Im Sure the Situation Will Come Up Again Considering I Have a Lot of Papers to Write

Chapter 12. Peer Review and Terminal Revisions

12.one Revision

Learning Objectives

• Identify major areas of business in the typhoon essay during revising
• Use peer reviews and checklists to assist revising
• Revise your paper to improve organization and cohesion
• Determine an appropriate fashion and tone for your paper
• Revise to ensure that your tone is consistent
• Revise the outset draft of your essay and produce a concluding draft

Revising and editing are the two tasks yous undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed offset typhoon ways that little comeback is needed. Yet, even experienced writers need to better their drafts and rely on peers during revising and editing. You lot 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 than they practise, the stronger their performance will become. Web designers seek better images, a more than clever design, or a more highly-seasoned background for their web pages. Writing has the same chapters to profit from improvement and revision.

You lot should revise and edit in stages: do not wait to catch everything in one go. If each time you review your essay you focus on a unlike aspect of construction, you volition be more likely to catch any mistakes or identify any bug. Throughout this affiliate, yous volition meet a number of checklists containing specific things to look for with each revision. For example, you will first wait at how the overall paper and your ideas are organized.

In the second section of this affiliate, you will focus more on editing: correcting the mechanical issues. As well at the cease of the affiliate, you will meet a comprehensive but more than general listing of things you should be looking for.

Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing

Revising and editing let you to examine 2 important aspects of your writing separately, so that you tin can give each task your undivided attention.

When you revise , you lot take a second expect at your ideas. Y'all might add, cut, move, or change information in guild to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more than interesting, or more convincing.

When you edit , y'all take a 2nd look at how you expressed your ideas. You add together or change words. You prepare any problems in grammar, punctuation, and judgement construction. You lot meliorate your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature slice of writing, the terminate product of your best efforts.

Tip

How exercise y'all get the all-time out of your revisions and editing? Hither are some strategies that writers have developed to look at their first drafts from a fresh perspective. Effort them throughout the writing process; then keep using the ones that bring results.

Accept a suspension. You are proud of what you wrote, but y'all might exist too close to it to brand changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a twenty-four hour period until you tin can wait at it objectively.

Ask someone y'all trust for feedback and constructive criticism.

Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?

For many people, the wordscritic,critical, andcriticism provoke only negative feelings that brand them chroma, grumble, or shout. Notwithstanding, as a writer and a thinker, you lot need to learn to be critical of yourself in a positive way and have high expectations for your piece of work. You lot also need to train your heart and trust your ability to fix what needs fixing. To practise this, you demand to teach yourself where to look.

Revising Your Paper: Organization , Cohesion , and Unity

When writing a research paper, information technology is easy to become overly focused on editorial details, such as the proper format for bibliographical entries. These details do matter. All the same, before y'all begin to accost them, it is of import to spend fourth dimension reviewing and revising the content of the newspaper.

A good enquiry newspaper is both organized and cohesive.Organization ways that your statement flows logically from one point to the next.Cohesion ways that the elements of your paper piece of work together smoothly and naturally. In a cohesive research paper, information from research is seamlessly integrated with the writer's ideas.

Revise to Ameliorate Organization

When you revise to improve organization, you wait at the flow of ideas throughout the essay as a whole and within individual paragraphs. You check to meet that your essay moves logically from the introduction to the body paragraphs to the conclusion, and that each section reinforces your thesis. Use Checklist 12.1 : Revise for Organization to help yous.

Checklist 12.1 : Revise for Organization

At the essay level

Does my introduction keep clearly from the opening to the thesis?

Does each body paragraph take a articulate primary thought that relates to the thesis?

Do the principal ideas in the body paragraphs flow in a logical order? Is each paragraph connected to the one before it?

Practice I demand to add together or revise topic sentences or transitions to make the overall flow of ideas clearer?

Does my determination summarize my main ideas and revisit my thesis?

At the paragraph level

Does the topic sentence conspicuously country the principal idea?

Do the details in the paragraph chronicle to the main thought?

Do I need to recast any sentences or add transitions to improve the flow of sentences?

Jorge reread his typhoon paragraph by paragraph. As he read, he highlighted the main idea of each paragraph so he could run across whether his ideas proceeded in a logical order. For the most part, the catamenia of ideas was clear. Notwithstanding, he did notice that one paragraph did non take a clear main thought. It interrupted the flow of the writing. During revision, Jorge added a topic sentence that clearly continued the paragraph to the one that had preceded it. He also added transitions to improve the period of ideas from judgement to sentence.

Read the following paragraphs twice, the first time without Jorge's changes, and the second time with them.

Self – practice Exercise 12.1

Follow these steps to brainstorm revising your paper'southward overall organization.

Print out a difficult copy of your paper. (Yous will use this for multiple self-practise exercises in this chapter.)

Read your paper paragraph by paragraph. Highlight your thesis and the topic judgement of each paragraph.

Using the thesis and topic sentences equally starting points, outline the ideas you lot presented—merely equally you lot would do if yous were outlining a affiliate in a textbook. Practise not look at the outline you created during prewriting. You may write in the margins of your draft or create a formal outline on a separate sheet of paper.

Next, reread your newspaper more slowly, looking for how ideas flow from sentence to sentence. Identify places where calculation a transition or recasting a sentence would brand the ideas flow more logically.

Review the topics on your outline. Is there a logical flow of ideas? Identify any places where you may need to reorganize ideas.

Begin to revise your newspaper to amend organization. Start with any major issues, such as needing to move an entire paragraph. Then proceed to minor revisions, such as calculation a transitional phrase or tweaking a topic sentence and so it connects ideas more than conspicuously.

Optional collaboration: P lease share your newspaper with a classmate. Echo the half-dozen steps and have notes on a dissever piece of paper. Share and compare notes.

Tip

Writers choose transitions carefully to prove the relationships between ideas—for instance, to make a comparing or elaborate on a point with examples. Make sure your transitions suit your purpose and avoid overusing the aforementioned ones.

Creating Coherence

Careful writers use transitions to analyze how the ideas in their sentences and paragraphs are related. These words and phrases help the writing period smoothly. Adding transitions is not the merely way to better coherence, but they are oftentimes useful and requite a mature feel to your essays. Earlier chapters accept discussed using transitions for specific purposes in the planning of your writing.Table 12.1: Common Transitional Words and Phrases groups many common transitions co-ordinate to their purpose.

Table 12.1: Mutual Transitional Words and Phrases According to Purpose

Transitions That Bear witness Sequence or Time
later on	earlier	later
afterwards	before long	meanwhile
as before long every bit	finally	next
at first	first, 2nd, 3rd	soon
at last	in the beginning place	and so
Transitions That Bear witness Position
above	across	at the bottom
at the pinnacle	behind	below
beside	beyond	inside
near	next to	opposite
to the left, to the right, to the side	under	where
Transitions That Show a Determination
indeed	hence	in conclusion
in the concluding analysis	therefore	thus
Transitions That Go along a Line of Idea
consequently	furthermore	additionally
because	besides the fact	following this idea farther
in addition	in the same manner	moreover
looking further	because…, it is articulate that
Transitions That Change a Line of Idea
but	yet	nevertheless
nevertheless	on the contrary	on the other hand
Transitions That Show Importance
above all	best	especially
in fact	more important	>most important
most	worst
Transitions That Introduce the Final Thoughts in a Paragraph or Essay
finally	terminal	in conclusion
well-nigh of all	to the lowest degree of all	last of all
All Purpose Transitions to Open Paragraphs or to Connect Ideas Inside Paragraphs
admittedly	at this bespeak	certainly
granted	it is truthful	more often than not speaking
in general	in this situation	no doubt
no one denies	evidently	of form
to exist sure	undoubtedly	unquestionably
Transitions that Introduce Examples
for instance	for instance	such every bit
Transitions That Analyze the Order of Events or Steps
showtime, second, third	more often than not, furthermore, finally	in the get-go place, too, final
in the first place, furthermore, finally	in the first place, likewise, lastly

When Mariah (who you were introduced to in Chapters five and half dozen) revised her essay for unity, she examined her paragraph about televisions to check for coherence. She looked for places where she needed to add a transition or possibly reword the text to brand the period of ideas articulate. In the version that follows, she has already deleted the sentences that were off topic.

Tip

Many writers brand 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.

Self – exercise EXERCISE 12.ii

Respond the following questions nearly Mariah'south revised paragraph.

Practise y'all agree with the transitions and other changes that Mariah fabricated to her paragraph? Which would yous keep and which were unnecessary? Explicate.

What transition words or phrases did Mariah add to her paragraph? Why did she choose each one?

What effect does calculation additional sentences take on the coherence of the paragraph? Explain. When you read both versions aloud, which version has a more than logical menses of ideas? Explicate.

Revise to Improve Cohesion

When you revise to improve cohesion, you analyze how the parts of your newspaper work together. You look for anything that seems awkward or out of identify. Revision may involve deleting unnecessary material or rewriting parts of the paper so that the out of place cloth fits in smoothly.

In a research paper, problems with cohesion normally occur when a writer has trouble integrating source material. If facts or quotations have been awkwardly dropped into a paragraph, they distract or misfile the reader instead of working to support the writer's bespeak. Overusing paraphrased and quoted material has the same effect. Employ Checklist 12.2 : Revise for Cohesion to review your essay for cohesion.

Checklist 12.2 : Revise for Cohesion

Does the opening of the paper clearly connect to the broader topic and thesis? Make sure entertaining quotes or anecdotes serve a purpose.

Have I included support from research for each main bespeak in the body of my paper?

Accept I included introductory material before any quotations? Quotations should never stand lone in a paragraph.

Does paraphrased and quoted material clearly serve to develop my own points?

Do I need to add to or revise parts of the paper to help the reader understand how certain information from a source is relevant?

Are there whatsoever places where I have overused material from sources?

Does my conclusion make sense based on the rest of the newspaper? Make certain any new questions or suggestions in the conclusion are clearly linked to before material.

As Jorge reread his draft, he looked to see how the different pieces fit together to testify his thesis. He realized that some of his supporting data needed to be integrated more carefully and decided to omit some details entirely. Read the following paragraph, first without Jorge's revisions and then with them.

Jorge decided that his comment nigh pizza and birthday cake came beyond as subjective and was non necessary to make his point, so he deleted information technology. He also realized that the quotation at the terminate of the paragraph was awkward and ineffective. How would his readers know who Kwon was or why her opinion should be taken seriously? Adding an introductory phrase helped Jorge integrate this quotation smoothly and establish the credibility of his source.

Self – practice EXERCISE 12.three

Follow these steps to begin revising your paper to improve cohesion.

Impress out a hard copy of your paper, or piece of work with your printout fromSelf – Practice Exercise 12.1.

Read the body paragraphs of your paper get-go. Each fourth dimension you come up to a place that cites data from sources, inquire yourself what purpose this data serves. Bank check that it helps support a betoken and that it is clearly related to the other sentences in the paragraph.

Identify unnecessary information from sources that you can delete.

Place places where yous need to revise your writing so that readers sympathise the significance of the details cited from sources.

Skim the body paragraphs once again, looking for any paragraphs that seem packed with citations. Review these paragraphs carefully for cohesion.

Review your introduction and conclusion. Make sure the information presented works with ideas in the body of the paper.

Revise the places you identified in your newspaper to improve cohesion.

Optional c ollaboration: P lease commutation papers with a classmate. Complete stride 4 . On a separate piece of paper, note whatsoever areas that would benefit from clarification. Return and compare notes.

Writing at Piece of work

Agreement cohesion tin also benefit you in the workplace, peculiarly when you lot accept to write and evangelize a presentation. Speakers sometimes rely on cute graphics or funny quotations to hold their audience'southward attending. If you cull to use these elements, make sure they work well with the substantive content of your presentation. For example, if you are asked to give a financial presentation, and the financial report shows that the company lost money, funny illustrations would not be relevant or appropriate for the presentation.

Tip

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

Creating Unity

Sometimes writers become defenseless up in the moment and cannot resist a adept digression. Even though you lot might relish such detours when yous chat with friends, unplanned digressions ordinarily harm a slice of writing.

Following your outline closely offers y'all a reasonable guarantee that your writing will stay on purpose and not drift abroad from the controlling thought. Nevertheless, when writers are rushed, are tired, or cannot find the right words, their writing may become less than they want it to exist. Their writing may no longer be articulate and concise, and they may add information that is not needed to develop the primary idea.

When a piece of writing hasunity, 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 hascoherence, the ideas flow smoothly. The diction clearly indicates how 1 idea leads to some other within a paragraph and from paragraph to paragraph.

Mariah stayed shut to her outline when she drafted the three body paragraphs of her essay she tentatively titled "Digital Technology: The Newest and the All-time at What Price?" Simply a contempo shopping trip for an HDTV upset her plenty 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 beginning time without Mariah's changes and the second time with them.

Self – practice Practice 12.4

Answer the following two questions about Mariah's paragraph:

Do y'all agree with Mariah's decision to brand the deletions she made? Did she cut too much, too little, or just enough? Explain.

Is the explanation of what screen resolution means a digression? Or is information technology audience friendly and essential to understanding the paragraph? Explain.

Collaboration: P lease share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Now, print out some other copy of your essay or apply the printed version(due south) yous used in Self – Practise Exercises 12.1 and 12.3 . Reread it to notice whatever statements that affect the unity of your writing. Make up one's mind how best to revise.

Tip

When you lot reread your writing to find revisions to brand, await for each blazon of trouble in a split up sweep. Read it direct through once to locate whatever problems with unity. Read it straight through a second fourth dimension to find problems with coherence. You may follow this same practice during many stages of the writing process.

Writing at Work

Many companies hire copy editors and proofreaders to assist them produce the cleanest possible concluding drafts of large writing projects. Copy editors are responsible for suggesting revisions and fashion changes; proofreaders cheque documents for any errors in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation that have crept in. Many times, these tasks are done on a freelance ground, with one freelancer working for a diversity of clients.

Using a Consistent Mode and Tone

Once y'all are certain that the content of your paper fulfills your purpose, you can begin revising to improvemode andtone. Together, your way and tone create the voice of your paper, or how you lot come across to readers. Style refers to the style you use language as a writer—the sentence structures you lot use and the word choices y'all make. Tone is the mental attitude toward your subject and audition that you convey through your discussion choice.

Determining an Advisable Style and Tone

Although accepted writing styles volition vary inside different disciplines, the underlying goal is the same—to come across to your readers equally a knowledgeable, authoritative guide. Writing almost enquiry is like existence a tour guide who walks readers through a topic. A stuffy, overly formal bout guide can make readers feel put off or intimidated. Too much informality or sense of humour tin make readers wonder whether the tour guide actually knows what he or she is talking about. Extreme or emotionally charged language comes across as unbalanced.

To help prevent existence overly formal or informal, decide an appropriate style and tone at the first of the research process. Consider your topic and audition considering these tin help dictate manner and tone. For example, a paper on new breakthroughs in cancer research should be more formal than a paper on ways to become a good dark's slumber.

A strong research paper comes across as straightforward, appropriately bookish, and serious. It is generally best to avoid writing in the first person, as this tin can make your paper seem overly subjective and opinion based. Use Checklist 12.three : Revise for Style to review your paper for other bug that affect style and tone. Yous can check for consistency at the terminate of the writing procedure. Checking for consistency is discussed later in this department.

Checklist 12.3 : Revise for Style

My newspaper avoids excessive wordiness.

My sentences are varied in length and structure.

I have avoided using kickoff person pronouns such as I and we.

I have used the active voice whenever possible.

I have divers specialized terms that might be unfamiliar to readers.

I have used clear, straightforward language whenever possible and avoided unnecessary jargon.

My paper states my point of view using a balanced tone—neither too indecisive nor also forceful.

Word Selection

Note that give-and-take choice is an especially important aspect of mode. In add-on to checking the points noted on Checklist 12.iii, review your paper to brand certain your language is precise, conveys no unintended connotations, and is free of bias. Hither are some of the points to check for:

Vague or imprecise terms

Slang

Repetition of the same phrases ("Smith states…, Jones states…") to introduce quoted and paraphrased material (For a total list of strong verbs to use with in text citations, seeChapter 9: Citations and Referencing.)

Sectional employ of masculine pronouns or awkward use ofhe or she

Utilise of linguistic communication with negative connotations, such equally haughty or ridiculous

Use of outdated or offensive terms to refer to specific ethnic, racial, or religious groups

Tip

Using plural nouns and pronouns or recasting a sentence can assist you lot keep your language gender neutral while avoiding clumsiness. Consider the following examples.

• Gender biased : When a author cites a source in the torso of his paper, he must list it on his references page.
• Awkward : When a author cites a source in the body of his or her paper, he or she must listing information technology on his or her references page.
• Improved : Writers must listing whatsoever sources cited in the body of a paper on the references page.

Keeping Your Style Consequent

Equally y'all revise your newspaper, make sure your manner is consequent throughout. Look for instances where a word, phrase, or sentence does not seem to fit with the rest of the writing. It is best to reread for manner afterward you have completed the other revisions so that you are non distracted by any larger content issues. Revising strategies you can apply include the following:

Read your newspaper aloud. Sometimes your ears grab inconsistencies that your eyes miss.

Share your newspaper with some other reader whom yous trust to give you honest feedback. It is oft difficult to evaluate ane's own style objectively—especially in the final phase of a challenging writing project. Another reader may be more probable to discover instances of wordiness, confusing linguistic communication, or other issues that bear on style and tone.

East dit your paper slowly, sentence by sentence. You may fifty-fifty wish to apply a sheet of paper to cover upwards everything on the page except the paragraph you are editing. This practice forces you to read slowly and carefully. Marking any areas where yous notice problems in manner or tone, and then take time to rework those sections.

On reviewing his paper, Jorge establish that he had generally used an appropriately bookish style and tone. However, he noticed i glaring exception—his beginning paragraph. He realized there were places where his overly informal writing could come up across equally unserious or, worse, disparaging. Revising his word selection and omitting a humorous aside helped Jorge maintain a consequent tone. Read his revisions.

Self – practice Practice 12.5

Using Checklist 12.3 : Revise for Style , revise your paper line by line. You may use either of these techniques:

Print out a hard copy of your paper or work with your printout fromCocky – Practice Exercise 12.1. Read it line by line. Cheque for the issues noted on Checklist 12.3, as well as whatsoever other aspects of your writing style you lot have previously identified every bit areas for improvement. Mark whatsoever areas where yous notice problems in style or tone, then take time to rework those sections.

If you prefer to piece of work with an electronic document, use the carte options in your discussion processing plan to enlarge the text to 150 or 200 per centum of the original size. Make sure the blazon is large enough that y'all can focus on i paragraph at a time. Read the paper line past line as described in step 1. Highlight whatever areas where you notice bug in style or tone, and and so accept time to rework those sections.

Optional c ollaboration: P charter substitution papers with a classmate. On a split up piece of paper, note places where the essay does not seem to flow or you have questions most what was written. Return the essay and compare notes.

Completing a Peer Review

Later working then closely with a piece of writing, writers often need to pace back and enquire for a more objective reader. What writers need most is feedback from readers who can reply just to the words on the page. When they are ready, writers evidence their drafts to someone they respect and who can give an honest response nigh 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'south feedback volition assistance you when you lot revise your draft. This process is calledpeer review.

Y'all tin can piece of work with a partner in your course and identify specific means to strengthen each other'southward essays. Although y'all may be uncomfortable sharing your writing at outset, remember that each writer is working toward the same goal: a last draft that fits the audience and the purpose. Maintaining a positive attitude when providing feedback will put y'all and your partner at ease. The box that follows provides a useful framework for the peer review session.

Questions for Peer Review: Organization, Unity, and Coherence

Title of essay: ____________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________

Writer's name: ____________________________________________

Peer reviewer's name: _________________________________________

This essay is about____________________________________________.

Your main points in this essay are____________________________________________.

What I about liked near this essay is____________________________________________.

These 3 points struck me equally your strongest:

Point: ____________________________________________
Why: ____________________________________________

Signal: ____________________________________________
Why: ____________________________________________

Point: ____________________________________________
Why: ____________________________________________

These places in your essay are not clear to me:

Where: ____________________________________________
Needs improvement because__________________________________________

Where: ____________________________________________
Needs comeback because ____________________________________________

Where: ____________________________________________

Needs comeback because ____________________________________________

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

Writing at Work

Ane of the reasons why give-and-take processing programs build in a reviewing feature is that work groups accept become a common feature in many businesses. Writing is oft collaborative, and the members of a work group and their supervisors often critique group members' piece of work and offer feedback that will pb to a better final product.

Self – exercise EXERCISE 12.six

Exchange essays with a classmate and complete a peer review of each other's draft in progress. Recollect to give positive feedback and to exist courteous and polite in your responses. Focus on providing one positive comment and i question for more than 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 start existent audience, and you lot accept the opportunity to larn what confuses and delights a reader so that you can improve your piece of work before sharing the concluding draft with a wider audience (or your intended audience).

It may not be necessary to incorporate every recommendation your peer reviewer makes. Nonetheless, if yous beginning to observe a pattern in the responses y'all receive from peer reviewers, you might desire to consider that feedback in hereafter assignments. For example, if you read consequent comments about a need for more inquiry, and then you may want to consider including more than enquiry in future assignments.

Using Feedback from Multiple Sources

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

You need to evaluate the responses yous 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.

Self – practice EXERCISE 12.seven

Consider the feedback yous received from the peer review and all of the revision exercises throughout this section. Compile a final draft of your revisions that y'all can use in the next section to complete your final edits.

Cardinal Takeaways

• Revising and editing are the stages of the writing procedure in which you meliorate your work earlier producing a final draft.
• Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong together and are bundled in an order that makes logical sense.
• Coherence in writing means that the writer's wording clearly indicates how ane thought leads to another inside a paragraph and between paragraphs.
• Transitional words and phrases effectively brand writing more coherent.
• Writing should be articulate and curtailed, with no unnecessary words.
• Effective formal writing uses specific, appropriate words and avoids slang, contractions, clichés, and overly full general words.
• Peer reviews, done properly, tin can give writers objective feedback about their writing. It is the writer'south responsibility to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate but useful feedback.

12.2 Editing and Developing a Final Draft of a Research Paper

Learning Objectives

• Edit your paper to ensure that language, citations, and formatting are correct

Given all the time and effort you have put into your research newspaper, you volition desire to brand sure that your terminal typhoon represents your best piece of work. This requires taking the time to revise and edit your newspaper advisedly.

You may feel similar you need a intermission from your newspaper before you lot edit it. That feeling is understandable, so you want to be sure to exit yourself enough fourth dimension to consummate this important stage of the writing process. This department presents a number of opportunities for you to focus on different aspects of the editing process; as with revising a draft, you should arroyo editing in dissimilar stages.

Some of the content in this section may seem repetitive, merely again, it provides you lot with a chance to double-cheque any revisions yous accept made at a detailed level.

Editing Your Draft

If you lot take been incorporating each set of revisions as Mariah and Jorge accept, 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 fabricated sure that you sufficiently supported your ideas. You accept checked for problems with unity and coherence. You have examined your essay for word pick, revising to cut unnecessary words and to supplant weak wording with specific and appropriate diction.

The next footstep later 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 yous use the proper format when creating your finished consignment.

Tip

Editing takes time. Be sure to upkeep time into the writing process to complete additional edits after revising. Editing and proofreading your writing helps you create a finished piece of work that represents your all-time efforts. Here are a few more than tips to remember about your readers:

Readers practise not notice correct spelling, but theydo observe misspellings.

Readers look past your sentences to go to your ideas—unless the sentences are awkward, poorly synthetic, 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 usethere,their, andthey're correctly, but they notice when you lot do not.

Readers will notice the care with which you handled your assignment and your attention to item in the delivery of an mistake-free document.

Being Clear and Concise

Some writers are very methodical and painstaking when they write a showtime draft. Other writers unleash a lot of words in order to become out all that they feel they need to say. Do either of these methods match your manner? Or is your composing style somewhere in betwixt? No thing which clarification all-time fits you, the first draft of well-nigh every slice of writing, no matter its author, tin exist made clearer and more concise.

If you have a tendency to write besides much, you will need to look for unnecessary words. If y'all have a trend to be vague or imprecise in your wording, you will need to observe specific words to supervene upon 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 mutual examples of wordiness to look for in your draft. Eliminating wordiness helps all readers, because it makes your ideas clear, directly, and straightforward.

• Sentences that begin withThere isorThere are
• Wordy . There are two major experiments that the Biological science 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 favour of the proposed important legislation.
• Revised . Ii well-known consumer advocates spoke in favour of the proposed legislation.

Sentences with deadwood phrases that add niggling to the significant. Be judicious when yous use phrases such asin terms of,with a heed to,on the subject of,as to whether or not,more than or less,as far as…is concerned, and similar expressions. You can ordinarily find a more straightforward way to state your point.

• Wordy . As a world leader in the field of green applied science, the company plans to focus its efforts in the area of geothermal energy. A report every bit to whether or not to use geysers as an energy source is in the process of preparation.
• Revised . Equally a earth leader in green technology, the visitor plans to focus on geothermal energy. Researchers are preparing a study about using geysers every bit an free energy source.

Sentences in the passive phonation or with forms of the verbto be : Sentences with passive voice verbs often create confusion because the subject of the sentence does non perform an activeness. Sentences are clearer when the discipline performs the action and is followed past a strong verb. Use strong active voice verbs in place of forms ofto be, which tin lead to wordiness. Avoid passive voice when you tin can.

• Wordy . It might peradventure exist said that using a GPS device is something that is a benefit to drivers who accept a poor sense of management.
• Revised . Using a GPS device benefits drivers who have a poor sense of direction.

Sentences with constructions that can be shortened

• Wordy . The east-book reader, which is a recent invention, may become every bit commonplace as the jail cell telephone. My over-60 uncle bought an e-volume reader, and his wife bought an e-book reader, too.
• Revised . The e-volume reader, a recent invention, may become as commonplace equally the jail cell phone. My over-threescore uncle and his wife both bought e-book readers.

Choosing Specific, Appropriate Words

Most essays at the postal service-secondary level should be written in formal English language suitable for an academic situation. Follow these principles to be sure that your word choice is appropriate. For more information about word choice, seeChapter 2: Working with Words: Which Give-and-take Is Right?

Avert slang . Discover alternatives tobummer,kewl, andrad.

Avert linguistic communication that is overly casual . Write most "men and women" rather than "girls and guys" unless you are trying to create a specific issue. A formal tone calls for formal language.

Avoid contractions . Usedo not in place ofdon't,I am in place ofI'k,have not in identify ofhaven't, and and then on. Contractions are considered coincidental speech.

Avoid clichés . Overused expressions such asgreen with green-eyed,face the music,improve late than never, and similar expressions are empty of meaning and may not appeal to your audience.

Be conscientious when you use words that audio alike but have unlike meanings . Some examples areinnuendo/illusion; complement/compliment; council/counsel; concurrent/sequent; founder/flounder; and historic/historical. When in doubt, bank check a dictionary.

Choose words with the connotations y'all want . Choosing a discussion for its connotations is equally important in formal essay writing as information technology is in all kinds of writing. Compare the positive connotations of the wordproud and the negative connotations ofarrogant andconceited.

Utilize specific words rather than overly general words . Find synonyms foraffair,people,nice,good,bad,interesting, and other vague words. Or utilise specific details to make your verbal significant clear.

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

Self – practice Practise 12.eight

Respond the post-obit questions nigh Mariah's revised paragraph:

Read the unrevised and the revised paragraphs aloud. Explain in your own words how changes in give-and-take pick take afflicted Mariah's writing.

Exercise you hold with the changes that Mariah made to her paragraph? Which changes would you keep and which were unnecessary? Explain. What other changes would yous have made?

What effect does removing contractions and the pronoun ^{you lot} have on the tone of the paragraph? How would you characterize the tone now? Why?

Now return once again to your essay in progress. Read advisedly for problems with word choice. Exist certain that your draft is written in formal language and that your discussion option is specific and appropriate.

Self – do Practise 12.nine

R eturn over again to the first draft of the essay you have been revising. Cheque information technology for unnecessary words.

Effort making your sentences as curtailed as they can exist.

Brief Punctuation Review

Throughout this book, you have been presented with a number of tables containing transitional words. Table 12.2: Punctuating Transitional Words and Phrases shows many of the transition words you have seen organized into different categories to help you know how to punctuate with each 1.

Table 12.2: Punctuating Transitional Words and Phrases

Joining Independent Clauses (coordination)
2 IND	Coordinating conjunctions: FANBOYS		Conjunctive adverbs and other transitional expressions
IND ; IND	IND , ____ IND		IND . _____, IND or IND ; _____, IND
	for		accordingly		subsequently all
	and		after a while		also
	nor		anyhow		as a outcome
	but		at any charge per unit		at the same time
	or		besides		consequently
	yet		for example		for instance
	so		furthermore		hence
			henceforth		nonetheless
			in addition		indeed
			in fact		in other words
			in item		instead
			in the first place		likewise
			meanwhile		moreover
			nevertheless		nonetheless
			on the opposite		on the other hand
			otherwise		even so
			then		therefore
			thus
Forming Dependent Clauses (subordination)
IND + DEP or DEP , IND
afterward	although	as		as if		as though
because	before	if		in social club that		since
so that	that	though		unless		until
when	whenever	where		wherever
*which	while	who		whom		whose

* This row contains relative pronouns, which may be punctuated differently.

Joining Independent Clauses

There are iii ways to bring together independent clauses. By using a mix of all three methods and varying your transition words, you will add complexity to your writing and improve the flow. You will also be emphasizing to your reader which ideas you desire to connect or to testify things like cause and outcome or contrast. For a more detailed review of independent clauses, look back at Affiliate iii: Putting Ideas into Your Ain Words and Paragraphs. Choice 1 By simply using a semicolon (;), yous tin make the ideas connect more if you lot were to use a catamenia. If you are trying to reinforce that connexion, use a semicolon because it is not as strong of a pause as a period and reinforces the link. Option 2 When you want to link two independent sentences and increase the flow betwixt ideas, you tin can add a comma and a analogous conjunction between them. With analogous conjunctions (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, just, or, even so, so), you do not use a comma every fourth dimension: you lot would only do then if what is on either side of the conjunction is a complete judgement not just a phrase. You would not put a comma if you are only giving a list of ii items. For example:

Comma:Information technology is cold outside, and so I wore an extra warm coat.

No comma: It is cold outside. I wore an extra warm coat and gloves.

The starting time example contains a complete sentence (independent clause) on either side of the conjunction so. Only the conjunction by itself or just a comma by itself is non strong plenty to join two independent clauses. Notwithstanding, if yous put the ii together with and so, you can link the two. In the second instance, and is simply connecting 2 noun phrases: warm glaze and gloves. What comes later the conjunction is not a complete judgement, so you would not add a comma. To check if there is a complete, independent clause, ask yourself, "Can that function stand by itself as a consummate sentence?" In the case of the no comma example, gloves is what comes afterwards the comma. That is non a complete sentence, only a noun: that ways it is office of a list and is not a complete sentence = no comma. The point of these examples was to evidence you that you take to be careful how you utilize commas and conjunctions. Every bit piece of cake as information technology would exist to simply always toss in a comma, doing so would confuse your reader as what is and is not part of a list and what ideas are joined. Pick 3 Your third choice is to join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb or another transition word. These words are very useful considering they clearly bear witness your reader how you would similar your ideas to connect. If you lot wanted to emphasize contrasting ideas, you would utilize on the other paw or however. If you lot wanted to show cause and effect, you could employ every bit a result. Refer to the tables you have seen in other chapters to make sure yous are using the transitions yous actually mean to be using; then, bank check Table 12.2 to confirm how you should punctuate it. Afterwards your start independent clause, you lot can choose to either use a catamenia or a semicolon, once more depending on how much of a link you want to show. You may also want to consider how many long sentences you take used prior to this. If you apply a lot of complicated sentences, you should probably use a menstruum to allow your reader to take a pause. Yous must likewise remember to include a comma after the transition word.

Period:It is cold exterior. Therefore, I wore an extra warm coat.

Semicolon: It is cold exterior; therefore, I wore an extra warm coat.

Joining Dependent Clauses

If one of the clauses in a sentence is contained and can stand up on its own, simply the other is non, y'all take to construct the sentence a picayune differently. Whenever you lot add a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun to an independent sentence, yous create a dependent clause—one that can never stand solitary. In the examples below, find that when the independent clause comes outset, it is potent plenty to conduct the dependent clause at the stop without any helping punctuation. All the same, if you want the dependent clause first, yous must add a comma between information technology and the independent clause: the dependent clause is not strong enough to support the independent clause after without a little help. In the examples beneath, the independent clauses are double underlined and the dependent clause has a single underline.

IND first:I wore an extra warm coat as information technology is cold outside.

DEP offset: As it is cold exterior, I wore an extra warm coat.

Tip

If you want to get-go a sentence with Because, you demand to make sure there is a second half to that sentence that is independent. A Because (dependent) clause can never stand up by itself.

At the lesser on Tabular array 12.2, yous can come across a listing of five dependent markers that can be used a little differently. These are relative pronouns, and when yous use them, you need to ask yourself if the information is 100 percent necessary for the reader to sympathise what you are describing. If it is optional, you tin can include a comma earlier the relative clause fifty-fifty if it comes later the independent clause.

Non – essential:As it is cold outside, I wore an extra warm coat, which was bluish.

Essential: My coat which is bluish is the one I article of clothing when it is really cold outside.

In the non – essential example, the fact that the coat was warm was probably more of import than that the coat was blue. The information that the coat is blue probably would not brand a departure in keeping the person warm, so the information in that relative clause is not terribly important. Adding the comma before the clause tells the reader it is extra information. In the essential example, the use of the aforementioned clause without a preceding comma shows that this information is important. The writer is implying he has other coats that are non as warm and are not bluish, so he is emphasizing the importance of the blue coat. These are the only 5 subordinators, or relative pronouns, for which y'all can do this; every other one needs to follow the previous explanation of how to employ these dependent transition words. If y'all exercise decide to add a comma with one of the relative pronouns, you need to think critically about whether or non that description is completely essential.

Using any of these judgement joining strategies is helpful in providing sentence diversity to help your reader stay engaged and reading attentively. By following these punctuation rules, you will as well avoid creating sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices, all of which improves your end product.

Given how much work y'all have put into your research paper, you volition want to bank check for any errors that could distract or confuse your readers. Using the spell checking characteristic in your word processing program tin can be helpful, it should not replace a full, careful review of your document. Exist sure to check for whatever errors that may have come frequently for you in the by. Use Checklist 12.4: Editing Your Writing to help you as you edit.

Checklist 12.4 : Editing Your Writing

Grammer

Are some sentences really judgement fragments?

Are some sentences run-on? How can I correct them?

Exercise some sentences need conjunctions betwixt contained clauses?

Does every verb agree with its subject?

Is every verb in the correct tense?

Are tense forms, particularly for irregular verbs, written correctly?

Take I used subject area, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?

Have I usedwho andwhom correctly?

Is the ancestor of every pronoun clear?

Do all personal pronouns agree with their antecedents?

Have I used the correct comparative and elevation forms of adjectives and adverbs?

Is it clear which give-and-take a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?

Sentence Structure

Are all my sentences simple sentences, or exercise I vary my judgement 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 whatsoever mistakes in parallel structure?

Punctuation

Does every sentence end with the correct end punctuation?

Can I justify the employ of every exclamation point?

Take I used apostrophes correctly to write all singular and plural possessive forms?

Take I used quotation marks correctly?

Mechanics and Usage

Tin can I find any spelling errors? How can I correct them?

Have I used capital messages where they are needed?

Have I written abbreviations, where allowed, correctly?

Tin can I notice any errors in the utilise of commonly dislocated words, such every bit to/too/2?

Tip

Be careful near relying too much on spelling checkers and grammar checkers. A spelling checker cannot recognize that you meant to write principle only wrotechief instead. A grammer checker often queries constructions that are perfectly correct. The program does non understand your meaning; it makes its cheque against a full general set of formulas that might non apply in each instance. If you use a grammar checker, take the suggestions that brand sense, but consider why the suggestions came up.

Tip

Proofreading requires patience; it is very like shooting fish in a barrel to read past a mistake. Set up 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 and then they tin concentrate on spelling and punctuation. Some other helpful technique is to slowly read a newspaper aloud, paying attention to every give-and-take, alphabetic character, and punctuation mark.

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

Formatting

Your finished assignment should be properly formatted, following the style required of you. Formatting includes the style of the title, margin size, page number placement, location of the writer'due south proper name, and other factors. Your instructor or department may require a specific style to be used. The requirements may be more detailed and rigid for research projects and term papers, which often observe the American Psychological Association (APA) way guide, peculiarly when citations of sources are included.

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

Self- exercise EXERCISE 12.10

With the assistance of Checklist 12.4, edit and proofread your essay.

Checking Citations and Formatting

When editing a research paper, information technology is also important to check that you have cited sources properly and formatted your document according to the specified guidelines. There are two reasons for this. Commencement, citing sources correctly ensures that you lot requite proper credit to other people for ideas and information that helped you in your work. 2nd, using correct formatting establishes your paper as one pupil'south contribution to the work developed by and for a larger academic customs. Increasingly, American Psychological Clan (APA) style guidelines are the standard for many bookish fields. Utilize Checklist 12.five: Citations and Formatting to assistance.

Checklist 12.v : Citations and Formatting

Within the body of my newspaper, each fact or idea taken from a source is credited to the correct source.

Each in-text citation includes the source author'south name (or, where applicable, the organization name or source title) and year of publication. I have used the right format of in text and parenthetical citations.

Each source cited in the body of my newspaper has a corresponding entry in the references department of my paper.

My references section includes a heading and double-spaced alphabetized entries.

Each entry in my references section is indented on the 2nd line and all subsequent lines.

Each entry in my references section includes all the necessary information for that source blazon, in the right sequence and format.

My paper includes a championship page.

My newspaper includes a running head.

The margins of my newspaper are prepare at i inch. Text is double spaced and set in a standard 12-point font.

For detailed guidelines on APA citation and formatting, seeChapter 9: Citations and Referencing.

Writing at Piece of work

Following APA citation and formatting guidelines may crave time and effort. Notwithstanding, it is good practice for learning how to follow accepted conventions in any professional field. Many big corporations create a style manual with guidelines for editing and formatting documents produced by that corporation. Employees follow the style manual when creating internal documents and documents for publication.

During the process of revising and editing, Jorge made changes in the content and mode of his paper. He also gave the paper a concluding review to check for overall definiteness and, particularly, right APA citations and formatting. Read the last draft of his newspaper.

With the aid of Checklist 12.5, edit and proofread your essay.

Although you probably do not want to await at your newspaper again before you submit it to your instructor, take the fourth dimension to do a final cheque. Since you have already worked through all of the checklists above focusing on certain aspects at one time, working through one last checklist should ostend you have written a strong, persuasive essay and that everything is the way you lot want it to be. As extra insurance you have produced a strong paper, you lot may fifty-fifty desire someone else to double-check your essay using C hecklist 12.half-dozen: Final Revision. Then you tin can compare to come across how your perceptions of your newspaper match those of someone else, substantially having that person human action as the one who volition be grading your paper.

Checklist 12.6: Final Revision

Get-go Revision 1 : Organization
___	Do yous show you understand the consignment: purpose, audition, and genre?
___	Focus: Have you clearly stated your thesis (your decision-making thought) in the first paragraph?
___	Does your thesis statement catch the reader'south attending?
___	Unity: Write your opening and closing paragraphs and place each topic sentence in between. You should have a "mini essay" with several different principal points supporting your thesis.
___	Are your paragraphs organized in a logical style?
___ ___	Does each topic sentence (per paragraph) logically follow the one preceding information technology?
	Exercise you have several points to support your thesis?
___ ___ ___	Check whether your paragraphs are organized co-ordinate to a specific pattern.
	Would rearranging your paragraphs support your thesis better?
	Have you provided a comprehensive conclusion to your essay? Does it summarize your primary points (using different words)?
First Revision 2 : Paragraphs and Sentences
___ ___ ___ ___ ___   ___ ___ ___   ___   ___	Does each paragraph take principal points and supporting details?
	Does each paragraph take but ane main bespeak?
	Is your approach or pattern used to develop your paragraph'southward main signal followed?
	Cheque that each sentence is relevant to the main bespeak of the paragraph.
	Are there several sentences giving details, facts, quotes, reasons, and arguments in each paragraph?
	Is each supporting detail specific, concrete, and relevant to the topic judgement?
	Does each judgement logically follow the preceding 1?
	Take you used transitional words to help the reader follow your thoughts? If not, add them.
	Paragraph length: If also short, develop farther. If likewise long, intermission into smaller paragraphs or consolidate some sentences.
	Check your essay for tone and point of view.
Second Revision 1 : Sentences and Usage
___ ___ ___ ___	Confirm that each sentence has a field of study and a verb.
	Revise fragments, splices, and run-on sentences.
	Bank check modifiers to see if they have been put in unclear places.
	Do you have a diversity of sentence structures? (simple and circuitous)
___ ___   ___ ___ ___	Scan for subject area-verb agreement in each sentence.
	Are you lot consistent with your verb tenses? Bank check to make sure in that location are not whatsoever disruptive or irrelevant tense changes.
	Brand sure that words in lists are in parallel forms.
	Retrieve through your pronouns; what is each one referring to?
	Cheque for confusing "person" shifts inside paragraphs. Keep the subjects consequent.
___ ___ ___ ___   ___	Identify all verbs and modify whatsoever that are passive to agile.
	Utilise strong verbs not weak adverbs. Say something "is" not that it "may be."
	Check for wordiness.
	Scan to make sure you have not used the same word repeatedly in the aforementioned sentence and paragraph. Apply a thesaurus.
	Wait for and eliminate clichés.
2nd Revision ii : Documentation
___ ___ ___ ___	Have you documented all your references?
	Have you used in text citations every time they were needed? Have you formatted all your citations correctly?
	Is your references' section complete and correct co-ordinate to the JIBC APA Style Guide.
Second Revision three : Mechanics
___ ___	Cheque that all words and sentences are punctuated according to standard usage.
	Check for spelling and typographical errors.
Tertiary Revision: Content
___ ___ ___ ___	Read your essay aloud. Do you lot believe what you have written?
	At this point practise you lot develop your controlling thought in a way that makes sense?
	Take you provided plenty background information? Is it relevant/necessary?
	Take you lot primarily used paraphrasing as opposed to direct quotations?

You should now be confident you accept produced a strong statement that is wonderfully constructed and that you lot volition be able to persuade your audition that your points and point of view are valid.

Key Takeaways

• During revising, you add, cut, move, or change data in social club to improve content.
• During editing, you have a 2d look at the words and sentences you used to limited your ideas and ready any bug in grammar, punctuation, and judgement structure.
• Remember to budget time for careful editing and proofreading. Use all available resources, including editing checklists, peer editing, and your institution'south writing lab, to improve your editing skills.
• System in a research paper ways that the argument proceeds logically from the introduction to the body to the conclusion. It flows logically from one point to the next. When revising a research paper, evaluate the arrangement of the paper as a whole and the organisation of individual paragraphs.
• In a cohesive enquiry paper, the elements of the newspaper work together smoothly and naturally. When revising a research paper, evaluate its cohesion. In particular, check that information from inquiry is smoothly integrated with your ideas.
• An effective enquiry paper uses a mode and tone that are appropriately academic and serious. When revising a inquiry newspaper, check that the manner and tone are consistent throughout.
• Editing a inquiry paper involves checking for errors in grammer, mechanics, punctuation, usage, spelling, citations, and formatting.

ninobuty1942.blogspot.com

Source: https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/chapter/chapter-12-peer-review-and-final-revisions/

Share this post