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
Expression
Proofreading
Look at the ‘surface layer’ of your writing which primarily includes spelling and punctuation.
Punctuation
Spelling
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.