by nissa_amas_katoj

Created on: January 11, 2009

You've just written the last word on that essay- but wait, you're not finished. After the first draft is written, it's time to edit your work. Editing means both correcting mistakes and making various improvements. Here are some steps to help you with the editing work.

1. Put your essay aside for a while, perhaps two weeks or so. This helps you step back from the essay and read it from a fresh perspective. If the essay is time-sensitive, set it aside for at least a little while and do something else for a bit.

2. Run spell-check on your article and make necessary corrections. Then read through it for the simple mistakes such as spelling mistakes not caught by spell-check, grammar errors, and missing words.

3. Re-read the essay, looking at the 'big-picture' items. Do you know that the facts in your essay really are facts? You may need to seek out some references, or admit that some of your 'facts' are just your own opinion. Does the logic of the article hang together or are you making grand leaps from point A to point B? Another point to ponder is this: what is the point of your essay? Does everything in the essay contribute to that point? It should!

4. What is the tone of your essay, and is that tone consistent? A good essay should have a quiet, logical tone, rather than being full of abusive language. Refer to President Clinton/Bush/Obama's shortcomings and failures, rather than saying 'President Clinton/Bush/Obama is criminal and should be imprisoned'. Try NOT to sound like a crank or a crackpot.

5. If possible, let someone else read your essay. Let this someone else know what kind of feedback you are looking for- example, if a friend is better than you at spelling or grammar, ask him to find spelling or grammar errors for you. If your friend just says, 'it's good', ask him what about it was good.

6. Seek out and destroy unnecessary words. If you can cut a hundred words or so from an 800 word essay, you will usually find the overall quality has improved greatly. It will seem more direct and to the point. I got my own practice in this step writing letters to the editor of a small town newspaper. My first draft was usually at least fifty words over their 300 word limit. Making the word cuts was agony, but the resulting letter was improved as a result.

7. Do another read-through. Look for places you could have said the same thing in a way that was better- usually meaning more clearly, more simply, and more directly. Never leave a big word in your essay when a smaller one would do.

8. Personalize your editing process. This means finding out what your own weak points are and addressing them. It also means trusting in your strong points and not 'correcting' them out of existence.

Editing is an essential part of the writer's task. If you want to reap the rewards of being a good writer, you must learn to edit your own work. You will be surprised at how much your work can improve if you put in the proper amount of attention to editing.

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