Proofreading

and Editing
 Process of
Writing
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

• Pre- • Writing / • Revising: • Publishi

Writing Drafting • Editing / ng /
Proofrea Submiss
ding ion
What is • Editing is what you begin doing
as soon as you finish your first

Editing? 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:

Content

• Strong enough evidences to • Complete arguments

back up arguments • Accurate claims
• Claims you make are accurate • Adequate evidences
• Have you supported each point
with adequate evidence?
• Is all of the information in your
paper relevant to the assignment
• Requirements are fulfilled
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?
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?
Clarity
• Have you defined any important terms that might be unclear to
your reader?
• Is the meaning of each sentence clear?
• 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.
Style
• Have you used an appropriate tone (formal, informal, persuasive, assertive
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 tend 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?
Citations
• Have you appropriately cited quotes, paraphrases, and ideas you got from
sources?
• Are your citations in the correct format?
What is Proofreading
• Proofreading is the final stage of Proofread for only one kind of error
the editing process, focusing on at a time.
surface errors such as misspellings If you try to identify and revise too
and mistakes in grammar and many things at once, you risk losing
punctuation. focus, and your proofreading will be
less effective.
• You should proofread only after you It’s easier to catch grammar errors if
have finished all of your other you aren’t checking punctuation and
editing revisions. spelling at the same time.
 Aspects Of Proofreading And Editing
Sentence Punctuation /
Text Level Word Level
Level Grammar
• At text level, • Sentences • Word level • The final edit
there are two involves concerns will concern
key areas to closely primarily with itself with the
consider: text reading each word choice minutiae of
features and sentence for and grammar,
text coherence overused a punctuation,
structure. and fluency. particular and spelling.
word /
phrase.
 1. Text Level – Text Feature and Text Structure

a. Text Feature:
• Here are some of the more common text features to consider.
• Title
• Headings and subheadings
• Table of contents
• Pictures, photos, illustrations etc
• Captions
• Glossary
• Index
 1. Text Level – Text Feature and Text Structure

b. Text Structure:
• Some considerations at this stage will include:

• Type of text (informational, persuasive, poetry, letter etc)

• Paragraph organization

• Organizational patterns

• Introduction, body, conclusion

 1. Text Level – Text Feature and Text Structure

Text Structure con…

• Organizational patterns are closely related to the genre of the text;
in other words, the purpose of the text.

• For example, is the text pattern designed to compare and contrast?

Is it meant to convey a problem and solution? Cause and effect?
Description? Sequence?

• Consider what the purpose of the text is and decide whether or not
the pattern of the text fulfills that purpose. If it doesn’t, then
restructuring will be necessary.
1. Text Level – Text Feature and Text Structure
Genre / Text Purpose
Compare and Contrast explore the similarities and differences
texts between two things.
Problem and Solution examine a problem and recommend
texts possible solutions.
Cause and Effect texts look at what happened and why.

lists the characteristics / features of a

Description
topic, idea, person, place, or a thing.
a text that lays out events in order or
Sequence describes the steps to follow to do or
make something.
 2. Sentence Level – Coherence and Fluency

Coherence and Fluency:

• A helpful rule of thumb to follow is that when you are expressing a
complex idea, you should break the idea down into several shorter
sentences to aid clarity.

• Conversely, when expressing a simpler idea, you can use a single,

longer, more grammatically sophisticated sentence structure.
 3. Word Level – Word Choice / Overused
Words

Word Choice:

• Ask yourself if the individual word selected is appropriate for the

meaning you intended to convey. If it isn’t, think of a better choice.

• Look out whether a particular word is overused or not.

• Keep an eagle eye out for repetitive use of go-to words and phases.
Many of us have pet words and phrases we use over and over again.
Often, we aren’t even aware they are our favorites.
 4. Grammar and Punctuation – minutiae of
grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Accuracy:

• This final edit is what is usually meant when we talk about

‘proofreading’. It’s the final round of the editorial cycle.
• Today we have many technological tools (software) to help us in this
process. (DO NOT rely on them solely)
• Grammar and spell checkers are commonplace features for a lot of
word processing software, with several of these able to check
punctuation too.
 Thank
You
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