Editing for Lower Order Concerns

Estimated Time: 1 hour

Once you have revised your writing for higher-order concerns, it is time to focus on editing for lower-order concerns.

Mindsets, Tactics, and Tools for Editing

When editing, a few mindsets, tactics, and tools can make the process more effective and efficient.

🧠 Mindsets

• Don't get attached to your words.
• Aim to communicate your ideas with as few words as possible.
• Keep the purpose of your writing in mind.

🛠 Tactics and Tools

• Review the Grammar Bootcamp Introduction and all the Grammar Bootcamps to understand how to use grammar and mechanics conventions correctly.
• Remember the 7Cs of Communication!
• Create a checklist for your editing process. See more on this below.
• Create a list of your common errors so you can edit for your known weaknesses. See more on this below.

📺 Watch the following video to get a summary of some useful editing techniques.

Some Common Errors to Look for During Editing

• The common grammar mistakes mentioned in the Grammar Bootcamp Overview:
  • Misused homophones
  • Commonly confused words
  • Sentence fragments
  • Run-on sentences
  • Misplaced or dangling modifiers
  • Missing commas
  • Comma splice
  • Verb tense/form error
  • Apostrophe error
  • Wrong preposition
  • Unclear pronoun
• Awkward construction
  • 📺 Awkward Sentences
• Verb tense shifts
  • 📺 Verb tense shifts
  • 📺 Managing Verb Tense Shifts (Fiction writing example)
  • 📺 Verb tense shift exceptions (Academic writing example)
• Transitions
  • 📺 Missing Transitions
• Redundancy
  • 📺 Redundancy in Writing

Word Choice and Combatting Wordiness

Two other common errors to look for when editing are correcting word choice errors and removing unnecessary words. Managing these will make your writing more clear and concise.

Word Choice Checklist

When selecting a word to use, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the word's connotation (i.e. the feeling that the word evokes) appropriate?
• Is this the best word for my purpose and context?
• Am I trying too hard to impress my reader?
• Do I really know what this word means? Should I look it up?
• Is this the easiest way to write this sentence? How would I say it to someone out loud?
• Is the word too specific? Does it cover all situations that I intend?
• Is the word too vague? Can it be interpreted in ways that I don't intend?
• Am I using any slang words or jargon that make my meaning unclear?

As the video suggests, you should avoid:

• Deadwood - Words and phrases that take up space but add no meaning.
• Utility Words - Filler words that don’t contribute to the meaning of a sentence.
  • Words with imprecise meanings (e.g. factor, aspect)
  • Meaningless adjectives (e.g., good, bad, important)
  • Meaningless adverbs (e.g., basically, quite)
• Circumlocution - Using a roundabout way to say something.
• Wordy Phrases - Using more words in a phrase than necessary.

A simple trick you can use to reduce wordiness is to try removing a word or phrase you think might be wordy. If the meaning of your sentence stays the same without the word or phrase, then you don't need it in your text.

Tone and Style

📖 Read the following section on tone and style

Check Your Understanding: Analyzing Tone

❓ The two examples below are cover letters for job applications. Read through each example and determine if it uses an appropriate tone. Add your thoghts to the padlet below in the appropriate column, with a justification for your decision.

Adapted from Source

Creating an Editing Checklist

Two of the most powerful tactics for editing are to:

1. Create a checklist of your editing steps. Use this checklist when editing to ensure that your process is systematic.
2. Edit for your known weaknesses. Create a list of grammar and mechanics mistakes you know you frequently make. Add these mistakes to your editing checklist so that you can be sure to look for them during your editing process.

Here is an example of what your editing checklist could look like:

• Did I spell-check?
• Did I check homophones? (e.g., to, too, two)
• Did I look up difficult words to ensure I am using them correctly?
• Is the tone of my writing appropriate for my audience and purpose?
• Are all my sentences complete?
• Did I use one verb tense throughout (unless there was a good reason to shift tense)?
• Do I have any run-on sentences or comma splices?
• Am I missing any commas?
• Does my writing flow when read aloud?
• Did I use different sentence lengths and types to make my writing sound interesting?
• Are there any words or phrases that I can remove without altering the meaning of my text?
• Is my punctuation correct through out my writing?

Source

References

Grammarly, Self-Editing Tips.

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Editing and Proofreading

Purdue Online Writing Lab, Verb Tense Consistency