revising editing proofreading your essay

Editing and Proofreading

What this handout is about.

This handout provides some tips and strategies for revising your writing. To give you a chance to practice proofreading, we have left seven errors (three spelling errors, two punctuation errors, and two grammatical errors) in the text of this handout. See if you can spot them!

Is editing the same thing as proofreading?

Not exactly. Although many people use the terms interchangeably, editing and proofreading are two different stages of the revision process. Both demand close and careful reading, but they focus on different aspects of the writing and employ different techniques.

Some tips that apply to both editing and proofreading

• Get some distance from the text! It’s hard to edit or proofread a paper that you’ve just finished writing—it’s still to familiar, and you tend to skip over a lot of errors. Put the paper aside for a few hours, days, or weeks. Go for a run. Take a trip to the beach. Clear your head of what you’ve written so you can take a fresh look at the paper and see what is really on the page. Better yet, give the paper to a friend—you can’t get much more distance than that. Someone who is reading the paper for the first time, comes to it with completely fresh eyes.
• Decide which medium lets you proofread most carefully. Some people like to work right at the computer, while others like to sit back with a printed copy that they can mark up as they read.
• Try changing the look of your document. Altering the size, spacing, color, or style of the text may trick your brain into thinking it’s seeing an unfamiliar document, and that can help you get a different perspective on what you’ve written.
• Find a quiet place to work. Don’t try to do your proofreading in front of the TV or while you’re chugging away on the treadmill. Find a place where you can concentrate and avoid distractions.
• If possible, do your editing and proofreading in several short blocks of time. Your concentration may start to wane if you try to proofread the entire text at one time.
• If you’re short on time, you may wish to prioritize. Make sure that you complete the most important editing and proofreading tasks.

Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You reread your draft to see, for example, whether the paper is well-organized, the transitions between paragraphs are smooth, and your evidence really backs up your argument. You can edit on several levels:

Have you done everything the assignment requires? Are the claims you make accurate? If it is required to do so, does your paper make an argument? Is the argument complete? Are all of your claims consistent? Have you supported each point with adequate evidence? Is all of the information in your paper relevant to the assignment and/or your overall writing goal? (For additional tips, see our handouts on understanding assignments and developing an argument .)

Overall structure

Does your paper have an appropriate introduction and conclusion? Is your thesis clearly stated in your introduction? Is it clear how each paragraph in the body of your paper is related to your thesis? Are the paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Have you made clear transitions between paragraphs? One way to check the structure of your paper is to make a reverse outline of the paper after you have written the first draft. (See our handouts on introductions , conclusions , thesis statements , and transitions .)

Structure within paragraphs

Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does each paragraph stick to one main idea? Are there any extraneous or missing sentences in any of your paragraphs? (See our handout on paragraph development .)

Have you defined any important terms that might be unclear to your reader? Is the meaning of each sentence clear? (One way to answer this question is to read your paper one sentence at a time, starting at the end and working backwards so that you will not unconsciously fill in content from previous sentences.) Is it clear what each pronoun (he, she, it, they, which, who, this, etc.) refers to? Have you chosen the proper words to express your ideas? Avoid using words you find in the thesaurus that aren’t part of your normal vocabulary; you may misuse them.

Have you used an appropriate tone (formal, informal, persuasive, etc.)? Is your use of gendered language (masculine and feminine pronouns like “he” or “she,” words like “fireman” that contain “man,” and words that some people incorrectly assume apply to only one gender—for example, some people assume “nurse” must refer to a woman) appropriate? Have you varied the length and structure of your sentences? Do you tends to use the passive voice too often? Does your writing contain a lot of unnecessary phrases like “there is,” “there are,” “due to the fact that,” etc.? Do you repeat a strong word (for example, a vivid main verb) unnecessarily? (For tips, see our handouts on style and gender-inclusive language .)

Have you appropriately cited quotes, paraphrases, and ideas you got from sources? Are your citations in the correct format? (See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for more information.)

As you edit at all of these levels, you will usually make significant revisions to the content and wording of your paper. Keep an eye out for patterns of error; knowing what kinds of problems you tend to have will be helpful, especially if you are editing a large document like a thesis or dissertation. Once you have identified a pattern, you can develop techniques for spotting and correcting future instances of that pattern. For example, if you notice that you often discuss several distinct topics in each paragraph, you can go through your paper and underline the key words in each paragraph, then break the paragraphs up so that each one focuses on just one main idea.

Proofreading

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, focusing on surface errors such as misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation. You should proofread only after you have finished all of your other editing revisions.

Why proofread? It’s the content that really matters, right?

Content is important. But like it or not, the way a paper looks affects the way others judge it. When you’ve worked hard to develop and present your ideas, you don’t want careless errors distracting your reader from what you have to say. It’s worth paying attention to the details that help you to make a good impression.

Most people devote only a few minutes to proofreading, hoping to catch any glaring errors that jump out from the page. But a quick and cursory reading, especially after you’ve been working long and hard on a paper, usually misses a lot. It’s better to work with a definite plan that helps you to search systematically for specific kinds of errors.

Sure, this takes a little extra time, but it pays off in the end. If you know that you have an effective way to catch errors when the paper is almost finished, you can worry less about editing while you are writing your first drafts. This makes the entire writing proccess more efficient.

Try to keep the editing and proofreading processes separate. When you are editing an early draft, you don’t want to be bothered with thinking about punctuation, grammar, and spelling. If your worrying about the spelling of a word or the placement of a comma, you’re not focusing on the more important task of developing and connecting ideas.

The proofreading process

You probably already use some of the strategies discussed below. Experiment with different tactics until you find a system that works well for you. The important thing is to make the process systematic and focused so that you catch as many errors as possible in the least amount of time.

• Don’t rely entirely on spelling checkers. These can be useful tools but they are far from foolproof. Spell checkers have a limited dictionary, so some words that show up as misspelled may really just not be in their memory. In addition, spell checkers will not catch misspellings that form another valid word. For example, if you type “your” instead of “you’re,” “to” instead of “too,” or “there” instead of “their,” the spell checker won’t catch the error.
• Grammar checkers can be even more problematic. These programs work with a limited number of rules, so 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. You may want to use a grammar checker to help you identify potential run-on sentences or too-frequent use of the passive voice, but you need to be able to evaluate the feedback it provides.
• Proofread for only one kind of error at a time. If you try to identify and revise too many things at once, you risk losing focus, and your proofreading will be less effective. It’s easier to catch grammar errors if you aren’t checking punctuation and spelling at the same time. In addition, some of the techniques that work well for spotting one kind of mistake won’t catch others.
• Read slow, and read every word. Try reading out loud , which forces you to say each word and also lets you hear how the words sound together. When you read silently or too quickly, you may skip over errors or make unconscious corrections.
• Separate the text into individual sentences. This is another technique to help you to read every sentence carefully. Simply press the return key after every period so that every line begins a new sentence. Then read each sentence separately, looking for grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors. If you’re working with a printed copy, try using an opaque object like a ruler or a piece of paper to isolate the line you’re working on.
• Circle every punctuation mark. This forces you to look at each one. As you circle, ask yourself if the punctuation is correct.
• Read the paper backwards. This technique is helpful for checking spelling. 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. You can also read backwards sentence by sentence to check grammar; this will help you avoid becoming distracted by content issues.
• Proofreading is a learning process. You’re not just looking for errors that you recognize; you’re also learning to recognize and correct new errors. This is where handbooks and dictionaries come in. Keep the ones you find helpful close at hand as you proofread.
• Ignorance may be bliss, but it won’t make you a better proofreader. You’ll often find things that don’t seem quite right to you, but you may not be quite sure what’s wrong either. A word looks like it might be misspelled, but the spell checker didn’t catch it. You think you need a comma between two words, but you’re not sure why. Should you use “that” instead of “which”? If you’re not sure about something, look it up.
• The proofreading process becomes more efficient as you develop and practice a systematic strategy. You’ll learn to identify the specific areas of your own writing that need careful attention, and knowing that you have a sound method for finding errors will help you to focus more on developing your ideas while you are drafting the paper.

Think you’ve got it?

Then give it a try, if you haven’t already! This handout contains seven errors our proofreader should have caught: three spelling errors, two punctuation errors, and two grammatical errors. Try to find them, and then check a version of this page with the errors marked in red to see if you’re a proofreading star.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Especially for non-native speakers of English:

Ascher, Allen. 2006. Think About Editing: An ESL Guide for the Harbrace Handbooks . Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Lane, Janet, and Ellen Lange. 2012. Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing , 3rd ed. Boston: Heinle.

For everyone:

Einsohn, Amy. 2011. The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications , 3rd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Lanham, Richard A. 2006. Revising Prose , 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman.

Tarshis, Barry. 1998. How to Be Your Own Best Editor: The Toolkit for Everyone Who Writes . New York: Three Rivers Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Writing Your Paper 3: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading

Revising, editing, and proofreading overview, proofreading.

• Peer Review

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Short lessons on grammar, punctuation, and sentences

• Set aside your writing for a few days (or hours, if you procrastinated), in order to clear your head. This will help you approach the work with fresh eyes.
• When you return to the work, concentrate on the overall content, focus, and organization.
• Think about the big picture. What do you want the reader to know about your topic? Do the topic sentences complement the thesis?
• Ask yourself questions: Who will be reading this? What are their needs and expectations? Am I communicating my ideas effectively?

A reverse outline is a great tool writers can use to look at the organization and focus of their draft. Here are some guidelines for how to create a reverse outline .

• Don’t edit too soon. Wait until you feel confident in your paper's focus and organization.
• Look at your transitions. Try making a paragraph using only your thesis and topic sentences. Does the paragraph make sense? If not, it may be a sign that your topic sentences are not yet logically guiding your reader through the paper.
• Go over your paper sentence by sentence. Are the ideas stated clearly? Look at word choice and sentence structure. Do you find yourself using the same words/phrases over and over?
• Try reading your paper aloud—hearing it helps make sure your ideas are stated clearly, and you will likely catch other small errors in the process.
• Begin by choosing an excellent grammar resource you can return to again and again to familiarize yourself with the rules of English grammar that you're less comfortable with. Your English 101 or 201 handbook or websites like the Purdue OWL and our Grammar, Punctuation, and Sentences guide are great options.
• Check for one type of error at a time—don’t overwhelm yourself.
• Are you making the same errors over and over? Identify them.
• You are smarter than your word processor—don’t rely on it to correct mistakes.
• Check your formatting!
• An extra set of eyes always helps. Swap papers with a friend, a classmate, or…pick a couple of error types to focus on and make a Writers’ Center Appointment !

Have you been told your paper doesn't  flow ? Often, the problem is that your sentences are awkward.  You might be trying to say too much, or you might not have said enough. 

The best way to find and correct awkward or run-on sentences is to  read your paper out loud . You can only pause at punctuation, and you can only breathe at end punctuation (periods, question marks and exclamation points). If you're running out of breath, you may have some run-ons. Alternatively, if you're hyperventilating because you're breathing too often, your sentences are short and choppy. Make sure your writing sounds natural. If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't right. Your paper should sound smooth, as if you were talking to someone.  

In the writing world, we sometimes use the term  sentence clarity,  rather than flow, to describe awkward writing.  

Click HERE for strategies to improve clarity. Click HERE for good examples to help you combine short, choppy sentences. Click HERE for a method to shorten up wordy sentences.

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• Last Updated: May 16, 2024 11:05 AM
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Proofreading vs. Revising – What is the Difference?

| Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

Many people use the terms “proofreading” and “revising” interchangeably, but they are two completely different activities. One tackles surface-level errors, while the other concentrates on the bigger picture.

This proofreading vs. revising will compare the differences between the two stages of the writing process. Find out which service you need and which one comes first. 

Revising vs. Proofreading 

Revising and proofreading both aim to enhance the quality of your writing. But their focuses differ. Revising refers to logical and structural changes, while the goal of proofreading involves correcting typos , grammatical errors, and formatting issues.

Also, revision deals with straight up changing and perfecting, whereas the proofreading process leaves the original content and places proofreading marks where changes are needed. Let’s go in-depth about their differences.

Proofreading

Proofreading means looking at a paper line by line to scan for mechanical errors like typos and grammar mistakes. Before publishing or submitting the text, a proofreader must catch misspellings, grammar issues, stylistic mistakes, and improper formatting. There are tons of effective proofreading strategies, but most proofreaders have a checklist within reach when doing the job.

Some consider proofreading as a part of the revision process. Others see it as a component of editing. Some experts think proofreading is a separate process and isn’t a subset of any of these steps. 

Proofreading requires you to watch out for:

• Typographical errors.
• Misspellings.
• Basic grammatical mistakes (improper verb tenses, overuse of adverbs, etc.).
• Punctuation mistakes. 
• Citation mistakes
• Layout and format of the paper.

Some proofreaders also go in-depth into grammatical mistakes and syntax. They consider the sentence variety, sentence construction, and tone inconsistencies.

Proofreading is essential because it ensures everything is perfect before the final copy. An excellent proofreader spots mistakes that previous editors may have missed.

The aim of revision includes massive, logical changes to your paper’s structure and content. It focuses on the argument, supporting details, sequence, and overall structure of your essay. A revisor checks the following aspects of writing:

• Style and sequence of sentences and paragraphs.
• Articulation of the information.
• How you present and dive deeper into your evidence.
• The overall organization of the article. 

The act of revising may also include making sure the paper adheres to a specific convention of academic writing. Some revisors also check the tone of writing. But all professional revisors watch out for gaps and holes in papers, especially research papers. 

It’s best to have a revision plan before you start so you don’t lose track of what’s been done. And, especially authors, expect many rounds of revision and solid proofreading before your manuscript is ready for publication. 

If you get lost in your writing, there’s a huge chance your readers will too. A straightforward way to avoid this problem is to use transitional devices like “as previously mentioned,” “consequently,” and “as a result.”

It’s just human error to want to use these terms to start sentences, but they’re stylistic errors and generally frowned upon by most editors. To avoid substantial revisions and time polishing the first draft, it’s best to avoid them altogether.

What Comes First, Proofreading or Revising? 

The editing process is vast; revising comes first before proofreading because revisions will eliminate some of the biggest issues. You don’t want to revise and move to proof only to come back to revising again. Revise to iron out surface-level mistakes as well as deep issues, then proof.

Proofreading is always the last step when writing a book , blog post, or business paper. After all, a proofreader’s job is to look for mistakes the editor missed.

Another reason revising should come first is that you’ll commit more misspellings and grammatical errors. You’ll unintentionally err as you fix the flow of your paper and its logical structure. 

For example, you might miss a comma while changing your sentence flow. It’s also possible for the writer to accidentally misspell a word while fixing the sequence of their story. 

Typographical errors, incorrect punctuations, and capitalization issues always come last. Fixing these tiny mistakes is like polishing your already-perfect paper just to make sure. 

Many freelancers and companies offer an all-in-one service if you’re on a budget. These professional English editing services can correct the logical reasoning of your paper and its mechanical errors.

Importance of Proofreading and Revising in Writing 

Proofreading and revising are two essential steps in writing before publishing or submitting them. The two separate processes ensure you never miss a single error on your written document, both minor and bigger-picture. 

When you engage in revision, you learn how to challenge your own ideas. You start evaluating your supporting details and check if they are relevant to your thesis statement. 

Revision also helps you check the logical structure of your written document. It prevents readers from getting confused about the sequence of your arguments. 

For example, revisors double-check if the audience understands your second point based on the information stated on the first point. They also see to it that there’s a smooth transition between each idea through transitional words and headings. 

Proofreading is also crucial, so you don’t lose sight of tiny mistakes. No matter how brilliant your argument is, it won’t make an impression if there are many misspelled words. Readers won’t also enjoy reading it due to poor formatting.

Any paper that undergoes extensive revision and proofreading has a higher chance of success. If you revise and proofread your academic essay, your probability of getting a high score is high. The same is true for posts that aim for higher SEO rankings.

What are the Differences Between Revising and Editing? 

One big difference between revising and editing is their focus on different aspects of your writing. Revising looks at the bigger picture of your paper, including your arguments, information, and supporting details. 

Editing is not concerned with these substantial structural changes. Instead, it focuses on tinier issues like sentence structure and phrasing. These are also known as “local changes.” This is also the second step to improving your writing.

After revising, you edit your paper to ensure the message is clear, smooth, and concise. Editing in English can include removing passive voice sentences and comma splices. Run-on sentences, repetitive phrases, and weak adverbs are also eliminated here.

If you’re an editor, your job is not to check the flow and strength of your ideas or story. Just read each sentence and check if it makes sense. Did the writer spell the words correctly? Is the tone consistent? Is the writing style appropriate? 

As with editing and proofreading, editing and revising may overlap. For instance, developmental and structural editors also focus on the bigger picture aspects of writing. They make changes to the elements of the story, main idea, and other similar features.    

Learn the Differences Between Proofreading and Revising 

Proofreading and revision are necessary steps you shouldn’t skip if you want to produce the best quality writing without spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Remember that revising includes big, structural changes, while proofreading focuses on surface errors. 

After spending time writing, you should revise your paper first. Then, perform the act of proofreading last.

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Module 7: Writing Workshop—Revising and Proofreading

Understanding revising, editing, and proofreading, learning outcomes.

• Explain revision techniques for improving drafts

Figure 1 . Revising is done during the writing process, similar to the changes and updates made during a home revision process.

As you dive into the revision process, it is important to learn the difference between three key terms: revising , editing , and proofreading . These terms are often used interchangeably to refer to the process of “fixing” a rough draft and turning it into a polished final piece of writing, but they are actually distinct stages in the overall revision process.

• Revising is done throughout the writing process, with special emphasis on the first few drafts.
• Organization

Figure 2 . Editing is also done throughout the writing process, but typically in the later stages when the main framework is there and the changes relate to technical issues.

• Editing is done throughout the writing process, with special emphasis on the middle and final drafts.
• Word choice
• Textual inconsistencies

Proofreading

Proofreading is reserved for the final draft and is all about fixing mistakes. Here’s where we want to make sure our sentences and format is perfect.

Figure 3 . Proofreading is the final stage of review, akin to the last stages of setting up the room after a home renovation.

• Punctuation
• Typographical errors (“typos”)

You can see from these definitions that there is a logical order to these steps: revision, then editing, then proofreading. It wouldn’t make sense to meticulously edit the grammar, word choice, and style of a sentence if that sentence just got cut in the revision stage.

However, while you will generally follow the revising > editing > proofreading order, remember that writing is a recursive process. In other words, this order is fluid, and you may return to different stages of the process more than once before you are totally done with an essay. You may fix a grammar error while you’re in the middle of drafting, or you might be struck with inspiration while you’re proofreading and decide to add another full paragraph to your essay! This is one of the fun things about writing. There are general rules, steps, and suggestions, but ultimately the process is your own.

Writing Workshop

• Open your Working Document template and find the “Understanding Revising, Editing, and Proofreading” heading.
• Rough Draft:  People really hate gamers and gamer culture. The stereotype is of a loner in his parents basement with unhealthy habits and no ambition. Rather than engaging with other people, the gamer is completely alone for hours, even days on end. Maybe even screaming at a headset! This stereotype is inaccurate and harmful. It completely ignores the ways that many video games actually contribute to social engagement and help players develop social skills social skills.Despite these concerns, video games, can actually develop social skills. Have you seen a headset? Gamers frequently use headsets to communicate with other game players around the world. Online multiplayer games are collaborative efforts with gamers creating virtual teams and discussing strategy. This encourages the development of team building and communication skills. THe content of most video games keep the player engaged in socially interactions by requiring virtual characters to talk, trade, and fight among other things. These activities require a knowledge of social skills, since there are consequences to aversive behavior. Not only do games encourage online interaction, they also frequently lead to in-person gatherings As previously mentioned, video games are frequently hated on. This comes from a broader tendency to assume that all interactions with technology harm face-to-face interactions and social skills. For example, “Human relationships are rich; theyre messy and demanding. We have learned the habit of cleaning them up with technology” (Turkle 85). Sherry is claiming that technology undermines human relationships. Another thing against technology is that it prevents teens from differentiating their online persona from reality. In her article “Growing Up Digital,” Chandra Johnson references the research of Dr. David Greenfield, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, saying, “. . .because teens’ brains aren’t fully developed they don’t have the impulse control to understand the damage they can do online”These are just a few examples of how some people think technologies is ruining many aspects of life. It’s really a bad thing to think.
• Revised/Edited/Proofread Draft:  There is a persistent misconception that video games and gamer culture encourages isolation and diminishes social skills. The stereotype is of a loner in his or her parents’ basement with unhealthy habits and no ambition. Rather than engaging with other people, the gamer is completely alone for hours, even days on end. This stereotype is inaccurate and harmful. It completely ignores the ways that many video games actually contribute to social engagement and help players develop social skills.As previously mentioned, video games are frequently stigmatized. This comes from a broader tendency to assume that all interactions with technology harm face-to-face interactions and social skills. For example, Sherry Turkle, in her article “The Flight from Conversation,” states, “Human relationships are rich; they’re messy and demanding. We have learned the habit of cleaning them up with technology” (Turkle 85). Here, Turkle is claiming that technology undermines human relationships. Another complaint against technology is that it prevents teens from differentiating their online persona from reality. In her article “Growing Up Digital,” Chandra Johnson references the research of Dr. David Greenfield, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, saying, “. . .because teens’ brains aren’t fully developed they don’t have the impulse control to understand the damage they can do online” (Johnson 73). These are just a few examples of how some people think technology is ruining many aspects of life.Despite these concerns, video games can actually develop social skills and lead to further personal connections. Gamers frequently use headsets to communicate verbally with other game players around the world. Online multiplayer games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, or Warframe are collaborative efforts with gamers creating virtual teams and discussing strategy. This encourages the development of team building and communication skills. Furthermore, the content of most video games keep the player engaged in social interactions by requiring virtual characters to do things like talk, trade, and fight. These activities clearly require a knowledge of (and develop) social skills. Not only do games encourage online interaction, they also frequently lead to in-person gatherings. From small, informal gaming parties among friends to massive national and international conventions, gaming brings people together.
• What are 3-5 ways the writer revised this essay?
• What are 3-5 specific sections/sentences/words where the writer edited this essay?
• What are 3-5 specific areas where the writer proofread this essay?
• Reflect on the following questions in a paragraph response: How would you describe the rough draft compared to the final draft? In what overall ways did the essay improve? Are there any other changes you would make if this was your essay?
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Steps for Revising Your Paper

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When you have plenty of time to revise, use the time to work on your paper and to take breaks from writing. If you can forget about your draft for a day or two, you may return to it with a fresh outlook. During the revising process, put your writing aside at least twice—once during the first part of the process, when you are reorganizing your work, and once during the second part, when you are polishing and paying attention to details.

Use the following questions to evaluate your drafts. You can use your responses to revise your papers by reorganizing them to make your best points stand out, by adding needed information, by eliminating irrelevant information, and by clarifying sections or sentences.

Find your main point.

What are you trying to say in the paper? In other words, try to summarize your thesis, or main point, and the evidence you are using to support that point. Try to imagine that this paper belongs to someone else. Does the paper have a clear thesis? Do you know what the paper is going to be about?

Identify your readers and your purpose.

What are you trying to do in the paper? In other words, are you trying to argue with the reading, to analyze the reading, to evaluate the reading, to apply the reading to another situation, or to accomplish another goal?

Evaluate your evidence.

Does the body of your paper support your thesis? Do you offer enough evidence to support your claim? If you are using quotations from the text as evidence, did you cite them properly?

Save only the good pieces.

Do all of the ideas relate back to the thesis? Is there anything that doesn't seem to fit? If so, you either need to change your thesis to reflect the idea or cut the idea.

Tighten and clean up your language.

Do all of the ideas in the paper make sense? Are there unclear or confusing ideas or sentences? Read your paper out loud and listen for awkward pauses and unclear ideas. Cut out extra words, vagueness, and misused words.

Visit the Purdue OWL's vidcast on cutting during the revision phase for more help with this task.

Eliminate mistakes in grammar and usage.

Do you see any problems with grammar, punctuation, or spelling? If you think something is wrong, you should make a note of it, even if you don't know how to fix it. You can always talk to a Writing Lab tutor about how to correct errors.

Switch from writer-centered to reader-centered.

Try to detach yourself from what you've written; pretend that you are reviewing someone else's work. What would you say is the most successful part of your paper? Why? How could this part be made even better? What would you say is the least successful part of your paper? Why? How could this part be improved?

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

8.4 Revising and Editing

Learning objectives.

• Identify major areas of concern in the draft essay during revising and editing.
• Use peer reviews and editing checklists to assist revising and editing.
• Revise and edit the first draft of your essay and produce a final draft.

Revising and editing are the two tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed first draft means little improvement is needed. However, even experienced writers need to improve their drafts and rely on peers during revising and editing. You may know that athletes miss catches, fumble balls, or overshoot goals. Dancers forget steps, turn too slowly, or miss beats. For both athletes and dancers, the more they practice, the stronger their performance will become. Web designers seek better images, a more clever design, or a more appealing background for their web pages. Writing has the same capacity to profit from improvement and revision.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

Revising and editing allow you to examine two important aspects of your writing separately, so that you can give each task your undivided attention.

• When you revise , you take a second look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information in order to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more convincing.
• When you edit , you take a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add or change words. You fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You improve your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your best efforts.

How do you get the best out of your revisions and editing? Here are some strategies that writers have developed to look at their first drafts from a fresh perspective. Try them over the course of this semester; then keep using the ones that bring results.

• Take a break. You are proud of what you wrote, but you might be too close to it to make changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a day until you can look at it objectively.
• Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.
• Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?
• Use the resources that your college provides. Find out where your school’s writing lab is located and ask about the assistance they provide online and in person.

Many people hear the words critic , critical , and criticism and pick up only negative vibes that provoke feelings that make them blush, grumble, or shout. However, as a writer and a thinker, you need to learn to be critical of yourself in a positive way and have high expectations for your work. You also need to train your eye and trust your ability to fix what needs fixing. For this, you need to teach yourself where to look.

Creating Unity and Coherence

Following your outline closely offers you a reasonable guarantee that your writing will stay on purpose and not drift away from the controlling idea. However, when writers are rushed, are tired, or cannot find the right words, their writing may become less than they want it to be. Their writing may no longer be clear and concise, and they may be adding information that is not needed to develop the main idea.

When a piece of writing has unity , all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense. When the writing has coherence , the ideas flow smoothly. The wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and from paragraph to paragraph.

Reading your writing aloud will often help you find problems with unity and coherence. Listen for the clarity and flow of your ideas. Identify places where you find yourself confused, and write a note to yourself about possible fixes.

Creating Unity

Sometimes writers get caught up in the moment and cannot resist a good digression. Even though you might enjoy such detours when you chat with friends, unplanned digressions usually harm a piece of writing.

Mariah stayed close to her outline when she drafted the three body paragraphs of her essay she tentatively titled “Digital Technology: The Newest and the Best at What Price?” But a recent shopping trip for an HDTV upset her enough that she digressed from the main topic of her third paragraph and included comments about the sales staff at the electronics store she visited. When she revised her essay, she deleted the off-topic sentences that affected the unity of the paragraph.

Read the following paragraph twice, the first time without Mariah’s changes, and the second time with them.

Nothing is more confusing to me than choosing among televisions. It confuses lots of people who want a new high-definition digital television (HDTV) with a large screen to watch sports and DVDs on. You could listen to the guys in the electronics store, but word has it they know little more than you do. They want to sell what they have in stock, not what best fits your needs. You face decisions you never had to make with the old, bulky picture-tube televisions. Screen resolution means the number of horizontal scan lines the screen can show. This resolution is often 1080p, or full HD, or 768p. The trouble is that if you have a smaller screen, 32 inches or 37 inches diagonal, you won’t be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. The 1080p televisions cost more, though, so those are what the salespeople want you to buy. They get bigger commissions. The other important decision you face as you walk around the sales floor is whether to get a plasma screen or an LCD screen. Now here the salespeople may finally give you decent info. Plasma flat-panel television screens can be much larger in diameter than their LCD rivals. Plasma screens show truer blacks and can be viewed at a wider angle than current LCD screens. But be careful and tell the salesperson you have budget constraints. Large flat-panel plasma screens are much more expensive than flat-screen LCD models. Don’t let someone make you by more television than you need!

Answer the following two questions about Mariah’s paragraph:

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

• Now start to revise the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” . Reread it to find any statements that affect the unity of your writing. Decide how best to revise.

When you reread your writing to find revisions to make, look for each type of problem in a separate sweep. Read it straight through once to locate any problems with unity. Read it straight through a second time to find problems with coherence. You may follow this same practice during many stages of the writing process.

Writing at Work

Many companies hire copyeditors and proofreaders to help them produce the cleanest possible final drafts of large writing projects. Copyeditors are responsible for suggesting revisions and style changes; proofreaders check documents for any errors in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation that have crept in. Many times, these tasks are done on a freelance basis, with one freelancer working for a variety of clients.

Creating Coherence

Careful writers use transitions to clarify how the ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are related. These words and phrases help the writing flow smoothly. Adding transitions is not the only way to improve coherence, but they are often useful and give a mature feel to your essays. Table 8.3 “Common Transitional Words and Phrases” groups many common transitions according to their purpose.

Table 8.3 Common Transitional Words and Phrases

After Maria revised for unity, she next examined her paragraph about televisions to check for coherence. She looked for places where she needed to add a transition or perhaps reword the text to make the flow of ideas clear. In the version that follows, she has already deleted the sentences that were off topic.

Many writers make their revisions on a printed copy and then transfer them to the version on-screen. They conventionally use a small arrow called a caret (^) to show where to insert an addition or correction.

1. Answer the following questions about Mariah’s revised paragraph.

2. Now return to the first draft of the essay you wrote in Section 8 “Writing Your Own First Draft” and revise it for coherence. Add transition words and phrases where they are needed, and make any other changes that are needed to improve the flow and connection between ideas.

Being Clear and Concise

Some writers are very methodical and painstaking when they write a first draft. Other writers unleash a lot of words in order to get out all that they feel they need to say. Do either of these composing styles match your style? Or is your composing style somewhere in between? No matter which description best fits you, the first draft of almost every piece of writing, no matter its author, can be made clearer and more concise.

If you have a tendency to write too much, you will need to look for unnecessary words. If you have a tendency to be vague or imprecise in your wording, you will need to find specific words to replace any overly general language.

Identifying Wordiness

Sometimes writers use too many words when fewer words will appeal more to their audience and better fit their purpose. Here are some common examples of wordiness to look for in your draft. Eliminating wordiness helps all readers, because it makes your ideas clear, direct, and straightforward.

Sentences that begin with There is or There are .

Wordy: There are two major experiments that the Biology Department sponsors.

Revised: The Biology Department sponsors two major experiments.

Sentences with unnecessary modifiers.

Wordy: Two extremely famous and well-known consumer advocates spoke eloquently in favor of the proposed important legislation.

Revised: Two well-known consumer advocates spoke in favor of the proposed legislation.

Sentences with deadwood phrases that add little to the meaning. Be judicious when you use phrases such as in terms of , with a mind to , on the subject of , as to whether or not , more or less , as far as…is concerned , and similar expressions. You can usually find a more straightforward way to state your point.

Wordy: As a world leader in the field of green technology, the company plans to focus its efforts in the area of geothermal energy.

A report as to whether or not to use geysers as an energy source is in the process of preparation.

Revised: As a world leader in green technology, the company plans to focus on geothermal energy.

A report about using geysers as an energy source is in preparation.

Sentences in the passive voice or with forms of the verb to be . Sentences with passive-voice verbs often create confusion, because the subject of the sentence does not perform an action. Sentences are clearer when the subject of the sentence performs the action and is followed by a strong verb. Use strong active-voice verbs in place of forms of to be , which can lead to wordiness. Avoid passive voice when you can.

Wordy: It might perhaps be said that using a GPS device is something that is a benefit to drivers who have a poor sense of direction.

Revised: Using a GPS device benefits drivers who have a poor sense of direction.

Sentences with constructions that can be shortened.

Wordy: The e-book reader, which is a recent invention, may become as commonplace as the cell phone.

My over-sixty uncle bought an e-book reader, and his wife bought an e-book reader, too.

Revised: The e-book reader, a recent invention, may become as commonplace as the cell phone.

My over-sixty uncle and his wife both bought e-book readers.

Now return once more to the first draft of the essay you have been revising. Check it for unnecessary words. Try making your sentences as concise as they can be.

Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words

Most college essays should be written in formal English suitable for an academic situation. Follow these principles to be sure that your word choice is appropriate. For more information about word choice, see Chapter 4 “Working with Words: Which Word Is Right?” .

• Avoid slang. Find alternatives to bummer , kewl , and rad .
• Avoid language that is overly casual. Write about “men and women” rather than “girls and guys” unless you are trying to create a specific effect. A formal tone calls for formal language.
• Avoid contractions. Use do not in place of don’t , I am in place of I’m , have not in place of haven’t , and so on. Contractions are considered casual speech.
• Avoid clichés. Overused expressions such as green with envy , face the music , better late than never , and similar expressions are empty of meaning and may not appeal to your audience.
• Be careful when you use words that sound alike but have different meanings. Some examples are allusion/illusion , complement/compliment , council/counsel , concurrent/consecutive , founder/flounder , and historic/historical . When in doubt, check a dictionary.
• Choose words with the connotations you want. Choosing a word for its connotations is as important in formal essay writing as it is in all kinds of writing. Compare the positive connotations of the word proud and the negative connotations of arrogant and conceited .
• Use specific words rather than overly general words. Find synonyms for thing , people , nice , good , bad , interesting , and other vague words. Or use specific details to make your exact meaning clear.

Now read the revisions Mariah made to make her third paragraph clearer and more concise. She has already incorporated the changes she made to improve unity and coherence.

1. Answer the following questions about Mariah’s revised paragraph:

2. Now return once more to your essay in progress. Read carefully for problems with word choice. Be sure that your draft is written in formal language and that your word choice is specific and appropriate.

Completing a Peer Review

After working so closely with a piece of writing, writers often need to step back and ask for a more objective reader. What writers most need is feedback from readers who can respond only to the words on the page. When they are ready, writers show their drafts to someone they respect and who can give an honest response about its strengths and weaknesses.

You, too, can ask a peer to read your draft when it is ready. After evaluating the feedback and assessing what is most helpful, the reader’s feedback will help you when you revise your draft. This process is called peer review .

You can work with a partner in your class and identify specific ways to strengthen each other’s essays. Although you may be uncomfortable sharing your writing at first, remember that each writer is working toward the same goal: a final draft that fits the audience and the purpose. Maintaining a positive attitude when providing feedback will put you and your partner at ease. The box that follows provides a useful framework for the peer review session.

Questions for Peer Review

Title of essay: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________

Writer’s name: ____________________________________________

Peer reviewer’s name: _________________________________________

• This essay is about____________________________________________.
• Your main points in this essay are____________________________________________.
• What I most liked about this essay is____________________________________________.

These three points struck me as your strongest:

These places in your essay are not clear to me:

a. Where: ____________________________________________

Needs improvement because__________________________________________

b. Where: ____________________________________________

Needs improvement because ____________________________________________

c. Where: ____________________________________________

The one additional change you could make that would improve this essay significantly is ____________________________________________.

One of the reasons why word-processing programs build in a reviewing feature is that workgroups have become a common feature in many businesses. Writing is often collaborative, and the members of a workgroup and their supervisors often critique group members’ work and offer feedback that will lead to a better final product.

Exchange essays with a classmate and complete a peer review of each other’s draft in progress. Remember to give positive feedback and to be courteous and polite in your responses. Focus on providing one positive comment and one question for more information to the author.

Using Feedback Objectively

The purpose of peer feedback is to receive constructive criticism of your essay. Your peer reviewer is your first real audience, and you have the opportunity to learn what confuses and delights a reader so that you can improve your work before sharing the final draft with a wider audience (or your intended audience).

It may not be necessary to incorporate every recommendation your peer reviewer makes. However, if you start to observe a pattern in the responses you receive from peer reviewers, you might want to take that feedback into consideration in future assignments. For example, if you read consistent comments about a need for more research, then you may want to consider including more research in future assignments.

Using Feedback from Multiple Sources

You might get feedback from more than one reader as you share different stages of your revised draft. In this situation, you may receive feedback from readers who do not understand the assignment or who lack your involvement with and enthusiasm for it.

You need to evaluate the responses you receive according to two important criteria:

• Determine if the feedback supports the purpose of the assignment.
• Determine if the suggested revisions are appropriate to the audience.

Then, using these standards, accept or reject revision feedback.

Work with two partners. Go back to Note 8.81 “Exercise 4” in this lesson and compare your responses to Activity A, about Mariah’s paragraph, with your partners’. Recall Mariah’s purpose for writing and her audience. Then, working individually, list where you agree and where you disagree about revision needs.

Editing Your Draft

If you have been incorporating each set of revisions as Mariah has, you have produced multiple drafts of your writing. So far, all your changes have been content changes. Perhaps with the help of peer feedback, you have made sure that you sufficiently supported your ideas. You have checked for problems with unity and coherence. You have examined your essay for word choice, revising to cut unnecessary words and to replace weak wording with specific and appropriate wording.

The next step after revising the content is editing. When you edit, you examine the surface features of your text. You examine your spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation. You also make sure you use the proper format when creating your finished assignment.

Editing often takes time. Budgeting time into the writing process allows you to complete additional edits after revising. Editing and proofreading your writing helps you create a finished work that represents your best efforts. Here are a few more tips to remember about your readers:

• Readers do not notice correct spelling, but they do notice misspellings.
• Readers look past your sentences to get to your ideas—unless the sentences are awkward, poorly constructed, and frustrating to read.
• Readers notice when every sentence has the same rhythm as every other sentence, with no variety.
• Readers do not cheer when you use there , their , and they’re correctly, but they notice when you do not.
• Readers will notice the care with which you handled your assignment and your attention to detail in the delivery of an error-free document..

The first section of this book offers a useful review of grammar, mechanics, and usage. Use it to help you eliminate major errors in your writing and refine your understanding of the conventions of language. Do not hesitate to ask for help, too, from peer tutors in your academic department or in the college’s writing lab. In the meantime, use the checklist to help you edit your writing.

Editing Your Writing

• Are some sentences actually sentence fragments?
• Are some sentences run-on sentences? How can I correct them?
• Do some sentences need conjunctions between independent clauses?
• Does every verb agree with its subject?
• Is every verb in the correct tense?
• Are tense forms, especially for irregular verbs, written correctly?
• Have I used subject, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?
• Have I used who and whom correctly?
• Is the antecedent of every pronoun clear?
• Do all personal pronouns agree with their antecedents?
• Have I used the correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?
• Is it clear which word a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?

Sentence Structure

• Are all my sentences simple sentences, or do I vary my sentence structure?
• Have I chosen the best coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to join clauses?
• Have I created long, overpacked sentences that should be shortened for clarity?
• Do I see any mistakes in parallel structure?

Punctuation

• Does every sentence end with the correct end punctuation?
• Can I justify the use of every exclamation point?
• Have I used apostrophes correctly to write all singular and plural possessive forms?
• Have I used quotation marks correctly?

Mechanics and Usage

• Can I find any spelling errors? How can I correct them?
• Have I used capital letters where they are needed?
• Have I written abbreviations, where allowed, correctly?
• Can I find any errors in the use of commonly confused words, such as to / too / two ?

Be careful about relying too much on spelling checkers and grammar checkers. A spelling checker cannot recognize that you meant to write principle but wrote principal instead. A grammar checker often queries constructions that are perfectly correct. The program does not understand your meaning; it makes its check against a general set of formulas that might not apply in each instance. If you use a grammar checker, accept the suggestions that make sense, but consider why the suggestions came up.

Proofreading requires patience; it is very easy to read past a mistake. Set your paper aside for at least a few hours, if not a day or more, so your mind will rest. Some professional proofreaders read a text backward so they can concentrate on spelling and punctuation. Another helpful technique is to slowly read a paper aloud, paying attention to every word, letter, and punctuation mark.

If you need additional proofreading help, ask a reliable friend, a classmate, or a peer tutor to make a final pass on your paper to look for anything you missed.

Remember to use proper format when creating your finished assignment. Sometimes an instructor, a department, or a college will require students to follow specific instructions on titles, margins, page numbers, or the location of the writer’s name. These requirements may be more detailed and rigid for research projects and term papers, which often observe the American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association (MLA) style guides, especially when citations of sources are included.

To ensure the format is correct and follows any specific instructions, make a final check before you submit an assignment.

With the help of the checklist, edit and proofread your essay.

Key Takeaways

• Revising and editing are the stages of the writing process in which you improve your work before producing a final draft.
• During revising, you add, cut, move, or change information in order to improve content.
• During editing, you take a second look at the words and sentences you used to express your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
• Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong together and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense.
• Coherence in writing means that the writer’s wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and between paragraphs.
• Transitional words and phrases effectively make writing more coherent.
• Writing should be clear and concise, with no unnecessary words.
• Effective formal writing uses specific, appropriate words and avoids slang, contractions, clichés, and overly general words.
• Peer reviews, done properly, can give writers objective feedback about their writing. It is the writer’s responsibility to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate only useful feedback.
• Remember to budget time for careful editing and proofreading. Use all available resources, including editing checklists, peer editing, and your institution’s writing lab, to improve your editing skills.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Editing, Revision, and Proofreading: What is the Difference?

Spelling and grammar check, outlining as a revision step, editing and proofreading, proofreading suggestions, proofreading to eliminate first and second person pronouns, removing "you" from scholarly writing.

As student authors, we are typically asked to revise, edit, and proofread our writing assignments. Although these terms are sometimes used inter-changeably, there are some subtle differences. 

The resources on this page will help you understand the differences between these important stages in writing. 

1. Revising: In a sense, every time you open a document and continue working on it, you are in the process of revising it. Thus, there a number of revisions made during every writing project (or at least there should be). We always want to leave ample time to make numerous revisions to our work.  Revisions should occur after you submit a project to a professor and/or peer advisor for review and receive feedback.  Revising includes changing the structure of an essay, adding more research when necessary, and even making cuts to a project when sections are off-topic. Revising includes large-scale changes to a project. 

2. Editing: An editor--whether a peer or someone working at a publication--typically suggests changes that an author should make. This stage is quite similar to revision, but whereas revision can occur during multiple stages of writing, you don't typically edit something until you have a full draft complete. Again, editing may include substantial changes to a project (not small typos, but large structural changes). 

3. Proofreading: The term proofreading suggests that a writer has fine-tuned the organization, structure, and major discussion present in the writing project and is now reviewing the essay for very small errors such as missing punctuation, incorrect spelling or poor choices in punctuation. Proofreading is typically the  final stage of the writing process and occurs before a project is submitted. This means the essay is essentially complete with the exception of needing a few small changes.

PRO-TIP: Always allow ample time for proofreading. It is very helpful to finish a writing project, step away from it, and come back to review it the next day. Editors call this putting a fresh set of eyes on the project, and it helps. Beginning the proofreading process too close to  when the project is submitted is never a good idea. 

In life, there are times when you wish you could have "do-overs."  Writing provides that opportunity. Please keep the following ideas in mind:

• The first draft is not the final draft.
• Many view writing as a continual process, one that sometimes is recursive as opposed to linear.
• You may go back and change a sentence or a paragraph when you have written only a page. 
• You may find yourself deleting full paragraphs or pages once you have completed a draft, going back to change the content or organization. 
• You may discover you have written sections of your essay that are off topic. If so, remove these from your essay, and copy and paste them into a new document. You may be able to use this "off-topic" idea in the future for a different writing assignment. 
• Most writing professional writing projects include numerous rounds of editing and revision. Engaging in revision will prepare you for work in the professional world. 
• Revising for Cohesion
• Steps for Revising Your Paper
• Revising for Concision

Outlining Basics:

Many will associate outlining with the planning/invention phase of writing, however, outlining also can prove to be an effective tool when revising your writing. You may consider preparing an outline of your draft by following these directions: 

• Include each topic sentence for each paragraph in the outline.
• As you review your paragraphs, think about whether you have introduced new topics within the paragraph.
• As you develop your outline, question your organization.
• View outlining post-writing as an opportunity to review your content and organization.
• Reverse Outlining
• Steps for Editing and Proofreading Here are some handy resources to lead you through editing and proofreading your essay.
• As the process of revising nears an end, and you are happy with the content, organization, and unity of your essay, you want to begin proofreading. 
• Read your writing closely, or possibly have others read your writing, to ensure that English usage issues including grammar, spelling, and punctuation are resolved.
• Many writers find it helpful to read their paper out loud. This helps to discover errors and mistakes. Microsoft Word and other word processing programs also feature a READ ALOUD function. This can be an incredibly helpful mode of reviewing your work.
• Print out a hard copy of your writing project so you can look for errors and make notations. 
• Share your project with a friend, classmate, or family member.
• Become familiar with the type of grammar errors you frequently make. Research what these errors are and how to remedy them.
• Some instructors suggest you re-read your essay from the last page to the first, arguing that reading the essay out of order will provide new insights. 
• Though the professional tutors are baker.mywcoline.com are not proof-readers, they can provide meaningful and helpful ideas for revision.
• As you proofread, review the assignment directions as well as rubric to make sure you have not forgotten any important components. 
• Finding Common Errors

Many students ask if it is acceptable to use first-person phrases in their scholarly writing projects. This includes using phrases such as "I think," "I believe," or "I found an article that says..." and so on. 

• Though the use of such first-person phrasing is not grammatically incorrect, it is not necessary and does not follow the tone or generic rules of academic writing.
• Most of the time, such a phrase can be eliminated from a sentence and it will not impact the meaning. Consider these two examples. 

1. I find that time management is an issue many students struggle with. 

2. Time management is an issue that many students struggle with. 

• You can see that removing this first person phrase does not impact the meaning. The essay or writing project has your name on it, so it is clear that the ideas in it are yours!
• We also do not include first person phrases about how we discovered a source or article. This is not proper for the genre. (Again, it is implied that you found the research. You do not need extra wording to explain how or when this occurred). 

Many times during conversations, speakers will use the word "you" as a subject, when in fact, they are referring to large group of people, or perhaps, herself or himself. Though the use of the word you in scholarly writing is not grammatically incorrect, it is also not an acceptable to use "you" as a subject when writing an essay or other formal writing project.

• Using "you" indicates that the author can see into the mind of the reader(s) and that is not possible. The use of "you" also makes assumptions about the readers. 
• Typically, it is quite easy to change the second-person subject to a more neutral third-person subject like people, students, etc. See the following examples:

1. When you skip classes in high school you can really damage your grade.

2. When students skip classes in high school it can damage their grade. 

• Taking out the second person pronoun you and replacing it does not impact the meaning. 
• For more information on removing "you" from scholarly writing, see the link below.
• Removing "You" From Scholarly Writing This source includes a variety of videos and resources about removing the second person from scholarly writing.
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Engineering Communication Program

Revising, Editing and Proofreading

Many students don’t differentiate between Revising, Editing, and Proofreading. What’s the difference?

Revision involves analyzing the global level and paragraph level organization of the document, and making changes to your draft on a global, paragraph, and sentence level to ensure that:

• The document addresses its purpose
• The document supports any claims its makes (main claims and secondary claims)
• The structure of the document is logical and supports the purpose and main claims

Editing involves looking at each sentence carefully, and making sure that it’s well designed and serves its purpose.

Proofreading involves checking for grammatical and punctuation errors, spelling mistakes, etc. Proofing is the final stage of the writing process.

A. Revision

During revision, take the following steps:

1. Confirming Purpose and Main Claim: The first step in the revision process is to confirm that the draft actually serves the purpose outlined in the introduction. In case the paper hasn’t done so, you need to either revise your purpose, or revise the paper so that it addresses the purpose. While this may seem straightforward, it is very possible for goals to change during the writing process.

If your paper is persuasive, then your paper will likely also have a main claim. For example, if your purpose is to recommend a solution to a given problem, then your main claim will be to follow recommendations A, B, and C. Even if your goal is simply to evaluate several options, you will be making claims about each of those options (i.e. one is best, or that there are certain advantages/disadvantages to each option). During the revision process, ensure that your main claim is clearly stated in the paper (usually at the end) and that the paper supports that main claim adequately. Each section of the paper should be doing something to support this claim.

2. Identifying and Checking Support for Major Claims: The main claim of the paper will be supported by sub-claims; these will need to be adequately supported as well. Ensure that you’ve provided sufficient supporting data (your own or from others) and explained how that information supports your claims. For example, if your paper recommends a solution (its main claim), one supporting claim would be that Solution X has certain benefits. In order for that supporting claim to be warranted, you would have to provide sources or data from your own work that confirm those benefits.

3. Check Against Your Outline: Begin the revision process by comparing your first draft to your outline, and asking the following questions:

• Does your draft match your outline?
• If not, why not? Is your revision to the outline warranted, or would your original structure be better?
• Where are the gaps in information in your draft; where might you have to add more information? What information is unnecessary, or tangential?

After this stage, you may choose to move sections around, add or subtract information. Essentially, you’re re-evaluating your original outline from a different perspective (after you’ve written the draft).

4. Identify and Evaluate Transitional Strategies: Transitions are the points at which we move between ideas in writing. They play a particularly important role in between sections and paragraphs, but operate within paragraphs as well. At each section break in your outline, you should be able to identify a transition strategy. Some transitional strategies include:

• Logical: the last idea of the previous section/paragraph is the first idea of the next
• Phrasal: using explicit wording to create a shift in writing/develop a relationship between the ideas in the previous and next sections/paragraphs
• Structural: Using similar sentence structure to create a relationship between
• Verbal: Using key words to establish a relationship between sections/paragraphs

Checking for transitions is a way to evaluate ‘flow’ or coherence of a document. A transitional strategy is effective when it helps create coherence in a document – when it helps clarify the relationships between ideas in a piece of writing.

5. Checking on a Paragraph Level: With each paragraph, you should be able to:

• Easily identify a prominent and accurate topic sentence (near the beginning)
• Identify the paragraph’s role in its section and in the document as a whole
• Identify an organizational strategy or structure that the paragraph uses to accomplish its purpose; assess whether or not that structure is an efficient one, or if there may be a better structure (See Writing Process / Rhetorical Patterns )

You can begin the process of editing after you’re satisfied with the structure, content, and coherence of your document (as a whole and in specific parts).

Editing and proofing both focus on the sentence level. Editing is different from proofreading because it involves questioning and analyzing sentences, whereas proofreading only involves checking them for error. When editing:

• Read each sentence carefully and identify its function in the paragraph; ask yourself how you might redesign the sentence to more effectively accomplish that goal
• Analyze the sentences that precede and follow the sentence you’re focusing on. Are the connections between these sentences clear, or do you need to insert transitions between them?
• Evaluate the design of each individual sentence; in doing so, employ the following principles:

1. Manage Sentence Length: Short sentences clearly communicate individual ideas, but often leave connections between them unmade. Long sentences make connections between ideas, but can obscure individual ideas. Vary sentence lengths according to needs of section.

2. Strengthen the Grammatical Core of the sentence (Subject-Verb-Object): The subject (actor), the verb (action), and the object (what the actor performs the action on) constitute the grammatical core of the sentence, but the real subject, verb and object is often buried by complex or elaborate sentence structures. Whenever possible:

• Elevate the verb, so that the real action of the verb occupies the role of verb in the sentence (especially in passive voice).
• Find the real subject (the thing actually performing the verb), and allow it to occupy this role in the sentence

Evaluation of the material was performed on the basis of strength, flexibility, and cost.

In the above sentence, the ‘real action’ is evaluation, but it appears in the form of a noun here. The real subject of the sentence – the person(s) doing the evaluating – are the researchers, but they don’t appear in the sentence at all. A revision which fixes both problems might look like the below.

We evaluated the material of the basis of strength, flexibility, and cost.

• Position the verb closer to the beginning of the sentence, because the verb is key to reader’s ability to process information

The influence of physiochemical properties of microbial floc, namely extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and hydrophobicity, on ultraviolet (UV) disinfection of sequencing batch reactor effluent was studied.

In the above example, the verb doesn’t arrive until the end of the sentence. That means that readers need to store three lines of information in memory until they get to this verb, which gives them the information needed to process the long noun phrase.

This thesis studies the influence of physiochemical properties of microbial floc, namely extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and hydrophobicity, on ultraviolet (UV) disinfection of sequencing batch reactor effluent.

3. The ASAP Principle: Avoid elaborate sentence structure, unless necessary. Good technical writing is always ‘As Short as Possible,’ while containing the necessary amount of detail. Cut away unnecessary phrasing whenever possible.

It is evident that this thesis provides a foundation from which engineers may astutely intervene for the betterment of the circuit board manufacturing process

Yikes! If it’s evident, then you don’t need to say it. And ‘astutely intervene for the betterment’ of? What about:

This thesis provides a foundation for improving the circuit board manufacturing process.

C. Proofreading

When proofreading, you may want to try the following strategies.

• Read each sentence aloud as you visually inspect the spelling and sentence structure; sometimes, reading the sentence aloud will allow you to spot mistakes that your eye can’t always see
• Allow enough time for several close readings of the text, with some break time in between to give you a fresh perspective on your document
• Ask friends to read over your work to check for errors as an additional strategy; sometimes, outside readers can spot errors that the writer can miss. However, don’t rely on this as a primary proofing strategy: your proofreader doesn’t have anything invested in your report. You do, and are the one ultimately responsible for errors
• Don’t rely on your computer’s spell check to correct all the spelling errors for you. Why?
• Because Canadian and British spelling standards are different from American ones (standard on most spell checkers)
• Because when you intend to sue ‘through,’ but forget the letter ‘r,’ your spell check will not register an error. (Can you see another small mistake in the above sentence that wouldn’t register? ‘Use,’ misspelled as ‘sue’)
• Because the spell checker cannot ensure that the correct ending (agreement) has been used. ‘We ends the paper by . . .’ doesn’t register a spelling error, but ‘ends’ should be ‘end.’
• And finally, because spell checkers often do not account for many of the specialized terms that are commonplace in engineering contexts – the spell check will identify many technical terms as errors simply because they are not in its dictionary
• Don’t rely on your grammar checker to correct all of the grammatical errors for you. Why?
• Because the rules implemented in the grammar checkers are rudimentary and simple, and don’t always allow for complex sentence structures. They may identify errors where there are none
• They often don’t catch simple and straightforward errors, such as the ‘We ends’ example above (no error was reported by Microsoft Word)
• Their suggestions will often substantially change the meaning of the sentences

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Writing Help

• Writing Process
• Key Components of an Essay
• Paragraph Structure
• Paraphrase, Summarize, and Synthesize
• Writing Genres
• Sentence Structure
• Punctuation and Grammar
• Using Bias-Free Language

Editing, Revision, and Proofreading: What is the Difference?

Outlining as a revision step, editing and proofreading, proofreading suggestions.

• Mastering the Literature Review This link opens in a new window
• Annotated Bibliography
• Help This link opens in a new window

As student authors, we are typically asked to revise, edit, and proofread our writing assignments. Although these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there are some subtle differences. 

The resources on this page will help you understand the differences between these important stages in writing. 

1. Revising: In a sense, every time you open a document and continue working on it, you are in the process of revising it. Thus, there are several revisions made during every writing project (or at least there should be). We always want to leave ample time to make numerous revisions to our work.  Revisions should occur after you submit a project to a professor and/or peer advisor for review and receive feedback.  Revising includes changing the structure of an essay, adding more research when necessary, and even making cuts to a project when sections are off-topic. Revising includes large-scale changes to a project. 

2. Editing: An editor--whether a peer or someone working at a publication--typically suggests changes that an author should make. This stage is quite similar to revision, but whereas revision can occur during multiple stages of writing, you don't typically edit something until you have a full draft complete. Again, editing may include substantial changes to a project (not small typos, but large structural changes). 

3. Proofreading: The term proofreading suggests that a writer has fine-tuned the organization, structure, and major discussion present in the writing project and is now reviewing the essay for very small errors such as missing punctuation, incorrect spelling, or poor choices in punctuation. Proofreading is typically the final stage of the writing process and occurs before a project is submitted. This means the essay is essentially complete except for needing a few small changes.

PRO-TIP: Always allow ample time for proofreading. It is very helpful to finish a writing project, step away from it, and come back to review it the next day. Editors call this putting a fresh set of eyes on the project, and it helps. Beginning the proofreading process too close to when the project is submitted is never a good idea. 

In life, there are times when you wish you could have "do-overs."  Writing provides that opportunity. Please keep the following ideas in mind:

• The first draft is not the final draft.
• Many view writing as a continual process--one that sometimes is recursive as opposed to linear.
• You may go back and change a sentence or a paragraph when you have written only a page. 
• You may find yourself deleting full paragraphs or pages once you have completed a draft and going back to change the content or organization. 
• You may discover you have written sections of your essay that are off-topic. If so, remove these from your essay and copy and paste them into a new document. You may be able to use this "off-topic" idea in the future for a different writing assignment. 
• Most professional writing projects include numerous rounds of editing and revision. Engaging in revision will prepare you for work in the professional world. 
• Revising for Cohesion
• Steps for Revising your Paper
• Revising for Concision

Outlining Basics:

Many will associate outlining with the planning/invention phase of writing, however, outlining also can prove to be an effective tool when revising your writing. You may consider preparing an outline of your draft by following these directions: 

• Include each topic sentence for each paragraph in the outline.
• As you review your paragraphs, think about whether you have introduced new topics within the paragraph.
• As you develop your outline, question your organization.
• View outlining post-writing as an opportunity to review your content and organization.
• Reverse Outlining
• Steps for Editing and Proofreading Here are some handy resources to lead you through editing and proofreading your essay.
• As the process of revising nears an end, and you are happy with the content, organization, and unity of your essay, you want to begin proofreading. 
• Read your writing closely, or possibly have others read your writing, to ensure that English usage issues including grammar, spelling, and punctuation are resolved.
• Many writers find it helpful to read their papers out loud. This helps to discover errors and mistakes. Microsoft Word and other word processing programs also feature a READ ALOUD function. This can be an incredibly helpful mode of reviewing your work.
• Print out a hard copy of your writing project so you can look for errors and make notations. 
• Share your project with a friend, classmate, or family member.
• Become familiar with the type of grammar errors you frequently make. Research what these errors are and how to remedy them.
• Some instructors suggest you re-read your essay from the last page to the first, arguing that reading the essay out of order will provide new insights. 
• As you proofread, review the assignment directions as well as the rubric to make sure you have not forgotten any important components. 
• Finding Common Errors
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• Next: Mastering the Literature Review >>
• Last Updated: Nov 30, 2023 1:00 PM
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The Admissions Strategist

Revising, editing & proofreading your college application essay: a guide.

Although it’s only 650 words , writing the Common App essay is a long and in-depth process.

That’s because these 650 words can have a major impact on whether or not you are accepted to the college of your choice.

The essay gives admissions officers insight into your personality, goals, and interests, plus an idea of how you will fit into and contribute to their college campus.

• For these reasons, revising and editing is an essential step in the college essay writing process. You want your essay to be clear, concise, engaging, and polished.

To accomplish this goal, use this checklist for revising and editing the college application essay.

11-Item Checklist

Revising means improving the overall piece of writing.

This includes enhancing clarity, word choice, and structure.

It may also mean adding new ideas, improving current ideas, or removing ideas that are unnecessary or off-topic.

When it comes to revising the college application essay, here are some items you should consider.

1. Does the essay clearly address the selected topic or prompt?

It’s very important that your college application essay fully addresses the topic you selected or were assigned.

This is the foundation of college essay revisions; nothing else matters if you don’t address the topic correctly.

For example, imagine you selected this prompt from the Common Application:

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

First, make sure that your essay is directly related to the selected topic. It should be focused on a challenge or failure you have experienced and the lessons you learned as a result.

Additionally, ensure that you answered all parts of the question.

• An essay addressing this prompt, for example, would not be fully on topic if it only described a challenge you experienced.
• You must also explain how this challenge affected you and what you learned from the experience.
• Key words from the prompt (in this case “challenge,” or “setback,” and “lessons”) should be mentioned in the essay.

If your essay is off-topic or doesn’t address all parts of the question, you will need to do some revising.

You want to check the soundness of your essay and how it expands on the topic and conflict during the  first draft revision .

The first draft is where you’ll make major changes, such as changing the structure, shifting the focus on the story, rewriting entire paragraphs, or even scrapping the entire essay.

2. Is the college essay well-organized?

The first paragraph of your essay should include some sort of thesis or main idea for the essay.

The rest of the essay should be organized around this thesis, with all additional paragraphs developing and supporting the main idea.

Each paragraph should also have its own subtopic, and all information within each paragraph should further develop and support the subtopic.

• For example, your introduction could mention a challenge (like being bullied growing up as a result of a speech impediment), how this challenge affected you (it was hurtful and made you self-conscious for a while), and the lessons you ultimately learned (to be confident in yourself regardless of what others say, to handle hardships with humor and positivity, etc.).

You could then have one paragraph focused on describing the challenge, one on discussing how the challenge affected you, and a third, longer paragraph explaining the lessons you learned as a result.

• You should also use transitions to smoothly connect ideas and help readers follow your thought process.

It’s important to note that an essay with a complex structure or storytelling arc still needs to have an effective and clear payoff. Complexity is no substitute for solid writing.

• If you think the story and its message are becoming too convoluted, chances are that it is. And if you already think it is, then your readers would definitely agree.

While there’s no need to write a five-paragraph essay (I really mean that), the following structure will help you write a clear essay with an easy-to-follow structure:

• Introduction (Keep this short and sweet; don’t get bogged down with the details.)
• Conflict (What happened? What’s the problem?)
• Solution (What did you do to proactively solve the problem?)
• Lessons learned (What did you learn from pursuing a solution or experiencing this conflict? How have your values changed? How have these changes shifted your perspective? How will you change moving forward?

3. Supporting details, examples & anecdotes

Each paragraph should be well-developed with specific details, examples, or anecdotes supporting your point.

The college essay is not the same as a typical academic essay, which may be dry and lacking in personality.

Instead, the college essay is intended to demonstrate your voice, personality, and uniqueness. It should be engaging and colorful.

• You should include vivid, specific details to bring your points to life.
• In this way, a college essay is similar to a more creative piece of writing.
• As you and your parents or high school counselor look over the first draft of it, find places to add colorful examples and concrete details to breathe some more life into your writing.

Make sure all details and examples help support and develop the main points you are trying to convey.

Having trouble coming up with details? Think of the following:

• Who was involved?
• What happened? What did you do?
• When did this occur? Is there an important chronological context?
• Where did this occur? Is the setting relevant to the story?
• Why did this happen? Why did you react or act the way you did?
• How did you go about solving this problem?

Important : There’s an important principle in writing called “Chekhov’s gun” – use this principle when evaluating whether details are relevant to your essay. So, what is Chekhov’s gun?

• If you’re going to mention something in your college essay, make sure it plays a role somewhere else in the story.
• Don’t describe the color of the sky and the sound of an instrument if they aren’t mentioned again in the essay or don’t influence the plot.
• If you describe a bully as “strong” or a problem as “habitual,” the conflict each is a part of should be influenced by the strength of the bully or repetition of the problem.

Chekhov’s gun is critical because it will help you trim word count and stay on message.

4. Voice & Personality

Another way to make the essay interesting and engaging is to ensure that it is written in your own unique voice .

• Of course, the essay shouldn’t include slang, and it shouldn’t read like a text message to your best friend. But it also shouldn’t sound stiff, forced, or unnatural.

It should read almost as if you are talking to a teacher you feel comfortable with, or to a favorite older relative.

• When revising the essay, make sure you didn’t include too many high-level vocabulary words in an effort to sound intellectual, as this can sound forced.
• You can even read the essay aloud to see if it flows naturally and “sounds” like you.

The essay should also give the admissions officer a glimpse of your personality.

• Does the essay accurately portray who you are beyond your GPA, SAT scores, and extracurricular activities?
• If not, spend some time making sure it captures your unique identity.

This is the climax of the entire process of the revisions process — your own voice, perspective, and lessons learned are the most important elements of the essay.

5. A Good Candidate for Admission

Remember that another key purpose of the college essay is to show your school of choice that you are a strong candidate for admission.

When reading your essay, the admissions officer should form an understanding of what you can contribute to a college campus.

Be sure that your essay paints you in a positive light.

The rest of your application has already provided information about your GPA, SAT scores, and other accomplishments, but what else should admissions officers know about you to see that you are a good candidate for admission?

• This could include your love of learning, curiosity, persistence, motivation, resilience, teamwork, kindness, work ethic, enthusiasm for the school, leadership abilities, etc.

Before you submit the essay, check that it highlights some of the qualities that will make you an excellent college student and an asset to any campus.

Also, consider sharing it with one or two friends or trusted adults to get a second opinion.

This is the Barebones Exercise, a helpful exercise to determine whether you told an effective story and demonstrated your personality, values, and themes:

• Grab a highlighter and print your college essay.
• Highlight the most important sentences of your essay. These sentences should include topic sentences, sentences that propel the story, and sentences that imply or state your values.
• Write or copy and paste those highlighted sentences into a new document.
• Organize the sentences by the order in which they appear in your college essay.
• Read the sentences in order. How does it sound?
• This is the barebones version of your essay. What message are you getting? Is your simplified story still a cohesive narrative?
• Does this barebones version of your essay still imply or state the newfound values found in the conclusion of your original essay? What will the college admissions officer learn about you?

All told, you want this barebones version to emit the same messages and important elements found in your real college essay.

The barebones version helps you momentarily remove complementary details and determine the central premise of your essay.

6. Do you stick to the topic?

We already talked about addressing the topic, but it’s important that you stick to it as well. Check the essay for any information that is off-topic or unnecessary.

• During the entire revision process, it’s important to keep this in mind: Do you stay on topic, and do you extrapolate values as the essay progresses?

An easy way to do this is to identify your thesis statement. Anything in the essay that does not support, develop, or relate to the thesis statement should be cut.

• It can be tempting to include unrelated information that you would like to share with admissions officers, but doing so will make the essay disorganized and difficult to follow.

Additionally, each paragraph should have its own subtopic.

• Anything that doesn’t support, develop, or relate to each paragraph’s topic sentence should also be cut or moved to another, more relevant paragraph.

Use the Barebones Exercise from the previous section. Here’s how it works when checking whether you stuck to your topic:

• Highlight your topic sentences.
• Underline the set-up sentences that immediately follow your topic sentences.
• Highlight your resolution.
• Now, read your highlighted topic sentences.  Ask yourself whether they are properly telling the story.
• Read your set-up sentences that follow your topic sentences.  Do they support the topic sentence or main idea of the story? Are you getting off track? Do you exaggerate or sound overconfident or doubtful? Are you providing unnecessary details? Your words are $100 bills. Spend your money wisely to abide by the word count.
• Read your resolution.  Does it properly end the story in your own image?  Is it a cliché? Are you using pop culture or literary phrases? Too many of these supplant your voice for an artificial one. Are you closing the loop? Open-ended endings are perfectly fine but difficult to execute. Make sure you’re ending the story on your own terms.
• Of course: Did you answer the essay prompt?
• Overall: Are you covering too much ground? If so, rewrite and decrease the scope of the essay. Your job is to write effectively, not compose the next Harry Potter entry.

7. A good mix of short and long sentences

Sentence variety gives writing rhythm and life. It can make essays easier to follow and more engaging.

For these reasons, it’s important that the essay doesn’t include too many short sentences or too many long sentences. Instead, it should include a mix of both.

• Read through your essay to be sure it’s not full of only short, choppy sentences or long sentences with many clauses. Try to add more variety to your sentence lengths before submitting the essay.

Still having trouble? Read your essay aloud by yourself or to a friend and ask how it sounds. Short and choppy? Or smooth and fluid?

Think of your essay as if it were a song. Songs with multiple notes sound far superior to songs with dull, awkward notes.

Editing means fixing basic errors like spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and word usage.

To edit effectively, try reading the essay backward. This helps you focus more on spelling and grammar without being distracted by the ideas in the essay.

Focus on one type of error at a time, and read slowly and carefully, sentence by sentence.

The last four items on our checklist will help you ensure that your college essay is error-free. This is the concluding chapter of the revisions process.

8. Are all words spelled correctly?

Spell check doesn’t catch everything. Homonyms, for example, go unnoticed by spell check.

Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different meanings, like “pair” and “pare,” or “they’re,” “their,” and “there.”

As long as you have spelled the word correctly, spell check won’t notice that the word itself is incorrect.

• The same goes for wrong words, like using “martial” instead of “marital.”
• “My favorite hobby it fishing.”

So relying on spell check could result in you turning in an essay that’s actually full of misspellings and wrong words.

Read carefully through the essay, ensuring that all words are spelled correctly and that you haven’t accidentally used an incorrect word.

9. Proper punctuation & capitalization

Check for proper use of commas, periods, parentheses, question marks, quotation marks and, if applicable, semicolons.

If you’re unsure about punctuation use, see if your English teacher is available to read over the essay and offer some suggestions.

Alternatively, research proper use of punctuation on the Internet or at the library.

• Additionally, the first word in each sentence should be capitalized, along with proper nouns (names of people and places) and the word “I.”
• For the most part, all other words should be lowercase.

Similar to the issue with spelling, programs don’t always notice grammar errors. If grammar and usage aren’t your strengths, you might not realize you’ve written something incorrectly. For example:

“My hard work has positively effected my grades.”

This might be the kind of error many people miss. Do you know the difference between affect and effect?

If not, it’s a good idea to ask someone.

Because grammatical rules can be complicated, it’s better to get help than to risk not using them correctly.

10. Do you abide by the word count?

You need to follow the word count the prompt provides.

• This is non-negotiable.
• Not following the word count implies to college admissions officers that you won’t follow the most basic rules on campus.

At first, your Common App essay should be 800 or 900 words long. Extra details and paragraphs in the preliminary stages are OK.

Now that you like the essence of your college essay, here’s a step-by-step process on trimming word count:

• You can find the most “fat” here because you likely started writing your essay thinking about big ideas.
• That means you tried to explain things and give full but ineffective context to your situation.
• Clichés are usually abundant in this part. Don’t use clichés. You’d be drowning out your writing.
• Be sure to lop off parts that needlessly explain your ending, but be careful not to eliminate useful aspects of your resolution.
• Do you repeat things in different words?
• Do you use clichés?
• Are your quotes of appropriate length?
• Do you overuse aphorisms?
• Are your similes of appropriate length? Do you use too many?
• Are your metaphors of appropriate length? Do you use too many?
• Do you use too many analogies? Are any of them excessively clumsy?
• Are any of them excessively clumsy?
• Are you trying too hard to sound smart?
• Do you use these words in everyday writing? If not, they might not be a good fit for your essay.

11. Sentence Structure

Check that word usage and sentence structure is grammatically correct as well. This includes:

• Subject-verb agreement
• Consistent verb tenses (not switching back and forth between past and present, for example)
• Are there any run-on sentences or sentence fragments?
• Are the antecedents (Ex: my mom, Mr. Hughes) for all pronouns (Ex: she, he) clear, and do pronouns and antecedents agree in number?
• Does the essay include any unnecessary adjectives or adverbs?
• Have you unintentionally left out any words, or included words that should be deleted?

Critical Tips to Help You With Proofreading

After you consult the checklist above, utilize the tips below help you write a stellar and mistake-free essay.

Read Your Essay Aloud

• This is probably the best tip for any piece of writing you plan to show someone, but it’s especially important for the college essay. Most professionals practice reading their work aloud to a small audience or to themselves.
• When you do this, you are far more likely to hear the errors your eyes tend to miss.
• Reading to an audience of one or more people can also be beneficial, because they can catch the errors you didn’t hear.

While reading aloud won’t always help you with typos, it will give you a sense of whether or not your phrasing is awkward, or your sentences are too wordy.

• Simply put, if it doesn’t sound right, it usually isn’t.

Treat reading your college essay aloud like a process. The more you do it, the more chances you have to evaluate particular phrases and sentences.

Proofreading Requires Taking a Step Back

For most writers, time can be incredibly valuable when drafting their work.

Tired eyes often miss simple mistakes, and the more we look at something we have written, the more immune we are to its flaws. That seems counterintuitive, but it’s true.

• There is simply no substitute for taking a break from your writing and coming back to it later.

When you approach your essay with a fresh look, it will seem like a totally new piece of writing. It’s not always the best writing, but that gives you the opportunity to make the necessary changes.  

Print Your Essay

Like taking a break from your work, printing your writing allows you to see it in a completely different way . Most of us are used to only working on a computer, and we rarely print work out to edit.

• However, there is no substitute for marking up your writing with a pencil or pen.

Many people say that when they print out their writing, it seems like someone else wrote it. This is exactly the perspective you need to be a good judge of what’s on the page.

Proofreading With Different Eyes

Having another person proofread your work might not always be your favorite option.

Many of us aren’t very comfortable showing what we’ve written to other people, but having another person edit your work is incredibly helpful.

• This person could be a teacher, friend, or anyone else whose knowledge and writing expertise you trust.
• Y our current or former teachers have the advantage of knowing your writing well, so they are often the best people to consult.

Teachers have likely read many college essays in the past, so they are experts in correcting errors.

While your English teacher might be the obvious choice, consider showing your essay to a college counselor.

They, too, have read many personal essays, and they can help you with any stage of your editing process.

While your teachers know your writing, friends know you personally. They can be the best judges of whether you’re saying something in exactly the right way.

Of course, you are the writer, and it is entirely your choice which suggestions to take or leave, so consider the legitimacy of the advice you get before making any changes.

Save Multiple Drafts

Occasionally, you might proofread your college essay, making some changes to the original document without saving an original. Sometimes, those changes might not be what you want out of a final draft. In writing, it’s always helpful to see where you started.

• If you scrap something, keep the original version so you can remember how you expressed your thinking originally.

Make sure, when saving your drafts, that they are clearly marked to prevent confusion. You don’t want to make the mistake of sending the wrong draft in; there might not be any going back from that step.

Proofread Multiple Times

There is simply no substitute for putting the time and effort in to review your college essay. To maximize your editing skills, you need multiple opportunities to use them. By taking a break, printing your work, or reading aloud, you are automatically providing opportunities for multiple readings. You will probably find that when you do this, you will have opportunities to correct different types of errors. Keep going until your editing is complete.

Create the Ideal Setting

While this may sound obvious, minimizing distractions while proofreading allows for a sharper eye and better-focused attention on your work.

• If you are easily bothered by noise from other people or from music and television, find a quiet place where you can devote all of your attention to the task of editing. If music helps you focus, try that, too.

Editors thrive in the settings that make them feel comfortable and focused, so make sure to find yours.

Advice From a Writing Expert

Amy Ostroth, senior director of communications at Sweet Briar College, has this advice for students:

Proofreading and revising your college application essay — or even essays you might write for class — are important parts of the writing process. I use three strategies when I’m reviewing my own writing. First, read the piece backwards so you won’t be tempted to see what you meant to write instead of what you actually wrote. Second, read the piece out loud to yourself. Third, find a friend or family member and read the piece out loud to them. You’ll catch new things and they’ll be a second set of ears to hear things you might have missed!

Recap: College Essay Revisions, Edits & Proofreading

Plan, write, revise, and edit your college essay using this checklist, and you’ll be able to submit an engaging, precise, and polished final product. These items ensure the entire process of revisions is implemented in an even-keeled manner.

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