Tips & Strategies for Revising, Editing & Proofreading

It is important that you go through your assignment to make sure you have the correct content and structure. Check that your writing is clear and uncluttered and look for mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

The format of your work is also very important. When you have worked hard to develop your ideas and present them, you don’t want anything to distract your tutor from what you have written. Make sure that you have followed the correct formatting style. The requirements are usually set out in your assignment guidelines or marking guide.

General tips

  • Try to leave at least 24 hours after you have finished writing your first draft, before you start revising, editing and proofreading. This means that you can look at it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind.
  • Leave yourself enough time. Rushing to finish an assignment often results in errors and a lack of time for proofreading.
  • Give your assignment to a friend to look at. This has to be someone you will listen to. Remember, they are critiquing your work, not you.
  • Read your work aloud slowly. This process forces you to say each word and also lets you hear how the words sound together. Often your ear will hear what your eyes did not see. When you read silently or too quickly you may miss errors or make unconscious corrections.
  • Some people like to read off the computer screen, while others like to work with a printed copy.
  • Find a quiet place to revise, edit and proofread as you need to concentrate.
  • If possible, do your revising, editing and proofreading in several short blocks of time, rather than all at once, otherwise, your concentration is likely to decrease.
  • If you are short on time, prioritise what to revise, edit and proofread, to be sure that the most important sections are completed.

Content

Have you answered all parts of the question? Have you checked the marking guide? Check the assignment for any instructional words. If required to do so, does your assignment put together an argument or discussion and is it complete? Are the claims you make accurate and consistent? Have you supported the main points with adequate evidence? Is all of the information in your assignment accurate, up-to-date and relevant?

Have you appropriately cited all quotes, paraphrases and ideas you got from sources? Does your referencing follow the correct style required for your course? For each citation/footnote in the text of your assignment, is there a corresponding reference in the reference list/bibliography?

Structure

Overall structure: Does your assignment have the appropriate structure e.g. for an essay you need an introduction, body and conclusion? Have you introduced the topic? Does the introduction outline how you will address the question? Is it clear how each paragraph in the body of your paper is related to the introduction? Have you summarised the main points of your assignment in the conclusion?

Paragraphs: are helpful as they help you to organise your thoughts and ideas into logical order. They are also helpful to the reader as they provide breaks in long stretches of text.

  • Does each paragraph keep to one main idea or theme, and is it introduced by a clear topic sentence (usually the first sentence)?
  • Are there between 3 to 5 or more sentences which develop the topic sentence?
  • Is the main idea supported by published sources which are cited and referenced corrected?
  • Are the paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Have you made clear transitions between paragraphs? Are they well linked?
  • When you read through your essay does it make sense and ‘flow’ in a logical order. Have you covered all the main ideas?

Sentences can be:

  • a statement – Spring is here at last.
  • a question – Will spring never arrive?
  • a command – Go to Paris in Spring.

Think about what kind of sentence conveys your idea most effectively.

Keep to one main idea per sentence. More than this and your sentence may become wordy.

Vary how you begin your sentences. This will add impact and interest to your writing.

Very long sentences may be less clear than shorter, more direct sentences. Consider splitting longer sentences into two separate sentences.

Try to be concise and avoid unnecessary repetition in your sentences e.g. She bought the book last year. It was a really gripping book. She read the book in less than two hours. This could easily be condensed into one sentence: Last year she bought a really gripping book which she read in less than two hours.

One way to check your sentences is to read your assignment one sentence at a time. Some people like to start at the end of their assignment and work backwards so that they will not unconsciously fill in content from previous sentences. Wherever you start, this technique helps you read every sentence carefully. You could read the sentences out loud as hearing a sentence may make its faults clearer than they appear in print. If you're working with a printed copy, use a ruler or a piece of paper to isolate the line you are working on. This will give your eyes a manageable amount of text to read.

Writing style and clarity.

Style:

  • Have you written for the reader, rather than for yourself?
  • Is your vocabulary and choice of language appropriate for your subject area?
  • Depending on the type of assignment required, have you used an appropriate tone (formal, informal, persuasive, etc)?
  • Have you used inclusive language and avoided using slang terms and jargon?
  • Is the use of personal pronouns (I, we, us, our) acceptable in this assignment?

Clarity:

  • Is your writing clear and easy to understand?
  • Have you chosen the correct words to express your ideas?
  • Have you defined important terms that might be unclear to your reader?
  • Is it clear what each pronoun (he, she, it, they, which, who, this, etc.) refers to?

Spelling, grammar and punctuation

Spelling: Don't rely entirely on spell check as it has a limited dictionary, so some words that you have misspelled may not be picked up as incorrect. Also spell check will not pick up misspellings that are valid words. For example, if you type "form" instead of "from" spell check will not pick up the error. Use a dictionary to check the spelling if you are not sure.

A very helpful technique for checking spelling is to read your assignment backwards. Start with the last word on the last page and work your way back to the beginning, reading each
word separately. Because content, punctuation, and grammar won't make any sense, your focus will be entirely on the spelling of each word.

Grammar: Don’t rely entirely on the grammar check facility of your word processing programme as they work with a limited number of rules. They can't identify every error and often make mistakes. They also fail to give thorough explanations to help you understand why a sentence should be revised.

  • Have you written in complete sentences? A sentence is a word, or a group of words, which makes sense. Are there any words missing e.g. We raced along the beach towards the sand dunes.
  • A sentence usually has a noun (names something – mouse, shop, Barry) and a verb (word that describes an action or existence – run, was, kicked, are).
  • Are your sentences “alive?” Verbs can be either active or passive. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb; in passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb.

    Passive: The ball was kicked by the boy.
    Active: The boy kicked the ball.
  • Have you used your tenses correctly? Keep tenses consistent. If you shift the tense (for example, from past to present tense) in a sentence or passage without a good reason, you may confuse your reader.

    Wrong: After he joined the union, Sam appears at a rally and makes a speech.
    Right: After he joined the union, Sam appeared at a rally and made a speech.

To proofread for tense errors, circle all verbs in your writing. Look at the verbs in sequence and check that you haven’t changed tense unintentionally.

  • Do your subjects and verbs agree? A singular subject should be accompanied by a singular verb, and a plural subject by a plural verb.

    Wrong: A central part of my life goals have been to go to law school.
    Right: A central part of my life goals has been to go to law school.

Punctuation: Punctuation should make it easier for people to understand what you have written. One way to check your punctuation is to circle or highlight every piece of punctuation you have used and then go through checking one kind of punctuation at a time e.g. check the use of full stops first, then the use of capital letters, etc.

  • Full stops are used at the end of sentences except when the sentence is a question or an exclamation.
  • When you have used a full stop to end a sentence, remember to start the next sentence with a capital letter. Capital letters are also used;
    • in people's names and titles.
    • in names of places (towns, cities, countries).
    • in days of the week, months of the year.
    • in titles of books, films, organisations.
    • in titles of important historical events or periods.
    • in titles of awards or qualifications.
  • Question and exclamation marks can be used at the end of sentences. Exclamation marks are used to emphasise some special meaning within the sentence e.g., surprise, humour or joy. They should not be overused.
    How long will we go on pretending there is no poverty in this country? What blindness!
  • Commas are used to:
    • signal a brief pause between the introductory element of a sentence and the main part of the sentence, e.g. Frankly, the committee’s decision baffled us.
    • join two independent sentences with a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), e.g. Meredith wore jeans to the hotel, but she changed before the wedding.
    • separate words or phrases which are additional to the main clause of the sentence e.g. Their grandfather, who was kind and generous, lived with them.
    • Separate items in a list e.g. Sharks eat squid, shrimp, crabs and fish.
    • To prevent misunderstanding e.g. While he was cooking, the baby slept peacefully outside in the sun.
  • Colons are mainly used to:
    • introduce a list e.g. For school camp you need: a tent, a strong pack, a PVC raincoat, strong boots, a sleeping bag, dried food and a positive attitude.
    • introduce a statement which explains or clarifies a previous statement in the same sentence e.g. There was only one builder who could do a decent job of it: Bill Fudd from Waimangu.
  • Semicolons are mainly used to link two complete sentences which are closely related in meaning and turn them into one sentence e.g., The rap group from Auckland were the winners; they were polished, energetic and ambitious.
  • Quotation or speech marks are used to:
    • show the exact words that someone has spoken (direct speech) e.g. After they had shaken hands and introduced themselves, she asked, "What is that brand of aftershave?" Note: the final question mark, full stop or exclamation mark is placed inside the closing speech marks.
    • indicate that the following words are a direct quotation from another writer, not your own.
  • Apostrophes are used to show:
    • ownership or possession – when something belongs to someone. The apostrophe is placed directly after the name of the owner or owners e.g., John's shoes, the aunties' gift. Note: Possessive pronouns such as yours, hers, its, ours, theirs do not have apostrophes. •
    • that letters have been missed out of words e.g., it's my birthday, rockin' roun' the clock., I'm goin' home.
  • Pronouns (like I, it, you, him, her, this, themselves, someone, who, which) are used to replace another word – its antecedent – so the antecedent does not have to be repeated. Check each pronoun to make sure that it agrees with its antecedent in gender and number. Remember that words like each, either, neither, and one are singular; when they are used as antecedents, they take singular pronouns.

Wrong: Every one of the puppies thrived in their new home.
Right: Every one of the puppies thrived in its new home.

Antecedents made up of two or more parts joined by or or nor take pronouns that agree with the nearest antecedent. Collective-noun antecedents (audience, team) can be singular or plural depending on whether they refer to a single unit or a group of individuals.

Correct presentation: Have you formatted your assignment correctly? See your course information for the style of formatting your tutor requires and follow it carefully.

Personalising your proofreading

As well as following the guidelines above individualising your proofreading strategies will help you become more efficient and effective. Find out what your typical ‘problem areas’ are and look for each type of error carefully. You can find this out by:

  • Reviewing the tutor feedback on your assignments.
  • Bringing this feedback and your assignment to Learning Services and review it with a learning advisor. This will enable you to understand the errors that you typically make and develop ways of managing your own learning.