Editing + Proofreading
Your Writing
Discussion
1. Editing and proofreading – are they the same thing?
2. Why is it important to edit and/or proofread your work before submission?
3. What steps do you follow to edit and/or proofread your work?
Editing & Proofreading
Just as a good photo can be ‘photoshopped’ to make it look great, a great assignment is
written in multiple drafts.
Take time to revise your assignment – edit and proofread.
Editing looks at the assignment as a whole:
• Task requirements
• Structure
• Style
• Sources of information
Proofreading looks at the details:
• Word choice
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Formatting/layout
Before you start…
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Get some distance
Create a conducive environment
Do one section at a time
Know what your issues are
Get someone else to read it
Editing: Content
1. Re-read
• The assignment question
• The assessment criteria
• Any other information provided
2. Check that you have
• Answered the assignment question and completed all the tasks
• Ticked off each item in the assessment criteria
Editing: Structure
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Introduction
Background information (of the topic)
Definition of key terms (?)
Purpose/thesis (of the assignment)
Scope or limits (of the assignment) (?)
Outline (of the assignment)
2. Body
• Each paragraph contains only one idea
• Topic sentence (include controlling idea + topic)
• Supporting sentences (expand on the controlling idea)
• Concluding sentence (sum up the paragraph and/or link to the next paragraph)
• All arguments are supported by evidence and/or examples (when including
examples, make sure you also show why/how the examples are relevant to your
arguments)
• There is a logical flow between paragraphs (use linking words/phrases)
3. Conclusion
• Restate your thesis/purpose
• Summarise the main points in the body
• End with a concluding statement to round up the assignment
Editing: Academic Style
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Write in third person (although sometimes it’s okay to write in first person)
Use formal, objective language
Focus on facts, not emotions
Support statements with evidence
Use examples where necessary, but relevance must be explicitly drawn
Consider different points of view
Editing: Sources
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Reference your sources
Prescribed referencing style
In-text citation
Reference list
2. Sources should be
• Current
• authoritative
Proofreading: Word Choice
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Be concise
Use specialised language where appropriate
Avoid words you don’t know
Remove clichés, slang and discriminatory language
Be cautious (hedging statement vs absolute statement)
Proofreading: Grammar & Punctuation
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Articles
Verb tenses
Subject-verb agreement
Sentence fragments
Run-on sentences
Overuse of the passive voice
Reference words
Parallelism
Capitalisation, commas, apostrophes, semi-colons, quotation marks, etc.
Proofreading: Spelling
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US? UK? Australian?
Consistency
Proofreading: Formatting
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Assignment cover sheet
Margins
Font size
Line spacing
Headings
Pagination
Name and ID in the header/footer (?)
Editing & proofreading activity – Google Doc
http://tinyurl.com/ogzemxg
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