Why is revising and editing important?Essay Writing and Revision When you write an essay and started to revise this piece of writing, you are looking at the text for possible mistakes. A revision should be followed by a re-drafting of the text. You need to see if your argument follows a logical sequence if all your ideas are in place and if you need to include or exclude any points. Think of revision as structural editing. You must ensure that your text follows a proper structure before you start looking for spelling or grammatical mistakes. Essay Writing and Editing After writing an essay when you are satisfied with the revision, start the editing process. Editing is all about paying attention to detail. You need to scan your text for silly typos, grammatical and spelling errors, and syntactical mistakes. You must also ensure that the cited references are correct. Software for checking grammar and spelling can come in handy, but you cannot trust them blindly. Importance Revising and editing are the two tasks you undertake to significantly improve your essay. Both are very important elements of the writing process. You may think that a completed first draft means little improvement is needed. However, even experienced writers need to improve their drafts and rely on peers during revising and editing. You 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 they practice, the stronger their performance will become. Web designers seek better images, a more clever design, or a more appealing background for their web pages. Writing has the same capacity to profit from improvement and revision. That is why writing essays and editing is very important. Understanding the Purpose of Revising and Editing Revising and editing allow you to examine two important aspects of your writing separately so that you can give each task your undivided attention.
• When you revise, you take a second look at your ideas. You might add, cut, move, or change information to make your ideas clearer, more accurate, more interesting, or more convincing.
• When you edit, you take a second look at how you expressed your ideas. You add or change words. You fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You improve your writing style. You make your essay into a polished, mature piece of writing, the end product of your best efforts. Tips of Revising and Editing Here are some tips that writers have to follow to look at their first drafts from a fresh perspective. Try them over this semester; then keep using the ones that bring results.
• Take a break. You are proud of what you wrote, but you might be too close to it to make changes. Set aside your writing for a few hours or even a day until you can look at it objectively.
• Ask someone you trust for feedback and constructive criticism.
• Pretend you are one of your readers. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied? Why?
• Use the resources that your college provides. Find out where your school's writing lab is located and ask about the assistance they provide online and in person.