the center for academic excellence presents... editing improving your text one sentence at a time

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The Center for Academic Excellence presents . . . Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

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Page 1: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

The Center for Academic Excellence presents . . .

EditingImproving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Page 2: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

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. The Writing Process1. Discovery.2. Determining Rhetorical Stance.3. Invention and Pre-Writing.4. Gathering Data.5. Planning and Organizing.6. Outlining.7. Composing/Drafting.8. Reviewing.9. Revising and Rewriting.10. Editing.11. Proofreading.12. Publishing.

Page 3: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Editing comes late in the Writing Process.

Only when you are satisfied that all ideas are in place and that there are no further changes likely do you turn your attention to editing.

Final Stages of the Writing Process: Editing

Page 4: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

What is Editing?Editing is focusing on your text one sentence at a time.

It is an attempt to make each sentence clearer and more readable.

This is a fairly laborious part of the process and should take several hours.

Editing is a courtesy to your reader.

No one deserves to read unedited text.

No one!

Page 5: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Editing Sentences

After letting your text sit for a while, come back to it as if you were a stranger to it.

As you read each sentence aloud, ask the following questions:

Page 6: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Ask:

Is this truly a sentence?

Does it express one complete thought?

Does it make complete sense?

Is it ambiguous?

Does it say what I mean?

Page 7: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Ask:Is there any way I can improve the sentence?

Could I word it more effectively?

Could my word choice be more precise?

Are there any phrases I could reduce to single words?

Are the tenses consistent?

Page 8: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Ask:

Are there any pronouns?

Are they used correctly?

Would the average reader know what each pronoun is referring to?

What would the professor dislike about the sentence?

Can I punctuate the sentence more effectively?

Page 9: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Ask:

Is the sentence grammatical?

Does it use “would have,” where “had” would do?

Is the sentence necessary, or could it be left out completely?

Does the sentence use “I” or “you”?

Page 10: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Ask:Could I re-word the sentence to avoid “I” and “you”?

Does the sentence contain slang, or any sort of language which might be considered non-academic?

Does it contain any spelling errors?

Does the sentence use the verb “to get”?

Is it easy to understand?

Page 11: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

Move on to the Next SentenceOnly after thoroughly familiarising yourself with the first sentence should you consider moving on to the next.

Satisfy yourself (a) that every word counts, (b) that every sentence counts, and (c) that every paragraph counts—this is a courtesy that you owe to your reader(s).

If necessary, share this task with your instructor, with a tutor, or with consultants at a Writing Center.

Remember, stages 8-12 of the Writing Process may be shared with friends, professors, and counselors.

You are not expected to be experts, but you are expected to seek expert advice.

Page 12: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

The Writing Process1. Discovery.2. Determining Rhetorical Stance.3. Invention and Pre-Writing.4. Gathering Data.5. Planning and Organizing.6. Outlining.7. Composing/Drafting.8. Reviewing.9. Revising and Rewriting.10. Editing.11. Proofreading.12. Publishing.

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Page 13: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time

The EndPowerPoint Presentation by Mark A. Spalding, BA, MEd, MA, 2007.

Page 14: The Center for Academic Excellence presents... Editing Improving Your Text One Sentence at a Time