The Unsung Hero of Quality Academic Writing
“Do I have to edit my paper?” – Yes, you do because it is an indispensable part of academic writing.
Editing transforms crude writing into refined content, thus enhancing its quality. Be it a lab report or a descriptive essay that goes into painstaking details; editing is the ultimate tool that can make your writing engaging.
Now, if you are wondering, “What do I have to check when I edit my paper?” we have a ready guide for you. Here are the five areas that you must cover when editing your paper:
Spellings & capitalization
Imagine writing an excellent thesis topics on a thing that is relatable and interesting and scoring a low grade because of a few incorrect spellings! That would be exasperating, right? Misspellings can tarnish your image as a writer. Also, unnecessary capitalization can mar the beauty of your writing.
This is where the role of editing starts. By editing your paper, you get to weed out misspellings and rectify inappropriate capitalization. This helps in ensuring that the flow of content is A-Okay.
Ensuring logical coherency
The step of editing helps you ensure that your writing has seamless transitions between paragraphs. You also understand whether there is a logical progression in the way you present the ideas.
When you edit your paper, you can check for the clarity of the sentence you have written. Once you bring out the necessary modifications, your content becomes more readable and engaging.
Improving sentence structure & diction
Word choice and sentence structure have a significant role to play when it comes to writing. Unless you use the right word in the right way, your paper will fail to leave a lasting impression on the reader’s mind.
If you have used passive voice excessively, this is your chance to make your writing more active. Check the frequency of strong action verbs and eliminate all vague sentences to improve the overall quality of your content.
Rectifying grammar & punctuation
Grammatical inconsistencies and wrong punctuation are not the two things that lead to good scores. The step of editing helps you remove errors like verb-subject disagreement, wrong pronoun antecedents and the inappropriate placement of adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, etc.
Alongside, you can also review where you have missed punctuation marks. Locate comma splices, unnecessary semicolons, and other such mistakes to convey the messages clearly.
Proofreading is all about content perfection, and that includes formatting. So, make sure that the font used, and the indentation makes your writing easy on the eyes.
