is followed by a strong verb. Use strong active-voice verbs in place of forms of to be , which can lead to wordiness. Avoid passive voice when you 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 have 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 as the cell phone.

My over-sixty uncle bought an e-book reader, and his wife bought an e-book reader, too.

Revised: The e-book reader, a recent invention, may become as commonplace as the cell phone.

My over-sixty uncle and his wife both bought e-book readers.

Now return once more to the first draft of the essay you have been revising. Check it for unnecessary words. Try making your sentences as concise as they can be.

Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words

Most college essays should be written in formal English suitable for an academic situation. Follow these principles to be sure that your word choice is appropriate. For more information about word choice, see Chapter 4 “Working with Words: Which Word Is Right?” .

Avoid slang. Find alternatives to bummer , kewl , and rad .
Avoid language that is overly casual. Write about “men and women” rather than “girls and guys” unless you are trying to create a specific effect. A formal tone calls for formal language.
Avoid contractions. Use do not in place of don’t , I am in place of I’m , have not in place of haven’t , and so on. Contractions are considered casual speech.
Avoid clichés. Overused expressions such as green 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 you use words that sound alike but have different meanings. Some examples are allusion/illusion , complement/compliment , council/counsel , concurrent/consecutive , founder/flounder , and historic/historical . When in doubt, check a dictionary.
Choose words with the connotations you want. Choosing a word for its connotations is as important in formal essay writing as it is in all kinds of writing. Compare the positive connotations of the word proud and the negative connotations of arrogant and conceited .
Use specific words rather than overly general words. Find synonyms for thing , people , nice , good , bad , interesting , and other vague words. Or use specific details to make your exact 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 improve unity and coherence.

1. Answer the following questions about Mariah’s revised paragraph:

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

Completing a Peer Review

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

You, too, can ask a peer to read your draft when it is ready. After evaluating the feedback and assessing what is most helpful, the reader’s feedback will help you when you revise your draft. This process is called peer review .

You can work with a partner in your class and identify specific ways to strengthen each other’s essays. Although you may be uncomfortable sharing your writing at first, remember that each writer is working toward the same goal: a final draft that fits the audience and the purpose. Maintaining a positive attitude when providing feedback will put you and your partner at ease. The box that follows provides a useful framework for the peer review session.

Questions for Peer Review

Title of essay: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________

Writer’s name: ____________________________________________

Peer reviewer’s name: _________________________________________

This essay is about____________________________________________.
Your main points in this essay are____________________________________________.
What I most liked about this essay is____________________________________________.

These three points struck me as your strongest:

These places in your essay are not clear to me:

a. Where: ____________________________________________

Needs improvement because__________________________________________

b. Where: ____________________________________________

Needs improvement because ____________________________________________

c. Where: ____________________________________________

The one additional change you could make that would improve this essay significantly is ____________________________________________.

One of the reasons why word-processing programs build in a reviewing feature is that workgroups have become a common feature in many businesses. Writing is often collaborative, and the members of a workgroup and their supervisors often critique group members’ work and offer feedback that will lead to a better final product.

Exchange essays with a classmate and complete a peer review of each other’s draft in progress. Remember to give positive feedback and to be courteous and polite in your responses. Focus on providing one positive comment and one question for more 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 real audience, and you have the opportunity to learn what confuses and delights a reader so that you can improve your work before sharing the final draft with a wider audience (or your intended audience).

It may not be necessary to incorporate every recommendation your peer reviewer makes. However, if you start to observe a pattern in the responses you receive from peer reviewers, you might want to take that feedback into consideration in future assignments. For example, if you read consistent comments about a need for more research, then you may want to consider including more research in future assignments.

Using Feedback from Multiple Sources

You might get feedback from more than one reader as you share different stages of your revised draft. In this situation, you may receive feedback from readers who do not understand the assignment or who lack your involvement with and enthusiasm for it.

You need to evaluate the responses you receive according to two important criteria:

Determine 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 reject revision feedback.

Work with two partners. Go back to Note 8.81 “Exercise 4” in this lesson and compare your responses to Activity A, about Mariah’s paragraph, with your partners’. Recall Mariah’s purpose for writing and her audience. Then, working individually, list where you agree and where you disagree about revision needs.

Editing Your Draft

If you have been incorporating each set of revisions as Mariah has, you have produced multiple drafts of your writing. So far, all your changes have been content changes. Perhaps 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 have examined your essay for word choice, revising to cut unnecessary words and to replace weak wording with specific and appropriate wording.

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

Editing often takes time. Budgeting time into the writing process allows you to complete additional edits after revising. Editing and proofreading your writing helps you create a finished work that represents your best efforts. Here are a few more tips to remember about your readers:

Readers do not notice correct spelling, but they do notice misspellings.
Readers look past your sentences to get to your ideas—unless the sentences are awkward, poorly constructed, and frustrating to read.
Readers notice when every sentence has the same rhythm as every other sentence, with no variety.
Readers do not cheer when you use there , their , and they’re correctly, but they notice when you do not.
Readers will notice the care with which you handled your assignment and your attention to detail in the delivery of an error-free document..

The first section of this book offers a useful review of grammar, mechanics, and usage. Use it to help you eliminate major errors in your writing and refine your understanding of the conventions of language. Do not hesitate to ask for help, too, from peer tutors in your academic department or in the college’s writing lab. In the meantime, use the checklist to help you edit your writing.

Editing Your Writing

Are some sentences actually sentence fragments?
Are some sentences run-on sentences? How can I correct them?
Do some sentences need conjunctions between independent clauses?
Does every verb agree with its subject?
Is every verb in the correct tense?
Are tense forms, especially for irregular verbs, written correctly?
Have I used subject, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?
Have I used who and whom correctly?
Is the antecedent of every pronoun clear?
Do all personal pronouns agree with their antecedents?
Have I used the correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?
Is it clear which word a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?

Sentence Structure

Are all my sentences simple sentences, or do I vary my sentence structure?
Have I chosen the best coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to join clauses?
Have I created long, overpacked sentences that should be shortened for clarity?
Do I see any mistakes in parallel structure?

Punctuation

Does every sentence end with the correct end 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

Can I find any spelling errors? How can I correct them?
Have I used capital letters where they are needed?
Have I written abbreviations, where allowed, correctly?
Can I find any errors in the use of commonly confused words, such as to / too / two ?

Be careful about relying too much on spelling checkers and grammar checkers. A spelling checker cannot recognize that you meant to write principle but wrote principal instead. A grammar checker often queries constructions that are perfectly correct. The program does not understand your meaning; it makes its check against a general set of formulas that might not apply in each instance. If you use a grammar checker, accept the suggestions that make sense, but consider why the suggestions came up.

Proofreading requires patience; it is very easy to read past a mistake. Set your paper aside for at least a few hours, if not a day or more, so your mind will rest. Some professional proofreaders read a text backward so they can concentrate on spelling and punctuation. Another helpful technique is to slowly read a paper aloud, paying attention to every word, letter, and punctuation mark.

If you need additional proofreading help, ask a reliable friend, a classmate, or a peer tutor to make a final pass on your paper to look for anything you missed.

Remember to use proper format when creating your finished assignment. Sometimes an instructor, a department, or a college will require students to follow specific instructions on titles, margins, page numbers, or the location of the writer’s name. These requirements may be more detailed and rigid for research projects and term papers, which often observe the American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association (MLA) style guides, especially when citations of sources are included.

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

With the help of the checklist, edit and proofread your essay.

Key Takeaways

Revising and editing are the stages of the writing process in which you improve your work before producing a final draft.
During revising, you add, cut, move, or change information in order to improve content.
During editing, you take a second look at the words and sentences you used to express your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong together and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense.
Coherence in writing means that the writer’s wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and between paragraphs.
Transitional words and phrases effectively make writing more coherent.
Writing should be clear and concise, 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. It is the writer’s responsibility to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate only useful feedback.
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.

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Knowledge Hub

Editing for Concision

10-minute read
21st November 2023

Introduction

The goal of editing for concision is to ensure that the text reflects the writer’s intended meaning in the simplest way possible.

Often, sentences will contain weak or unnecessary words that don’t contribute to the meaning, and removing or replacing these words enhances the clarity of the writing.

Merriam-Webster defines concise as:

It is important to bear this definition in mind. While brevity is key, the focus is removing superfluity rather than simply reducing the word count (although this can sometimes be part of an editing brief). Leaving the text with fewer words does not necessarily mean you’ve successfully created a concise piece of writing.

The goal is to edit for concision without changing the text’s meaning or altering the author’s style. This microlearning will look at ways to help achieve this aim.

Launch the microlearning module below to learn more about writing concisely and to test your knowledge using our interactive quiz.

Correcting Wordiness

“Wordiness,” or using several words when one (or none) will do, can take several forms. Let’s have a look at each of them.

Extra Words

For a sentence to be concise, every word needs to perform its own particular function.

If a word doesn’t serve a purpose, or if other words make that word redundant, you can remove it.

For example:

“Expand” already implies that the company’s dominance will go beyond what it currently is. Therefore, “further” is unnecessary (unless you are comparing the expansion to previous growth).

And another example:

The phrase “contributing to” is unnecessary here, as the writer already established that Dr. Johnson has contributed to the effort by stating that they have “played a pivotal role.”

Here are some examples of other common replacements:

Writers can also overuse transition words, sometimes to increase their word count and sometimes in the mistaken belief that they are essential for linking every sentence. Words such as “indeed,” “furthermore,” “however,” “in addition,” and “conversely” are typical offenders.

This is not to say that all transition words should be cut out of a text; they can be useful in directing the flow and tone when used correctly. But an editor must consider whether a transition word adds value or simply adds content. If a word doesn’t serve a definite purpose, it is often best to cut it.

Removing redundant words would come under Proofed’s editing service, unless the additional words made the meaning of the sentence unclear or awkward (in which case it would be a part of our proofreading service).

Vague Words and Phrases

Sometimes, a writer will use several words to express a concept when there is, in fact, a much simpler alternative.

They might also use a noun phrase to describe something when a verb would be a more direct solution:

Note: Do not prioritize concision over inclusivity. For example, should the writer of the above sentence prefer to use person-first language (“people who are deaf–blind”) then you would maintain or introduce this preferred phrasing. Also, you would not turn the people with the condition into a noun (i.e., do not say “advocating for the deaf–blind”).

Replacing vague words and phrases would come under Proofed’s editing service, unless the words made the meaning of the sentence unclear or awkward (in which case it would be a part of our proofreading service). Ensuring inclusivity comes under both services.

Nominalization

Nominalization is using a word that was not originally a noun as a noun. It’s not a bad thing in itself but, like the passive voice, can cause problems with concision and clarity when used poorly.

Nouns created through nominalization usually end in -ion, -ment, or -ance.

Editing nominalization would come under Proofed’s editing service, unless the nominalization made the meaning of the sentence unclear or awkward (in which case it would be a part of our proofreading service).

Repeated Verbs

Sometimes you will come across instances where a verb repeats. This can happen when a subject performs two or more instances of the same action.

Here is a basic example:

In the above example, we do not need to repeat the verb “ate,” because the first “ate” can apply to both direct objects.

Here’s a more complex example:

Dealing with repeated verbs would come under Proofed’s proofreading service.

Noun Phrases and Possessives

A noun phrase is a group of words that functions as the subject or object of a sentence.

Sometimes, you can replace a noun phrase with a possessive adjective. Simply put, this means you can change “the whiskers of the cat” to “the cat’s whiskers.”

Here’s an example:

Note: Exactly when you can use a possessive instead of a noun phrase can be more of an art than a science. The Chicago Manual of Style states that if the possessor is of higher status than the thing being possessed, then an apostrophe would be used. So it would be “the boy’s pen,” rather than “the pen of the boy.”

Another time when you might use “the x of the y ” construction is when both items are inanimate (“the handle of the umbrella” vs. “the umbrella’s handle”).

However, neither offer a one-size-fits-all approach, as you can have constructions like “the organization’s hierarchy is being reviewed.” Use your instincts.

Adjusting noun phrases and possessives would come under Proofed’s editing service, unless their use made the meaning of the sentence unclear or awkward (in which case it would be a part of our proofreading service)

Modifiers, Adverbs, and Adjectives

Sometimes, writers use the same (or a similar) modifier to describe each item in a list. This can be done for emphasis, usually in an advertising context (“Discover the ultimate power of our new blender: more speed, more precision, more versatility!”), but generally is unnecessary.

Similarly, writers can use vague or unnecessary adverbs or adjectives. When reading a sentence, consider whether the adverb or adjective adds anything useful.

Writers often add these words to try to emphasize a point, and it might take an outside perspective to evaluate their necessity objectively. While it is important not to change or diminish the writer’s meaning, if you find yourself questioning an adjective or adverb, that can be an indicator that it’s not adding value.

Editing modifiers, adverbs, and adjectives would come under Proofed’s editing service, unless their use made the meaning of the sentence unclear or awkward (in which case it would be a part of our proofreading service).

Combining Sentences

Combining sentences that contain related information is a good way to encourage concision. The art lies in doing so without removing any necessary information or making the sentence overly long or complicated.

There is no right or wrong length for a sentence. Too many short sentences can seem choppy, while overly long sentences are often difficult to follow. An engaging piece of writing tends to add variety by using sentences of different lengths. This variation in sentence length should enhance the meaning and flow. It should also aid clarity while promoting concision.

Combining sentences is generally an editorial (rather than a proofreading) activity. However, Proofed’s proofreading service would cover blending short, staccato sentences so that the text flows more smoothly.

Things to Avoid

Changing the intended meaning.

While concision is generally a good thing, editing for concision should not notably change a text’s meaning.

Make sure that revised text contains everything that the original was trying to convey without removing required information, changing the meaning of the text, or altering its emphasis. If you are unsure of the intended meaning, leave a comment .

Let’s look at an example where the edit has changed the writer’s intended meaning.

The meaning behind the “costly target” statement should be questioned in a comment.

Forcing Concision

When you are making text more concise, you should be careful not to disrupt the flow of information in the text. The aim of concision is to make the text as clear as possible while improving the fluency of the text. As such, changes that make the text sound forced or awkward should be avoided.

Let’s have a look at an example of forced concision.

Here, the editor has removed the appearance of two possessive “of” structures. In doing so, however, they have altered the original emphasis and worsened the readability of the sentence.

In this case, the original is fine as it is.

This microlearning has looked at how to cover the writer’s meaning in the most straightforward manner. It has emphasized the importance of being concise without compromising clarity or altering the author’s style or meaning.

Concision involves correcting or addressing wordiness, vague phrases, nominalization, repeated verbs, noun phrases, and possessives. It can also include fine-tuning modifiers and combining sentences. All this should be done without changing the text’s intended meaning or forcing concision in a way that disrupts the natural flow of information.

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How to revise an essay in 3 simple steps

How to Revise an Essay in 3 Simple Steps

Published on December 2, 2014 by Shane Bryson . Revised on December 8, 2023 by Shona McCombes.

Revising and editing an essay is a crucial step of the writing process . It often takes up at least as much time as producing the first draft, so make sure you leave enough time to revise thoroughly. Although you can save considerable time using our essay checker .

The most effective approach to revising an essay is to move from general to specific:

Start by looking at the big picture: does your essay achieve its overall purpose, and does it proceed in a logical order?
Next, dive into each paragraph: do all the sentences contribute to the point of the paragraph, and do all your points fit together smoothly?
Finally, polish up the details: is your grammar on point, your punctuation perfect, and your meaning crystal clear?

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

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Step 1: look at the essay as a whole, step 2: dive into each paragraph, step 3: polish the language, other interesting articles.

There’s no sense in perfecting a sentence if the whole paragraph will later be cut, and there’s no sense in focusing on a paragraph if the whole section needs to be reworked.

For these reasons, work from general to specific: start by looking at the overall purpose and organization of your text, and don’t worry about the details for now.

Double-check your assignment sheet and any feedback you’ve been given to make sure you’ve addressed each point of instruction. In other words, confirm that the essay completes every task it needs to complete.

Then go back to your thesis statement . Does every paragraph in the essay have a clear purpose that advances your argument? If there are any sections that are irrelevant or whose connection to the thesis is uncertain, consider cutting them or revising to make your points clearer.

Organization

Next, check for logical organization . Consider the ordering of paragraphs and sections, and think about what type of information you give in them. Ask yourself :

Do you define terms, theories and concepts before you use them?
Do you give all the necessary background information before you go into details?
Does the argument build up logically from one point to the next?
Is each paragraph clearly related to what comes before it?

Ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that sums up its point. Then, try copying and pasting these topic sentences into a new document in the order that they appear in the paper.

This allows you to see the ordering of the sections and paragraphs of your paper in a glance, giving you a sense of your entire paper all at once. You can also play with the ordering of these topic sentences to try alternative organizations.

If some topic sentences seem too similar, consider whether one of the paragraphs is redundant , or if its specific contribution needs to be clarified. If the connection between paragraphs is unclear, use transition sentences to strengthen your structure.

Finally, use your intuition. If a paragraph or section feels out of place to you, even if you can’t decide why, it probably is. Think about it for a while and try to get a second opinion. Work out the organizational issues as best you can before moving on to more specific writing issues.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Next, you want to make sure the content of each paragraph is as strong as it can be, ensuring that every sentence is relevant and necessary:

Make sure each sentence helps support the topic sentence .
Check for redundancies – if a sentence repeats something you’ve already said, cut it.
Check for inconsistencies in content. Do any of your assertions seem to contradict one another? If so, resolve the disagreement and cut as necessary.

Once you’re happy with the overall shape and content of your essay, it’s time to focus on polishing it at a sentence level, making sure that you’ve expressed yourself clearly and fluently.

You’re now less concerned with what you say than with how you say it. Aim to simplify, condense, and clarify each sentence, making it as easy as possible for your reader to understand what you want to say.

Try to avoid complex sentence construction – be as direct and straightforward as possible.
If you have a lot of very long sentences, split some of them into shorter ones.
If you have a lot of very short sentences that sound choppy, combine some of them using conjunctions or semicolons .
Make sure you’ve used appropriate transition words to show the connections between different points.
Cut every unnecessary word.
Avoid any complex word where a simpler one will do.
Look out for typos and grammatical mistakes.

If you lack confidence in your grammar, our essay editing service provides an extra pair of eyes.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Ad hominem fallacy
Post hoc fallacy
Appeal to authority fallacy
False cause fallacy
Sunk cost fallacy

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Shane finished his master's degree in English literature in 2013 and has been working as a writing tutor and editor since 2009. He began proofreading and editing essays with Scribbr in early summer, 2014.

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What is editing?

Editing can take a paper from good to great. The goal of editing is to improve aspects of your writing such as clarity, style, sentence structure, and word choice. Edit after revising (when you address content, organization, and other global concerns) but before proofreading (when you correct sentence-level issues).

Revising Editing Proofreading
paper structure
paragraph structure
source integration
sentence structure
word choice
punctuation
typographical errors (“typos”)

What to ask when editing?

Is each paragraph’s main idea easy to identify? TIP: Read about topic sentences on our MEAL Plan handout .
Are each sentence’s subject and verb clear? TIP: Limit words/phrases separating a subject and its verb.
Have you written concisely? TIP: Avoid multiple (ideally no more than two) prepositional phrases in a row.
Are your tone and language appropriate for your purpose (i.e., to describe, analyze, persuade, narrate, etc.)?
Have you included transitional comments or words to link your ideas, sentences, and paragraphs logically?
Did you intentionally use active and passive voice appropriately according to the discipline’s conventions?

Sentence Structure

Are your sentences varied in length? TIP: Find two consecutive short sentences; combine them.
Have you varied the structure of your sentences?
Does sentence length impede understanding? TIP: Consider breaking up sentences longer than 3 lines.

Word Choice

Is your language understandable and appropriate?
Do you need to define any specific terms?
Have you eliminated wordiness? TIP: Look for two-word verbs (“ are going ” vs. “ go ”); expletive constructions (“ this is ,” “ there are ”); repetitive modifiers (“ eliminate entirely ,” “ new discoveries ”).

Strategies for Editing

Read aloud, slowly. Hearing your writing helps you identify the areas where your meaning is unclear. As you read—preferably from a printed draft—mark places that sound awkward or cause you to hesitate or reread.
Edit in intervals. Instead of trying to edit your whole paper in one sitting, break up the work so that you periodically step away from the paper to “refresh” your eyes/mind.
Know yourself. Consider feedback instructors or other readers have provided about your writing. Being aware of the errors you make consistently means you will more easily find and correct them in your current draft.
Recheck your use of source material for accuracy and correct style and citation format. Remember that citation generators are not always 100% correct; use a handbook or online style manual when you edit.
Schedule a KSU Writing Center appointment. Our Writing Assistants and Graduate Writing Coaches will help you master these and other editing strategies.

Visit writingcenter.kennesaw.edu for locations & hours or to make an appointment for one-on-one writing assistance.

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1. Start by getting the structure right

If you have time, try to leave a bit of time between finishing your essay and starting the editing process. This gives you time to approach it feeling reasonably fresh; if you edit immediately after spending a long time on something, you might find that you’re so close to it that you’re unable to spot errors. When you do sit down to look through it, start by looking at its structure. Think about the overarching shape of the argument you’re developing and check that the points you’ve made help build your essay towards a logical conclusion. You may have written an essay with the points in order of when they occurred to you, but is this really the most sensible order? Does one point follow logically on from the other? Would it make the essay more interesting to include a certain point near the beginning to tease the reader, or are you revealing too much in the opening, meaning it would be better to move some points nearer the end? These are just a few of the ways in which it might be possible to improve the structure, so it helps to keep in mind your overall argument and ensure your structure puts it across as effectively as possible. With word processors now the primary means of writing essays, it couldn’t be easier to rearrange paragraphs into a more logical structure by dragging and dropping or cutting and pasting paragraphs. If you do this, don’t forget to reread the essay to ensure that the wording works with this new order, otherwise you may end up with a sentence leading into the wrong paragraph.

2. Prune long sentences and paragraphs

Whether you’ve exceeded your word count or not, long sentences and paragraphs should be edited because they can be trickier to read, and risk being boring or hard to follow. Try, therefore, to keep sentences to a maximum of two or three clauses (or segments). Avoid long paragraphs by starting a new one if you find one getting longer than three or four sentences: a wall of text can be off-putting to the reader. Leave a space between paragraphs if you’re typing your essay, as we’re doing in this article. Another way of keeping sentences to a reasonable length is to go through what you’ve written and tighten up the wording. If you find yourself writing long sentences, try to look for ways in which you can reword them to express what you’re trying to say more concisely. You’ll probably find numerous instances of phrases that take many words to say what could be said in two or three.

3. Keep overly complicated language in check

It’s going to look obvious if you’ve had a thesaurus next to you while writing, just so that you can replace all the simple words with more complicated ones. The thing is, it doesn’t always make you look intelligent; you may, for instance, inadvertently choose the wrong synonym , not realising that even close synonyms can have subtly different meanings or connotations. Sometimes using big words where simple ones would suffice can seem contrived and pompous; aim for clear, concise language to avoid being verbose or pretentious. That’s not to say you shouldn’t use more complex words at all – just choose the situation carefully and don’t overdo it.

4. Watch for repetition of ideas and words

It’s easy to repeat yourself without realising it when you’re writing, but the editing process is there to enable you to spot this before your teacher or lecturer sees it. As you read through your essay, keep a look out for ideas you’ve repeated and delete whichever repetitions add nothing to your essay (don’t forget that the first instance of the idea may not be the most appropriate place for it, so consider which is the best moment to introduce it and delete the other mentions). On a related note, look out for instances in which you’ve laboured the point. Going on about a particular point for too long can actually undermine the strength of your argument, because it makes you look as though you’re desperately grappling to find supporting facts; sometimes a simple, clear statement with a brief piece of evidence to back it up is all that’s needed. You should be equally wary of repetition of words within the same sentence or paragraph. It’s fine to repeat common words such as “the”, obviously, but it’s best to avoid using the same connecting words, such as “also”, more than once in the same paragraph. Rephrase using alternative expressions, such as “what’s more”. More unusual words should be used just once per paragraph – words such as “unavoidable”, for example – unless it’s for emphasis.

5. Don’t rely on the spellcheck

It’s a tip we’ve told you before, but it’s worth repeating because it’s very important! The spellcheck will not pick up every single error in your essay. It may highlight some typos and misspellings, but it won’t tell you if you’ve inadvertently used the wrong word altogether. For example, you may have meant to write the word “from”, but accidentally mistyped it as “form” – which is still a word, so the spellchecker won’t register it. But it’s not the word you meant to write.

6. Spotting typos

It’s said that if you read through your work backwards, you’re more likely to spot typos. This is probably because it’s giving you a new perspective on what you’ve written, making it easier to spot glaring errors than if you read through it in the order in which you wrote it and in which you know what to expect. So, start with the last sentence and keep going in reverse order until you get to the beginning of your essay. Another tip is to print out your essay and take a red pen to it, circling or underlining all the errors and then correcting them on the computer later. It’s often easier to read a document from a printed version, and it also means that you can follow what you’re doing by touching each word with the end of your pencil to make sure you’re not skimming over any errors.

7. Omit unnecessary words and eradicate weasel words

Without even realising it, you’ve probably used plenty of unnecessary words in your writing – words that add to the word count without adding to the meaning – and you’ll find that your writing works just as well without them. An example is the word “very”, which almost always adds nothing to what you’re trying to say. As Mark Twain said , “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be”. Weasel words are worse, as they are used to hide weak or objectionable arguments. A study of Wikipedia found that these tend to fall into three different categories: numerical vagueness (such as “many people say” without specifying who these people are), the use of the passive voice to distance the writer from what they’re saying (“it is often said”, for example, without saying by whom it is often said), and the use of adverbs designed to soften a point (such as “probably”). Look out for these in your own writing and rephrase to remove them; they are disingenuous and your essay will be stronger without them.

8. Remove tautologies

A tautology is a stylistic error involving redundant words, in this case the use of two consecutive words that mean the same thing, such as “the big giant” (referring simply to a “giant” would have been sufficient to convey the meaning). Students often use them when they’re trying to make their writing wordier, not realising that they simply make their writing worse.

9. Watch the commas

People tend either to put too many commas into a sentence, or too few. Too many, and the sentence sounds broken and odd; too few, and the reader has to read the sentence several times to figure out what you’re trying to say, because it comes out in a long, jumbled mess. The secret is to put commas in where you would naturally pause when speaking aloud. If it helps, try reading your writing aloud to see if it flows. Where you would pause for slightly longer, a semi-colon might be more appropriate than a comma. Use a semi-colon to connect two independent clauses that would work as two separate sentences.

10. Consistent spelling

Some words have more than one correct spelling, and the important thing is to be consistent with which one you use. You could, if you wanted to make your life a little easier, delve into the settings on your word processor and manipulate the spellcheck so that it highlights the version you decided against – or even autocorrects to the right version. If you’re writing in the UK, ensure that your word processor’s default language is set to UK English so that you don’t end up inadvertently correcting English spellings to US ones (“colour” to “color”, for example).

11. Get rid of exclamation marks and ellipses

In virtually every case, you don’t need to use an exclamation mark, and – at least in academic writing – your use of one may result in your writing not being taken quite so seriously. Only use them in exceptional circumstances when you really want to convey a feeling of surprise or outrage. Ellipses (“…”) should also be avoided except when you’re indicating the truncation of a quote from another writer (that is, where you left a bit out).

12. Attribute quotations

Quotations from authors or academic writers should be attributed to them. As you read through your essay, keep a look out for any quotations you’ve mentioned and make sure that you say where they’re from. If you’re writing an essay for university, a footnote would be an appropriate way of citing another writer. If you are using footnotes, this gives an extra area on which to focus your editing skills; ensure that all footnotes are consistently formatted, and don’t forget to put a bibliography containing all the books you’ve used at the end.

13. Consistent formatting

The appearance of your essay matters, too – and the formatting should not be neglected when you’re in editing mode. This means being consistent with your use of fonts, using italics or underline for emphasis rather than using them interchangeably, ensuring that the spacing between lines is consistent throughout, and other such minor aesthetic points. This may not sound very important, but consistent formatting helps your essay look professional; if you’ve used different fonts or line spacing or anything like that, your essay will look a mess even if what you’ve said in it is good. You could make use of the pre-populated formatting options in your word processor to ensure consistency throughout, with header 1 for the title, header 2 for subheadings and ‘normal text’ for the body of the document. If you find that there are too many things on this list to think about in one go when you’re reading through your essay, you could read through it several times looking out for different things each time. All this may seem a lot to think about when you’ve already put in so much effort to write the essay in the first place, but trust us: it will pay off with a sleek and polished piece.

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To make the draft more accessible to the reader

To sharpen and clarify the focus and argument

To improve and further develop ideas

Revision VS. Editing

Revising a piece of your own writing is more than just fixing errors—that's editing . Revision happens before editing.

Revising involves re-seeing your essay from the eyes of a reader who can't read your mind, not resting satisfied until you're sure you have been as clear and as thorough as possible.

Revising also requires you to think on a large scale, to extrapolate: If a reader remarked that you didn't have enough evidence in paragraph three, you should also take a close look at paragraphs two and four to be sure that you provide substantial evidence for those claims as well.

Some Strategies for Revising:

Ask yourself, "What's my best _____ and my weakest _____?" (sentence, example, paragraph, transition, data, source, etc.) Be honest, and fix that weak spot!

Create a Reverse Outline of your draft. This is making an outline after your paper has been written, and it will help you to see your draft’s structure and logical flow. To do this: First, circle your thesis statement; Then, reading each paragraph one at a time, write down the main point of each paragraph in the margin next to the paragraph. Once you have created your reverse outline, you can look to see if the organization is flowing how you want/need it to? Are your ideas moving logically? If not, rearrange your paragraphs accordingly. Furthermore, now you can see if every paragraph is relating back to your thesis some way. If not, add the necessary information or connections to make sure each paragraph is supporting your argument. If there is a paragraph that doesn’t seem to fit within your paper, you may need to develop that paragraph or possibly delete it. Do you see any gaps in logic, perhaps you need to add information (and to do so, you may need to gather said information, perhaps through further research). See the Writing Center handout on Reverse Outlining for further guidance.

Highlighter Approach. Using a highlighter (or highlighters) on your draft can help you to better visualize where certain information is located in your draft and how that information is working as a whole throughout your writing. To do this, use different colored highlighters to isolate different content elements of your paper. For instance, you could highlight all the evidence in your paper, or for a comparison paper, choose one color to highlight one subject and a different color for a different subject to help you see if you are spending more time on one element over the other. Or, for a paper with multiple sub-points, you might choose different colors to highlight each sub-point to see how they are working together in the draft.

Cut & Rearrange. Using scissors, cut your paper into individual paragraphs. Each paragraph becomes its own piece of paper. This method allows you to visualize and physically rearrange your draft. You can rearrange the paragraphs to see the best option for organization, development of ideas and argument, where your counterargument best fits, and the flow of your writing.

Develop a Checklist based on your assignment prompt or the guidelines for your specific piece of writing.

Paragraph-Level Revisions. To make sure each paragraph is well organized and effective, look at each paragraph individually, examining the following elements: Topic Sentence, Focus, Logic & Progression, Transitions, and Length. Be sure the paragraph has a topic sentence that informs the reader what the paragraph is about/ where the paragraph will go. Make sure the paragraph is staying on “topic” and not meandering into a new topic (and not missing the topic completely). Are your sentences and ideas progressing logically? Make sure you are using appropriate transition words and phrases between sentences, and not just writing statement, statement, statement. If a paragraph is too long or trying to do too much or making too many points, consider splitting it into two to be most accessible for your reader.

Finally, Get a reader’s response! Have someone else read your writing and give you feedback. Can they easily follow your logic? Where are they confused? Where do you need to make connections for the reader?

For Further Guidance in the Revision Process See our Handouts:

23 Ways to Improve Your Draft

Reverse Outlining

Providing Feedback to Writers

Chart developed by and © Dr. Shelley Reid, Director of Composition, English Department, George Mason University

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Editing and Proofreading

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When it comes to editing, many think about running their paper through a spell checker and calling it “edited.” However, editing is a much more involved process that aims to make your work as neat and consistent as possible at the sentence level. Below is a list of areas to explore when editing, but also be sure to strive for consistency in all areas.

Make sure you are using the right words that most effectively convey the intended meaning. Check your point of view and make sure it is appropriately applied throughout your paper. Also, be sure your complex sentences are effective, and that you intermix them with simpler sentences as well. For more information, view our style strategies page.

Look over your figures, direct quotations, and paraphrases from other sources to ensure that you’ve written them accurately from sources (for example, make sure the number is 3,000 not 30,000).

Punctuation

Review your sentences for errors such as comma splices, misplaced marks, use of quotation marks, apostrophes, etc.

Reduce Wordiness

Check for common wordy phrases and edit them out of your paper. Look also for redundancy and shift it into a more appropriate, effective wording.

Identify words that may be misspelled. Sometimes, you may end up with a homonym or Word may autocorrect something you did not intend to change. Reading through for proper spelling is important to avoid confusion from your readers.

Ensure every citation is formatted correctly, the names and sources are correctly spelled, and every source that appears in the paper appears in the reference or works cited page, and vice versa.

Examine your sentences for errors such as missing words, incomplete sentences, subject-verb agreement, etc.

The "Nuts and Bolts"

Look over the external bits and pieces of your assignment, like making sure you have the right file format, use the right naming conventions required by your instructor, etc.

Other Formatting

Check the assignment sheet for instructions regarding MLA or APA and formatting specifically requested by instructor like margins, font, font size, spacing, etc.

These are just a few ways to edit and proofread your paper, and you may spend more time in one area over another. On the next page, we have also included a list of editing strategies for you to incorporate into your writing process.

Editing and Proofreading Strategies

Set it aside.

After you have completed your essay, be sure to spend some time away from your writing. While it may be tempting to begin editing immediately, it is often easier to see your own mistakes after you have taken a quick vacation from your work.

Read Out Loud

When editing, writers will often overlook mistakes and typos. Reading the paper out loud will help you slow down and could help you “hear” the pacing and rhythm of your paper. This might help you discover missing words or misspellings that you might not have otherwise noticed.

Read in Reverse Order

Sometimes, writers get into a pattern of reviewing their work. When this happens, it can be even harder to pick out potential errors. To avoid this, read your essay starting from the last paragraph to the first. This will help you focus only on the editing process.

Pause Between Sentences

Editing is a process not to be rushed; in order to find those sentence level mistakes, read your sentences slowly and pause at the end of each sentence. This will give your brain time to process what you’ve read and to decide if any changes need to be made.

Create a Checklist

Based on your own writing strengths and weaknesses, we recommend that you create your own editing checklist to help you recall what areas to focus on. Use the categories listed on the front of this handout to design your own based on your writing habits.

Make a Learning Hub Appointment

While they will not edit your paper for you, they can help you to identify patterns of error in your writing and how to go about fixing them as you proofread. Also, take advantage of the resources offered on The Learning Hub’s website .

A Final Note

In terms of the writing processes, editing your work is one of the last processes you should go through. After writing a paper, it is easy to want to address the grammar mistakes first, but if you find yourself needing to rewrite whole sections of the essay, making grammar corrections to your paper before rewriting would likely be a waste of time. Only after you are confident that your paper meets the assignment criteria and will not undergo any significant revisions should you begin your editing/proofreading process.

Essay writing: Revising & editing

Introductions
Conclusions
Analysing questions
Planning & drafting
Revising & editing
Proofreading
Essay writing videos

Jump to content on this page:

Revising and editing are the two tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Scott Maclean, Business English for Success

Once you have written your first draft, the next stage is all about revising and editing: i.e. making what you have written better. This can involve deleting a lot of what you have already written but it is still less daunting than staring at the empty screen.

Revise and edit in stages

Don't try to revise and edit everything at once. You can work through your draft several times, looking at different issues on each occasion. We recommend you consider content, overall structure, paragraph structure, clarity, style and finally citations and references.

Visual representation of the points made here

Have you really answered the question? Is your position clear throughout? Are you persuading the reader of your answer or just informing them of what you have read? Check out our Analysing titles and Developing your own argument pages for more help.

Essay layout in a square (intro, main body, conclusion)

Overall structure

Answer each of the questions here to check that your overall structure is correct. Try reverse outlining (where you pull out the key point of each of the paragraphs of your essay) to check the sequence.

Do you have a clear introduction, main body and conclusion?
Is your main argument clearly stated in your introduction?
Is it clear how each paragraph adds to your argument?
Are paragraphs in a logical sequence?
Is your conclusion an obvious summary of your arguments?

Paragraph structure

Are you using PEEL paragraph structure?

Does every paragraph have at least a point, backed up by evidence and an explanation of why it is relevant?

Try to make sure your explanation is more than just a sentence too - the more critical analysis you have, the more marks you will get!

Use the Highlighter tool in MS Word to colour each one a different colour. You should be able to see at a glance if every paragraph contains some of each.

P = Point (topic sentence) E = Evidence/Example (info from other sources) E = Explanation (critical analysis) L = Link (to the next paragraph)

Is the meaning of everything clear and concise?

Are you using enough signposting to make your argument clear to your reader? We have our own signposting web page and here is another good resource on using signposting sentences from De Montford University here: Signposting sentences .

Are you writing academically?

Academic writing is not like other forms. It needs to be in a formal style yet not too complicated.

Are your points as clear as they could be?
Are you using academic caution ?
Are you using academic writing style ?
Is it in the right ‘ person ’?

Citations and references

Do you have an entry in your reference list for every citation in your essay? (Search for each one to check.)

Are you referencing correctly? Go to our Referencing pages to make sure.

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Last Updated: Nov 3, 2023 3:17 PM
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Revising and Editing

Learning objectives.

Identify major areas of concern in the draft essay during revising and editing.
Use peer reviews and editing checklists to assist revising and editing.
Revise and edit the first draft of your essay and produce a final draft.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

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

When you revise , you take a second look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information in order to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more convincing.
When you edit , you take a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add or change words. You fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You improve your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your best efforts.

Take a break. You are proud of what you wrote, but you might be too close to it to make changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a day until you can look at it objectively.
Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.
Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?
Use the resources that your college provides. Find out where your school’s writing lab is located and ask about the assistance they provide online and in person.

Creating Unity and Coherence

Creating Unity

Read the following paragraph twice, the first time without Mariah’s changes, and the second time with them.

Click on Image to Enlarge

1. Answer the following two questions about Mariah’s paragraph:

Do you agree with Mariah’s decision to make the deletions she made? Did she cut too much, too little, or just enough? Explain.
Is the explanation of what screen resolution means a digression? Or is it audience friendly and essential to understanding the paragraph? Explain.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Now start to revise the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft.” Reread it to find any statements that affect the unity of your writing. Decide how best to revise.

Writing at Work

Creating coherence.

Table 8.3 Common Transitional Words and Phrases

Click to Enlarge Image

Do 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 to her paragraph? Why did she choose each one?
What effect does adding additional sentences have on the coherence of the paragraph? Explain. When you read both versions aloud, which version has a more logical flow of ideas? Explain.
Now return to the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” and revise it for coherence. Add transition words and phrases where they are needed, and make any other changes that are needed to improve the flow and connection between ideas.

Being Clear and Concise

Identifying Wordiness

Sentences that begin with There is or There are . Wordy: There are two major experiments that the Biology Department sponsors. Revised: The Biology Department sponsors two major experiments.
Sentences with unnecessary modifiers. Wordy: Two extremely famous and well-known consumer advocates spoke eloquently in favor of the proposed important legislation. Revised: Two well-known consumer advocates spoke in favor of the proposed legislation.
Sentences in the passive voice or with forms of the verb to be . Sentences with passive-voice verbs often create confusion, because the subject of the sentence does not perform an action. Sentences are clearer when the subject of the sentence performs the action and is followed by a strong verb. Use strong active-voice verbs in place of forms of to be , which can lead to wordiness. Avoid passive voice when you 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 have a poor sense of direction.

Now return once more to the first draft of the essay you have been revising. Check it for unnecessary words. Try making your sentences as concise as they can be.

Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words

Avoid slang. Find alternatives to bummer , kewl , and rad .
Avoid language that is overly casual. Write about “men and women” rather than “girls and guys” unless you are trying to create a specific effect. A formal tone calls for formal language.
Avoid contractions. Use do not in place of don’t , I am in place of I’m , have not in place of haven’t , and so on. Contractions are considered casual speech.
Avoid clichés. Overused expressions such as green 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 you use words that sound alike but have different meanings. Some examples are allusion/illusion , complement/compliment , council/counsel , concurrent/consecutive , founder/flounder , and historic/historical . When in doubt, check a dictionary.
Choose words with the connotations you want. Choosing a word for its connotations is as important in formal essay writing as it is in all kinds of writing. Compare the positive connotations of the word proud and the negative connotations of arrogant and conceited .
Use specific words rather than overly general words. Find synonyms for thing , people , nice , good , bad , interesting , and other vague words. Or use specific details to make your exact 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 improve unity and coherence.

Click Image to Enlarge

Read the unrevised and the revised paragraphs aloud. Explain in your own words how changes in word choice have affected Mariah’s writing.
Do you agree with the changes that Mariah made to her paragraph? Which changes would you keep and which were unnecessary? Explain. What other changes would you have made?
What effect does removing contractions and the pronoun you have on the tone of the paragraph? How would you 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 draft is written in formal language and that your word choice is specific and appropriate.

Completing a Peer Review

Questions for Peer Review

Title of essay: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________

Writer’s name: ____________________________________________

Peer reviewer’s name: _________________________________________

This essay is about____________________________________________.
Your main points in this essay are____________________________________________.
What I most liked about this essay is____________________________________________.
Point: ____________________________________________Why: ____________________________________________
Where: ____________________________________________Needs improvement because__________________________________________
Where: ____________________________________________Needs improvement because ____________________________________________
The one additional change you could make that would improve this essay significantly is ____________________________________________.

Using Feedback Objectively

Using Feedback from Multiple Sources

You need to evaluate the responses you receive according to two important criteria:

Determine 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 reject revision feedback.

Editing Your Draft

Readers do not notice correct spelling, but they do notice misspellings.
Readers look past your sentences to get to your ideas—unless the sentences are awkward, poorly constructed, and frustrating to read.
Readers notice when every sentence has the same rhythm as every other sentence, with no variety.
Readers do not cheer when you use there , their , and they’re correctly, but they notice when you do not.
Readers will notice the care with which you handled your assignment and your attention to detail in the delivery of an error-free document.

Editing Your Writing

Are some sentences actually sentence fragments?
Are some sentences run-on sentences? How can I correct them?
Do some sentences need conjunctions between independent clauses?
Does every verb agree with its subject?
Is every verb in the correct tense?
Are tense forms, especially for irregular verbs, written correctly?
Have I used subject, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?
Have I used who and whom correctly?
Is the antecedent of every pronoun clear?
Do all personal pronouns agree with their antecedents?
Have I used the correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?
Is it clear which word a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?

Sentence Structure

Are all my sentences simple sentences, or do I vary my sentence structure?
Have I chosen the best coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to join clauses?
Have I created long, overpacked sentences that should be shortened for clarity?
Do I see any mistakes in parallel structure?

Punctuation

Does every sentence end with the correct end 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

Can I find any spelling errors? How can I correct them?
Have I used capital letters where they are needed?
Have I written abbreviations, where allowed, correctly?
Can I find any errors in the use of commonly confused words, such as to / too / two ?

If you need additional proofreading help, ask a reliable friend, a classmate, or a peer tutor to make a final pass on your paper to look for anything you missed.

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

With the help of the checklist, edit and proofread your essay.

Key Takeaways

Revising and editing are the stages of the writing process in which you improve your work before producing a final draft.
During revising, you add, cut, move, or change information in order to improve content.
During editing, you take a second look at the words and sentences you used to express your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong together and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense.
Coherence in writing means that the writer’s wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and between paragraphs.
Transitional words and phrases effectively make writing more coherent.
Writing should be clear and concise, 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. It is the writer’s responsibility to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate only useful feedback.
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.
Successful Writing. Authored by : Anonymous. Provided by : Anonymous. Located at : http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/successful-writing/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

How to Edit an Essay: Tips and Tricks for a Flawless Paper

How to Edit a Paper: 9 Tips You Need to Know

Often overlooked as an easy task, essay editing is way more important step of the writing process than you can imagine. Writing a compelling introduction, crafting comprehensive body paragraphs, knowing what words to use in college essays, and finishing it off with a memorable conclusion are essential, but revising what you wrote can take your essay to a whole new level.

Professional writers know that revising a text is an art of its own, and if you want to play in the top league, you should master it too. Our research paper writing service sets a goal to share the intricate details of how to edit a paper and help you become a skillful storyteller.

Besides the obvious, like correcting grammar, spelling, syntax, and so on, editing allows you to see the full picture and make sure that your paper meets the initial goals. The true essence of editing lies in scrutinizing whether your paper is well-crafted and logically coherent while meeting the academic guidelines and thesis statement. Additionally, it demands you assess if you have adequately addressed all specific requirements and whether you have used proper essay language.

Revisiting your written piece can enable you to refine areas that may lack consistency or clarity, thereby enabling you to tell an engaging story in a more professional manner. By adopting this approach, any informational gaps or inconsistencies could be swiftly addressed, giving readers a comprehensive account for them to enjoy reading.

Essay Editing Tip #1: Take a Break!

No matter how many essays you have written and where you stand on a scale of professional writers, you must still be wondering how to make an essay better.

Believe it or not, taking a break and stepping back might be the best thing to do. Once you are done telling the story and have all the necessary aspects of a great essay, it's time to relax. Don't start paper editing, and by no means submit an essay straight away.

Sometimes when our brains get stuck on one thing, we lose the ability to see things clearly. We get emotionally attached and can't see the obvious mistakes. Clear your head, watch a movie, take a walk, or do whatever makes you happy and feel at peace. Don't start writing the night before; give yourself a few hours or even days to distance yourself from the writing process.

Once you feel all fresh, come back and start revising. You will notice mistakes that were there all this time, but you were unable to notice them. You will see logical inconsistencies and grammatical errors. Trust us, once you realize those grammatical errors could ruin your fascinating story, you'll be happy you did not submit the essay straight away.

Essay Editing Tip #2: Change the Font and Size

Do you want to know what the next hack for editing an essay is? You should do everything to make it visually look like a different essay. Professional writers recommend changing the font and size.

Remember when we talked about being unable to see the mistakes in front of our eyes? When you stare at an object for a while, it starts to lose its shape and other characteristics and kinda blends into a homogenous thing. You need to step away or look at it from a different angle to start seeing them again.

Yes, a paper is not a painting or an object, and you use words for essays, but you are still visually perceiving it. On average, writing a paper takes at least a day. Imagine starting at something and thinking about it for a day. It would turn into a borderless mixture in your head.

Changing the font and size is like changing the angle. You will get a fresh perspective and start to notice grammar mistakes, misused topic sentences, and so on. Don't be afraid to look at your essay from an outside point of view; it will only make your writing better.

Essay Editing Tip #3: Print Out Your Paper

Another great way to change your perspective is to print out your own paper. The constant strain of staring at a computer screen for prolonged periods can cause distractions and leave you feeling mentally drained. A tired brain can no longer detect grammar errors, and all your proofreading digitally can go in vain.

By physically holding your research paper in hand, you afford yourself the opportunity to take a step back from the screen and approach the task with renewed spirit. You might have already corrected grammar, but what about formatting mistakes? Maybe some overlooked margins or improperly sized font types made their way into your work. You might have used a lot of long sentences and big words that need to go. Chances are you may have missed some good words to use in essays, and now you get a fresh opportunity to turn your paper into something else.

Check what other good essay words would complement specific passages and improve expression quality overall!

Essay Editing Tip #4: Use a Highlighter

Your writing skills can catapult if you start using some old-fashioned methods of self-editing. Old school writers always walk around with a highlighter in their hands. Highlighting is a great way to focus on individual sentences and vigorously proof check them.

When editing an essay, finding a mistake and immediately correcting them can lead you to lose focus. It's better to first find all the mistakes and areas of improvement and take action later.

One of the greatest editing tips from our expert writing services is to use different color highlighters for different kinds of issues. There are four different issue types you may want to look out for. Highlight grammar mistakes, formatting issues, problematic areas, and important information. Use different highlighters for categorizing them so when you come back for refinement; you know what you are dealing with.

Highlighting can help you quickly and easily find very intricate mistakes that otherwise would be missed, such as identifying misplaced great essay phrases and changing their location to where they make more sense.

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Essay Editing Tip #5: Read Your Paper Backwards

What about analyzing your final draft upside down? You can challenge your paper and make the editing process fun. Follow our guide on how to edit your essay, and you will never make rookie mistakes.

The essay should make sense from top to bottom and vice versa. Every paragraph you write should be linked with one another and make sense on its own.

Start at the end and question the last sentence. Does it make sense? Is it compelling? Does it relate to the thesis statement? Could a random person figure out what the rest of the essay was about? Step by step, move upwards and question each paragraph carefully.

Focus on sentence fragments and individual words. Question if they are proper words to use in an essay. This will not only help you notice spelling mistakes and typos but also improve the overall quality of your academic writing.

Listen to the flow. When reading backward, it is easier to notice whether the text is well-constructed and easy to follow. You will be able to notice where the paper needs refinement with better transitional sentences. You may have used faulty parallelism or unnecessary information that needs to be removed.

Don't forget to look for consistency. Check the formatting and citation style and make sure they comply with the requirements. Students often forget to proofread the reference list.

Essay Editing Tip #6: Use a Checklist

To ensure that your essay is error-free and effectively transmits your intended message, you can use an editing checklist. It is always a good idea to check your writing against pre-set criteria. Here are some of the items from our ' do my essay ' experts you can put on your checklist and use while editing an essay.

Introduction - Does it introduce readers to the background story and context? Is it engaging?

Thesis statement - Does it effectively convey what the essay is about? Is it clear and concise?

Central paragraphs - Are main arguments well supported? Are they well-organized and logically coherent?

Transitions - Do the paragraphs link with one another with proper transitional sentences?

Conclusion - Does it provide an effective summary of the essay? Is it memorable?

Grammar - Are there any spelling errors? Did you use the correct syntax? Have you used proper words for essays?

Formatting - Does the citation style follow the proposed guide of essay writing format ? Have you referenced every source?

Essay Editing Tip #7: Read Your Paper Out Loud

Another step in our guide on how to edit an essay is reading the document out loud. Once you finish writing and there is little time remaining to catch a breath, you need to get creative and quickly look at your essay with fresh eyes.

By audibly hearing the sound of each sentence and phrase, you'll gain fresh insight into how well your ideas flow together cohesively. Research has confirmed that reading the document out loud can help enhance students' writing proficiency as it enables them to easily identify structural issues in their work.

This increased level of focus will help bring attention to any areas that feel particularly clunky or repetitive – issues that may not have been immediately apparent otherwise. It will help you see all the awkward essay language, long sentences, and repeated words.

Beyond basic grammar checks or typos correction, when reading aloud, students also have the opportunity to hone in on things like tone and audience engagement; So next time you finish writing something - don't forget about giving those vocal cords a little exercise!

Essay Editing Tip #8: Change the Environment

The authors of our guide on how to edit a paper say that changing the environment is all it takes to reset. Essay writing takes a lot of focus and determination and therefore is very exhausting. Taking a break is just as important; stretching and moving from room to room is just as important as finding the right words for essays.

Before revising the paper, go to a park, library, or to your favorite cafe and get a fresh start. Find a comfortable, quiet spot and take over the job. To detect and correct grammar mistakes, you will need a well-rested mind and no distractions.

Sometimes changing the scenery can boost your creativity and give you fresh insights. By doing so, you will likely discover areas within the text that require more attention and refinement, and the solutions will come quicker.

It's important to remember that crafting well-written papers takes time and effort - rushing through them typically results in poor quality.

Essay Editing Tip #9: Use a Dictionary

To enhance the appeal of your writing style, you can find fancy words to use in essays. In the preliminary drafts, allow yourself to express yourself freely through simple sentences and phrases while leaving room for improvements during editing.

Dictionaries can turn into a long-term solution. Use them to improve your spelling. Even some commonly made errors could easily be eliminated with this practice.

Using a dictionary can also introduce good essay words in your vocabulary. Incorporating advanced terms into limited word count assignments can significantly elevate its quality from average to exceptional whilst enhancing clarity in expression as well.

Use Our Expert Editing Help

This article is proof that editing takes much more time and attention than it seems at first glance, but it also is an essential part of producing quality work. It guarantees clarity, accuracy, and professionalism in any piece of writing.

Don't skip one of the most important steps in crafting a top-notch essay because you are falling short on time. Get help from our essay editing service . Or, you can even buy research paper from our team of professional writers who will help you craft and polish your work.

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FAQs: What Else You Need to Know on Editing an Essay

Our team of experienced writers diligently researched the internet's most frequently asked questions on how to make an essay better and answered them all for you to equip you with all the necessary tools for enhancing your writing skills.

So take some time out, read through our comprehensive responses, and unlock your full potential as a writer!

What are the 5 C's of Editing?

How can i edit for free, what are the common mistakes while editing, related articles.

How to Write a Policy Analysis Paper Step-by-Step

Directories

Editing your work

Now you have written a draft of your essay, you are ready to edit it. When you write, you know in your mind exactly what you're arguing. However, this might not always translate clearly onto the page. Therefore, it is important to edit with your reader in mind to ensure they easily follow the logic of your argument.

Editing is best carried out in stages from argument through to expression. The four-stage approach comprises a series of questions that you can ask yourself to help with the editing process.

Four stages of editing

1. edit for argument.

Is your thesis statement clear?
Does it take a position and outline your supporting argument?
Does it answer the essay question?
Are your key reasons signposted in the introduction?
Are they summarised in the conclusion?

2. Edit for structure

Is your argument sustained through the essay body?
Do your topic sentences contribute to your argument?
Are your paragraphs in a logical order?
Does the order of your reasons in the introduction match the order of your paragraphs in the body?

3. Edit for paragraphing

Does each paragraph have a topic sentence and one main idea?
Do your paragraphs have too much evidence and analysis? If so, should they be split?
Are your quotations accurate?
Is the evidence you use correctly cited?

4. Edit for expression

Do your sentences flow together?
Are there any long sentences that could be shortened?
Is there a variety of sentence structures and language? Do not, for example, start every sentence with the same construction.
Are there any redundant phrases or areas of repetition that could be cut?
Have you signposted any lists? If you are presenting a list (First, . . . Second, . . . Finally, . . .) make sure you have told the reader what it is you are listing. E.g. 'The process can be explained in three steps. First ...'
Do you avoid ascribing agency to concepts and theories? Avoid saying things like 'Realism changed the dynamic of the Southeast Asian political landscape.' Realism is only a concept, and it can't 'change' anything. A better sentence would be: 'The change in the dynamic of the Southeast Asian political landscape can be explained by the theory of realism.'
Have you avoided stating absolutes? Avoid using generalisations and phrases like 'a perfect example,' 'a total failure,' 'everybody believes,' 'always,' 'never,' 'only.'

After editing in these four stages, you will also need to make sure that you meet the word limit requirements and carefully proofread your work before you submit it.

Reducing words

It is very common to have drafts that go over the word limit, and you may need to reduce words. When editing for structure and paragraphing in the stages above, you might identify ideas that can be cut or combined to reduce words. However, if you wish to keep the ideas in the work, another way to reduce words is to revise the expression and look at ways to express ideas more concisely. Here are some tips on using concise expression:

'Authors such as' could be replaced with 'Authors including'
'In this essay I advance the argument that' vs 'I argue that'
'Now it is time to turn to the next stage of the essay' vs 'Now, I move on to'
'Gibson uses hesitancy in order to destabilise the central character's sense of reality' could be rewritten as 'Gibson uses hesitancy to destabilise the central character's sense of reality'
'What the findings also imply is that actual entry does more than potential entry' could be revised as 'The findings also imply that actual entry does more than potential entry'
'Due to climate change being affected by many factors' could be rewritten as 'Since many factors affect climate change'
'The patent system in Australia is governed by the Patents Act 1990 (Cth)' could become "'he Patents Act 1990 (Cth) governs Australia's patent system'

Be careful when revising your work to reduce the word count, because your writing can lose its natural rhythm and can begin to sound choppy or jarring. For example, if you have a series of short sentences all in a row, they can sound too abrupt. To ensure that your writing maintains an engaging, smooth rhythm, read your work aloud and ask yourself if it needs more balance in the rhythm. Generally, a variety of long and short sentences can help to balance the rhythm.

Proofreading

Having revised your work following the four stages above, you are now ready to proofread. Unlike editing, which involves reflecting on how ideas are expressed and arranged, proofreading is a more mechanical task. When proofreading, you are looking for errors such as spelling mistakes. Make sure to use techniques that de-familiarise the text, as they can help you to read it with fresh eyes. Here are some techniques and things to look for when proofreading.

Read aloud.
Read each sentence from the end of the text to the start.
Change the font or text colour.
Print out a copy to review.
Read for one thing at a time.
Use the 'find' and 'replace' functions in Word.
Do small chunks with frequent breaks.
Allow time between drafting and proofreading where possible.
It takes a lot of editing and proofreading to produce good work. Once you start proofreading, don't be afraid to go back to rearrange your ideas and adjust your argument.

Things to look for

Delete repeated words.
Remove grammatical errors. Check out our useful advice on writing in English for more resources on grammar.
Check references for accuracy, completeness and consistency. See our referencing guidance for assistance.
If you use acronyms, spell the words out in full first with the acronym in brackets after it, and use the acronym thereafter. E.g. 'United Kingdom (UK).'
When referring to a decade, do not use an apostrophe, e.g. write 1980s, not 1980's.
Within paragraphs, numbers one to ten should be written as words. After that, numbers 11 onwards should be numerals. If you begin a sentence with a number, write the number rather than use a numeral.
Use gender-neutral language. For example, use 'human' or 'humankind' rather than 'man' and 'mankind.' Use 'they' instead of 'he' or 'she' or 'he/she'.
Use punctuation and capitalisation consistently.
Check that the work is formatted according to the course requirements.
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7.4: Revising and Editing

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Learning Objectives

Identify major areas of concern in the draft essay during revising and editing.
Use peer reviews and editing checklists to assist revising and editing.
Revise and edit the first draft of your essay and produce a final draft.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

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

When you revise , you take a second look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information in order to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more convincing.
When you edit , you take a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add or change words. You fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You improve your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your best efforts.

Take a break. You are proud of what you wrote, but you might be too close to it to make changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a day until you can look at it objectively.
Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.
Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?
Use the resources that your college provides. Find out where your school’s writing lab is located and ask about the assistance they provide online and in person.

Creating Unity and Coherence

Creating Unity

Read the following paragraph twice, the first time without Mariah’s changes, and the second time with them.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Do you agree with Mariah’s decision to make the deletions she made? Did she cut too much, too little, or just enough? Explain.
Is the explanation of what screen resolution means a digression? Or is it audience friendly and essential to understanding the paragraph? Explain.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Now start to revise the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 7 "Writing Your Own First Draft" . Reread it to find any statements that affect the unity of your writing. Decide how best to revise.

Writing at Work

Creating Coherence

Careful writers use transitions to clarify how the ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are related. These words and phrases help the writing flow smoothly. Adding transitions is not the only way to improve coherence, but they are often useful and give a mature feel to your essays. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): "Common Transitional Words and Phrases" groups many common transitions according to their purpose.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{2}\)

Do 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 to her paragraph? Why did she choose each one?
What effect does adding additional sentences have on the coherence of the paragraph? Explain. When you read both versions aloud, which version has a more logical flow of ideas? Explain.
Now return to the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 7 "Writing Your Own First Draft" and revise it for coherence. Add transition words and phrases where they are needed, and make any other changes that are needed to improve the flow and connection between ideas.