Editing and proofreading
Taking time to edit and proofread can make a big difference. It’s your chance to tidy up your work, fix mistakes before your lecturer spots them, and make sure your ideas come across clearly and confidently.
Your lecturer might not mention punctuation or spelling, but they’ll notice mistakes, which can cost you marks.
Editing and proofreading are two different steps:
- Editing is the more detailed process and should come first.
- Proofreading is your final check before submission, catching small errors like spelling and punctuation so your work looks polished.
Editing
Editing involves reading through your work in detail and rewriting parts to improve the content or meaning.
Preferably, you have taken a break from the piece of writing – at least one or two days. Editing is best done with fresh eyes.
When you're editing, consider both content and expression.
Content
Clues that show you have done this include:
- using words from the task in your introduction
- stating your argument and the points to be covered
- defining any key terms
- demonstrating your understanding of the issue/s.
You should also refer back to your marking rubric to make sure you've covered all the criteria.
Consider how your argument flows by checking that you:
- cover all points in a logical sequence
- focus on one point in each paragraph
- begin each paragraph with a topic sentence
- follow each topic sentence with supporting evidence
- avoid unnecessary repetition of ideas
- summarise the main points in a conclusion
- put your argument back in a wider context.
Your argument and ideas need to be evidenced. Check that you have:
- referred to the work of others
- accurately provided references to support each time you have summarised, paraphrased and quoted work by others
- used the correct referencing style.
Expression
The passive voice is often used in academic writing when the focus needs to be on the object (e.g., research), rather than the person doing it. Using this style implies objectivity.
By contrast, the active voice focuses on the person or thing doing the action, and not the object, so tends to be more direct and dynamic.
Sentences can be written in the past, present or future tense, depending on their purpose. Generally, past tense is used to report on things that have already happened, such as experiments, results, or past findings. Present tense is most appropriate when analysing or drawing conclusions about material.
- Past: for example, 'The plots were measured twice a day…'
- Present: for example, 'The plots indicate that…'
Editing expression includes ensuring you are communicating ideas clearly. Using ‘big’ words for the sake of appearing ‘clever’ can backfire if you have not used them correctly.
Some categories of words are also best avoided:
- use a simple language if you are uncertain
- avoid using “I” statements unless requested
- avoid using slang, e.g., guys (people), bucks (dollars)
- remove clichés, overused phrases that do not add anything original, e.g., ‘last but not least’
- avoid jargon, technical, specialised words or phrases
- delete unnecessary words, e.g., use ‘round’ instead of ‘round in shape’, ‘summer’ instead of ‘summer months’
- choose the right words, e.g., do you want ‘accept’ or ‘except’?
Inclusive language treats all people fairly. Your writing should not suggest bias or prejudice based on characteristics such as gender, culture, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age or religion.
Avoid using gendered words, such as:
- ‘mankind’ where you refer to ‘society’ or ‘human beings’ or ‘people’
- male pronouns (‘he’, ‘his’, ‘him’) – use ‘they’, ‘their’, ‘them’
Proofreading
Look at the ‘surface layer’ of your writing which primarily includes spelling and punctuation.
Punctuation
Consider the following:
- Apostrophes are used correctly: they are NOT needed for plural, e.g., tests, unless to show ownership. For example, the researcher’s strategy (one researcher), OR the researchers’ strategy (many researchers).
- Words are written out in full, not abbreviated. For example, ‘It is significant’, not ‘It’s significant’.
- Acronyms are first written out in full, accompanied by the shortened version in brackets, such as ‘World Health Organisation (WHO)’.
- Commas are used to signal a break.
- Full stops are at the end of each sentence.
- Capital letters are at the beginning of sentences, and used for proper nouns such as a researcher’s name, or a city, etc.
Spelling
With your computer’s spelling checker enabled, typos and other grammatical issues will be indicated in the text. Also, choose Australian English spelling over American where possible.
These are words that sound the same, but are spelt differently and have different meanings, such as:
- whether / wether / weather
- course / coarse
- here / hear
- there / their / they’re
- sure / shore
- where / wear
- know / no
- made / maid
- Are facts and statistics are clear, and correct?
- Do names, dates, and quotes match those in your reference list?
Listen to your work
Software is freely available that can read your text aloud, such as the ‘Read Aloud’ function in Microsoft Word. Find it in the Review tab: place the cursor in your document where you want to review the content; click on Read Aloud, then listen.
Preferably, do not read along as your work is read aloud; rather, concentrate on listening to ensure ‘the story’ makes sense and flows well. If something sounds odd while you listen, stop and check the text for word choice, typos, or other possible errors.
Common writing problems
Waffle
Writing that ‘waffles’ is often well over the word count. It can leave you feeling as though you haven’t covered much in terms of content.
Similarly, ‘verbose’ writing uses more words than are needed, without covering much content. The good news is that these problems can generally be improved easily.
- Trim unnecessary words.
In the example below, notice the word ‘quite’ does not add anything useful to the sentence. Delete it.
For example: 'The results showed that the experiment had been quite successful.'
- Check for duplication of information.
You may have said the same thing twice in slightly different ways. In the example below, the words in square brackets ([ ]) below can be deleted
For example: 'The increase in the number of soldiers attending such a funeral reflected the General’s popularity. [There was a greater number present than expected.] He was well-loved by all he commanded among the military divisions. In particular, the 15th (Scottish) division performed the Highland Dirk dance in his honour.'
Similar sounding words
Affect/Effect
These two have similar meanings, which is probably why they are so often confused. However, one is a verb (an action), and one is a noun (a thing).
‘Affect’ is the verb, so something must DO it, or it has to be done to something:
For example: 'Pancakes containing bacteria may affect your health’, said the researcher in defence.'
‘Effect’ is the noun, meaning it is treated like an object or thing:
For example: 'Students were surprised to learn that the effect of bacteria in pancakes can be severe illness.'
Then/Than
‘Then’ is a conditional word. It means that, if one thing occurs, something else is going to as well:
For example: 'If bacteria are introduced to food, then a sleepless night may follow.'
See the comma before ‘then’? It keeps the two related things contained in their own part of the sentence.
‘Than’ is a comparative word. It is used to show some sort of difference or disparity between two things or simply contrast the items in some way.
For example: 'Researchers concluded that the students would experience worse problems than sleepless nights if they continued to ingest the pancakes.'
These aren’t the only similar-sounding words, just some of the most common in academic writing. By familiarising yourself with their meanings, you will be better equipped to use them correctly.
Editing activity
The following text could be much more concise. Delete the unnecessary words that do not add anything to the content.
Exploring the expansive world on extremely long-distance ocean journeys can have considerable impacts on the health of all sailors. For example, the demanding sea voyage itself is shown to have lasting effects on the sailor’s body’s immune system resulting in an array of unfortunate illnesses (Lu et al., 2010). In particular, cardiovascular disease is the most commonly diagnosed ailment identified amongst seafaring crew members (Hearty, 2009). Moreover, studies by Sponge and Lope (2011) indicate that these negative health effects are mainly due to two contributing factors: diet and lack of physical exercise on board the sailor’s ship. “There’s too many worm infested crackers and not enough deck scrubbing” explains one well-known ship captain (Blackbeard, 1720).
The words that are [bracketed] below could be deleted without risking a loss of clarity. They are largely descriptors, which are not generally used in academic writing. Some are judgements (e.g., ‘unfortunate’), which similarly do not have a place in academic writing.
Exploring the [expansive] world on [extremely] long-distance ocean journeys can have [considerable] impacts on the health of all sailors. For example, the demanding sea voyage itself is shown to have lasting effects on the sailor’s body’s immune system resulting in an array of [unfortunate] illnesses (Lu et al., 2010). In particular, cardiovascular disease is the most commonly diagnosed ailment [identified] amongst [seafaring] crew members (Hearty, 2009). Moreover, studies by Sponge and Lope (2011) indicate that these [negative] health effects are mainly due to two contributing factors: diet and lack of physical exercise on board the sailor’s ship. “There’s too many worm infested crackers and not enough deck scrubbing” explains one [well-known] ship captain (Blackbeard, 1720).