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Editing Strategies

Professor Taveau

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Key Points

    • Good writers revise and edit, and then edit some more! Afterwards, they proofread.
    • Writing is a process.
    • Leave time in between drafts to look at your work objectively. Plan ahead!
    • Get second reader (s)- peers, professors, tutors, friends, family, or read aloud to your pet

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Remember

      • Your writing is the the best you could do in the time you had at the time you wrote it.
      • It is not a judgement on you, so let go of any fears of sharing your work.

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Revision Strategy: Edit Global to Local

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      • Global changes
              • Ideas
              • Organization
      • Section by section
              • Paragraph
                1. Sentence
                2. Word choice
                3. Grammar
                4. Mechanics
                  1. Punctuation
                  2. Spelling
                  3. Typos
      • Format
      • Documentation Style

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Which Editing Strategies Do You Use?

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    • Wait a day - sleep on it!
    • Exercise in between-sitting too long can cause brain fog
    • Do a reverse outline to check the organization
    • Pretend you are someone else
    • Don’t be overly critical
    • Don’t be swayed by looks or quantity
    • Read aloud
    • Read backwards
    • Ask whomever is reading your work to look for specific issues
    • Use professor feedback
    • Try proofreading for specific points (one at a time)

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Questions for You

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  1. What editing strategies do you use?
  2. What new ones will you try?
  3. What strategies have not worked for you?