Proofreading and Editing Series

Now that most of the hard work is done for discovering where our weak points reside within our writing, we can press on with learning how to use these findings to assist us.

The process of proofreading and editing, though at times cumbersome, can be streamlined and aided with the help of some tips and tools. The tips will come later, but for now, we're going to create our tool. I'll call this tool your Editing Assistant.

Having a defined checklist can be thought of as having a schedule. In school, the schedule consists of what class comes at what time during the day and where the class may be located. At work, the schedule may consist of when we have a meeting we need to attend or a deadline for having a report completed. It can even be as simple as what time the next break is. The Editing Assistant can be your personal guide to when and how to proofread and edit your writing.

To begin, look through the notes you made from the previous three sessions with regard to your writing. These notes should give you a well-rounded picture of your weakest areas as well as your strongest. Let's say for example that spelling is one of your stronger points in writing. If this were the case, spelling would be one of the last items on your checklist to go over in a piece you've created. There isn't much point in searching your writing first for errors that may not be there, while ignoring or setting aside errors you may make consistently and need your attention. Consistently made errors need your attention before others further down the checklist.

Likewise, the weakest areas are those that should be at or near the top of your list. These are aspects, which need your sharp attention and, as you practice and work with them, will improve and become less of a bother or hindrance to you and your writing.

Here is a view of my personal Editing Assistant so you can get a feel for what I mean:

1. Check for overuse of 'that', 'as', and 'was'; can these be eliminated or changed?

2. Check instances of missing small words within sentences.

3. Check for misuse of commas.

4. Check, check and re-check for typos.

5. Watch for clichés or over used comparisons.

6. Read and re-read for areas to elaborate and include more detail.

7. Watch sentence and paragraph length variations.

Over time, your Editing Assistant checklist will change. As you improve certain aspects of your writing, making fewer 'errors', those aspects will drop farther down the list toward the bottom and, perhaps eventually, drop off the list entirely. Just remember to take your tasks of proofreading and editing slow, level by level, and always be honest with yourself.

Previously in the Series:

Proofreading and Editing Series Part 1

Proofreading and Editing Series Part 2

Proofreading and Editing Series Part 3

Next in the Series:

Proofreading and Editing Series Part 5