Strategies for Essay Writing: Editing Your Essay

Editing pic

You're relieved to finish the draft of your essay, looking forward to your well-deserved rest. You assume that proofreading won't be a challenging task, as you can do it after one or two readings. A huge mistake.

Editing your essay could turn out to be the hardest part of essay writing. It may surprise you, as you think that it would be a mere error in punctuation mark(s). It could be a typographic mistake that you would attribute to carelessness. And you should be aware of the frequent use of a certain word (or phrase). It won't take a few minutes to make the necessary corrections, yet the new outcome would result to a bigger problem than you think. The argument that you have presented in the opening paragraph won't be as compelling as you think. You can't believe that there are vague statements, which would need more proofreading. It should turn your schedule upside down, and you might hear another feedback from your professor. You can avoid it, editing your essay if you must. You can do it one more time if you have done it already. Remember that there's no limit to the number of times that you read the draft of your assignment. You must ensure that you clarify your arguments, which would make your professor praise your work. The editing task won't end there.

You read your draft aloud, which would help you recognize your mistakes immediately. (Do it inside your room. If you have a roommate, then ask for permission.) You might get restless from this task, prompting you to bring a paperback that you have borrowed from your library. You should avoid highlighting your assignment with quotes that you fancy while reading the assigned text. You become more mindful of your typographical errors, even turn into a grammar Nazi. It won't be good enough, as you must turn your draft into a graceful, powerful prose. There are other things to keep in mind, which you;re about to find out.

How Did the Writer Do That: Achieving Better Results

Your professors must understand your arguments clearly. You have likely come up with words, which sound to impress your instructors. You must let it go, opting to look for simple words. It should make your arguments loud and clear. You may be too lazy to look for an online dictionary. If you have a word (or phrase) in mind, then do a Google search. It should take a few seconds. Clarity would send a powerful message.

Avoid calling something a fact (and much more). Don't get into the habit of starting a statement with "A fact" or something of that kind. Your professor would assume it, but imagine some readers getting spaced out after using it a number of times. It would be similar to a sentence starting with "And" or "But". It should add variety to your composition, but you can misuse it if you do it more than once. Don’t forget that a sentence must contain a subject and predicate, if not express a thought. It shouldn’t change when your sentences become long and complex.

Look for other words that can substitute for the verb "to be". You may point out about the first rule, and you have a valid argument until you realize that there are too many verbs out there. You should know most of those words. (If you don’t, then Google would assist you.) Frequent use of the verb “to be” could be seen as a lack of effort on your part. You’re not expected to recall many verbs (and their synonyms), but your professors expect you to expand your vocabulary. Verbs are included.

Vary your paragraph. You should have read too many novels, such that it would dawn on you that a paragraph can be as short as one simple statement (like Hemingway’s), and a longer one covering several pages (like Kerouac’s). Your professors want to see the depth of your knowledge in literary criticism and how you apply it (in your assignments), which doesn’t mean that you can’t attempt to create a prose. Make sure that you know the English language too well. You could end up confusing your professors, which would prove costly.

Steer clear of the sexist tone. It has nothing to do with the politically-correct era. You don’t want to profess your admiration for Austen and her likes. A sexist tone would ruin any written paper, where you should express your thoughts (and occasional feelings) in an object manner. Moreover, you must be able to gather lots of information to defend it. In other words, your arguments won’t impress your professors if you don’t have a clear grasp of what you’re writing about. There’s no place for a sexist tone.

For Whom Do You Write

You’re thinking of your professor while writing your assignment, as you have a requirement to meet. There’s nothing wrong about imagining an audience other than your instructor, where you find courage in expressing your thoughts (and occasional feelings). You’re not too worried about how they react to it. Agree to disagree, but this exercise could turn livelier. Wait for your professors to discuss it during lecture hours, though. Don’t forget to edit.

 

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