Editing, we all know is a task that is as important and challenging as writing. It is nearly impossible to have your first draft completely immaculate and polished without any requirements for revision. The objectives of editing are more than what is apparent. Editing helps to identify or rectify the content in the best way to communicate, refinement of ideas in a way that they find a better fit in the scope so that the message that you wish to communicate to the readers goes like that.
To be able to polish your essay and prepare it for others to see, the first thing that needs to be done is to make sure there aren’t any spelling errors and things are spelled correctly with proper grammar.
In the first stage, it is a good idea to have someone read out the paper to you. This is very important because when someone else reads it, the perspective also changes. Remember, if you will read your own work, your brain would fix the words in your head as you read them while a first time reader would have a fresher approach towards it so it becomes easier to identify problems. This exercise saves a lot of time and effort.
After having done that, another approach is to refer to a grammar text book while you are editing. it helps you to not forget the important grammar rules so that you do not forget them or trip over them. Manuals that are specific to rules fir academic writing is something all the more useful if you can get hands on it. In addition it also brings consistency in your work ad exactly spot the errors because the rules are not slipping away from your mind
Last but not the least, this is very important. You got to be strict with yourself. Strict to the extent of being brutal in terms of your content. If you look at your content in context to the labour and effort you have put into creating it you would never do justice to its editing. Be honest to yourself and do not retain content just because you think it should be there or because it sounds nice to you at that place. Having a look at the essay with a critical eye will make a good editor out of you.
Never forget that just good writing isn’t enough, a good writer as well as a good editor is a complete package. This istrue not just for academic writing but for any kind of writing.
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