Editing and Proofreading Strategies

A state of an effort that is inconvenient needs to be resolved

One of the essential aspects of an effective writing is editing and proofreading. Nevertheless, these steps are the last steps that are to be taken during the on-going procedure of brainstorming, preparation, drafting and editing that involves writing something again. Writers who ignore any of the earlier steps can end up with a composition that is unclear, not yet fully developed and very difficult to revise and correct the mistakes during the process of editing and proofreading. When a writer comes to the point of editing or proofreading he or she requires paying full-attention during writing. It is very important to review and seek feedback on the writing.

A method for solving a problem

A writer should take as much time for completing all the steps as he or she requires for composing a good and effective writing. It is beneficial, if a writer makes a timeline for the composition because after this act he or she can have much time to complete the writing with the proper measure of attention and care. The writer may be more likely to catch errors or note the structural problems if the writing isn’t so “fresh” in his or her psyche.

Get familiarized with the resources

The writer does not require to recall every grammar, acknowledgment rule that may utilize to the writing style or field of study in which he or she is writing-they can look them up. The writers should take an advantage of resources available for them: dictionaries, handbooks, articles, magazines, newspapers, libraries, class handouts, acknowledgment guides and writing consulting centres.

Take note of weaknesses

The writer should make the lists errors he or she tend to make. It will assist the writer to know about what to look for when doing editing.

Get a copy of composition to use at the time of editing and proofreading

A writer should make a duplicate of the original writing so that it will be helpful during editing and proofreading process. If writing on a system then makes a print of a paper because it is hard to catch errors on the screen.

Read the composition out loud or read it backward

Reading out loud can help allot in finding errors as compare to read silently. Reading silently can skip many errors, clumsy run-on sentences, and literal errors. By reading out loud, the writer can force to notice everything starting from the spellings and word choices to the structure of sentences. Another method of finding errors is to read the paper backwards, i.e. from the last paragraph to the starting paragraph or from sentence by sentence. For catching the sentence fragment, the method of backward reading is helpful.

Check for punctuation and the citation

Are punctuation marks in the right places? Are there any an ungrammatical sentence? If not sure then, check the paper by sentence to sentence level. If a writer is unable to find out about how to use punctuation in the right place, then he or she can get help through a manual, dig into other immediate tips, and/or ask a writing advisor. Check that every in-text acknowledgement is written in the correct format, and verify the sources in the reference list. This is the best time to check once more to be sure about the spellings of the name of books or articles, authors, title names, and so on.

Get feedback from others, don’t rely on computers

It is beneficial for the writer to have a feedback of other people because at the time when the writer checks the paper himself or herself can skip some of the errors, but others can see and check the paper with deep attention towards the paper. By this act, the opportunity of making the writing more effective can be increased. Spell-checkers and grammar checkers are useful but sometimes they are not updated and inaccurate.

Relax, rest and reread the paper

Leave the paper aside for some time or some days. Get relaxed! Reread the paper, having some distance from the paper can make the proof-reader’s eye more clinical and perceptive. In addition the writer can find the errors that he or she didn’t realize at the initial time of proofreading.