essay editing exercise

essay editing exercise

The Importance of Effective Essay Editing

1. The Role of Essay Editing in Academic Success

Writing an article or an essay, be it through any written medium, requires a certain degree of editing. Essay editing enhances the quality of any piece of academic writing beyond simply identifying errors. While the thought of essay editing may send shivers down the spine of certain students, its actual importance as an academic pathway to success cannot be overlooked. With the dawn of the internet, the creation of content became so rapid that a good writer may often need to rush through their work to produce something before a given deadline. Unfortunately, what is produced in this haste may often be of poor quality. This may not be too much of an issue as long as the content can be later modified and edited. However, the problem intensifies when the edited content may finally have its errors fixed, yet the contextual quality of the work may remain of a substandard that does not reflect the writer’s true capability. When editing, it is of great importance to ensure the contextual depth of the content also be enhanced, and this is greatly facilitated by essay editing. Consider an individual with great knowledge on a given subject. Their understanding may be quite deep with many ideas and notions relevant to the subject, however, this does not guarantee that all of these ideas can be effectively communicated on paper. Someone in this situation may produce written work that only reflects a small portion of their idea, and likely in a quite generic fashion. If this person were later to thoroughly go over their work, keeping his ideas in mind, he would be able to make content much closer in relation to his actual depth of knowledge on the subject. It is because of reasons such as these that essay editing can truly facilitate making the best of one’s linguistic abilities to solidify academic success.

2. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Essay Writing

Using second person (you, your) is not recommended in formal writing either. This is because essay writing is not a storytelling exercise and the use of the second and first person can alienate the reader. They should be able to follow the flow of your arguments without being distracted by your personal involvement in the topic. This leads to another point: if using either first or second person, you should at least be consistent throughout your essay.

Using third person: Using the first person in an essay is not the end of the world. Many people who are not comfortable expressing their views in the third person have managed to do well in their essays. However, it is highly preferable to use the third person if possible. The reason for this is that the third person is more removed and can convey a sense of objectivity and credibility that is harder to achieve in the first person.

Slang and idiomatic expressions: Using slang is another feature that can sometimes improve writing, but should be avoided in formal writing. An idiom is a phrase that has a different meaning other than the literal meaning of the words used. For example, “it’s raining cats and dogs.” The literal meaning would lead to confusion for someone not familiar with this expression as it would actually appear to have nothing to do with rain. Slang and idioms can alienate a reader who is not familiar with the intended meaning. So, using plain English is always safest.

Contractions: There are some rules regarding this type of question concerning academic writing. Firstly, try to use contractions only for emphasis. For example, for the word “are not,” you could contract it to “aren’t.” This is an easier way to write and it allows the reader to understand the meaning more easily. However, when considering formal writing, contractions dilute the clarity of the message. For this reason, it is often better to write the words in full. So, even though it takes longer to write, it is still easier for the reader. And this is the ultimate goal of clear writing.

3. Strategies for Effective Essay Editing

Brainstorm Some Better Organization: Consider creating a reverse outline. With this approach, write down what each paragraph is about, and in a sentence or two, describe how that sentence is relevant to the main point. Then compare this outline with the outline for the assignment. Would someone be confused reading it? Are there places in the writing where the paragraph loses track of what it was supposed to be writing about? Steps like these can help to develop specific criteria that the author can use to work toward improving the writing.

Effective editing doesn’t require finding a virtuoso of language who collects fifty dollars an hour. Success can be obtained in a number of one-on-one sessions with a teacher, trade editing with a friend, or perhaps simply taking the time to critique one’s writing on a regular basis. So, students should aim to edit their essays in a setting where there’s someone available to answer questions and should budget their time so that they have ample opportunity to break from their writing and return to it with fresh eyes. Compiled here are some general hints on how to do a more effective job editing your own writing.

Editing a piece of your own writing is one of the most difficult things for any writer to do. The impetus to scribble and then move on can be too strong to spend much time considering what you’ve written. This means that you may not be happy with what you’ve written, but you’re attached to it. Stephenson and Swan suggest that it’s often useful to put a written work aside for a while and work on something else, move on to another task. Then, it’s possible to read your writing with fresh eyes, and you may see where changes are necessary.

Editing an essay for effective communication hinges on two things: it involves checking the organization of the essay and the sentence structure. This usually involves some reverse outlining and rewriting. Ideally, time spent editing a given piece of writing should be about the same as the time it took to write it. With this in mind, it might be most useful to explain what editing is and also what it’s not. This is the first of several week-long activities about how to improve student writing.

4. The Benefits of Seeking Professional Essay Editing Services

Citation and referencing is a very important aspect to your essay. Argument well made, cases and examples all valid points supporting your theory but all this effort has gone to waste without proper citation or references to the work of others. Read more information on Referencing Styles, Copyright, and Plagiarism. A wrong, incorrectly, a missed out citation can lead to an accusation of academic theft. The consequences are never good, resulting in a mark of zero for the piece of work, disciplinary action, and a tainted reputation. Not all writers are well versed in knowing which citations apply to which type of text. One common example is the citation of an EU case. The procedure on carrying this out is not common knowledge and a mistake can lose vital marks. An editor who has experience in legal study could be well versed in knowledge of this and could improve your work significantly.

Starting off with the newly written essay, your first step will not be taking a concertina to your work. Instead, the first edits should be a really comprehensive read through and a critical analysis of what you have written. Add things, take information out, read it out loud to yourself. Make sure you have covered the topic thoroughly and you don’t deviate from the subject matter at any point. After you have achieved this, it is the time to look into the finer details, like sentence structure, grammar, and spelling. For some people, these initial steps into proofreading are a very daunting task, and many students require a critical eye to ensure the work is at its best. Here’s where an editing service comes in. A professional can go through your work and check it for a diversity of mistakes. They can ensure your sentence structure is varied and that you have used the correct tense throughout your work. This is a very typical point from foreign students in higher education to mark that their English language isn’t up to scratch. Wrong tense abuse and poor sentence structure are common areas which targeted by the markers who are assessing your work.

5. Conclusion: Enhancing Your Essays through Editing

This is especially true in the case of writing essays. Essays are a forum for thoughts and ideas, a chance to argue your point of view and demonstrate your understanding of a particular topic. The development of these ideas is an important process that is best demonstrated through writing. Planning and structuring are all fine, but there will be a stage, while you are writing, where you will have to stop and consider how things can be done better. This is the idea of drafting; the process of moving your ideas from your mind to the paper in a way that enables you to later revisit and understand them.

This is especially true in the case of writing essays. Essays are a forum for thoughts and ideas, a chance to argue your point of view and demonstrate your understanding of a particular topic. The development of these ideas is an important process that is best demonstrated through writing. Planning and structuring are all fine, but there will be a stage, while you are writing, where you will have to stop and consider how things can be done better. This is the idea of drafting; the process of moving your ideas from your mind to the paper in a way that enables you to later revisit and understand them. Ask any experienced writer about the key to a successful essay, and without a doubt one of the points mentioned will be the final process of editing. Editing is an essential part of producing effective writing, and it is in this step that a piece of writing can truly become refined.

Ask any experienced writer about the key to a successful essay, and without a doubt one of the points mentioned will be the final process of editing. Editing is an essential part of producing effective writing, and it is in this step that a piece of writing can truly become refined.