10 Takeaway Tips
Drafting, Editing and Proof-reading
1. Try to not launch into writing (drafting) straight away. Sort and review your notes and see whether your rough outline still stands or whether you need to tweak your plan before you start writing.
2. Examine all the points you want to make and the sources you intend to draw on, then find a logical sequence to help your writing flow.
3. As you’re writing stick your essay or assignment title to the bottom of your PC screen and continually ask, as you add a paragraph, does this answer the question?
4. Establish clear times when you will write and when you will take breaks - and stick to it.
5. Sometimes when you’re doing essays, reports and assignments the actual writing can be the part we procrastinate. Just begin writing - you’ve got a plan: there’s nothing to say you must begin at the beginning. Write a section, write something, write anything just to get you in the flow.
6. Don’t let the first draft be the final draft. Even the most accomplished writers rarely achieve the finished piece in one go. This is where editing comes in. This allows you to decide the things which need re-drafting.
7. Editing and Proof-reading are different activities. They can be done at the same time but, in fact, they are often better done separately. Editing is the process of comparing what you’ve written to your plan and to the question or brief you are trying to address. You need to check that all your points add to the response you are trying to give. You should check that each paragraph builds on the last and is appropriately introduced and concluded before moving on. Have you covered everything you need to?
8. Editing also involves checking the quality of your expression. Have you used appropriate terminology and academic voice? (See Ten Take-away Tips… What’s Academic Voice?)
9. Proof-reading is where you stop reading your work to assess the quality of the content and expression. Instead you are trying to find grammatical, punctuation, spelling and typographical errors.
10. To proof-read without getting caught up in the content, read the work backwards. Start with the final sentence, read it, check there are no errors then move back to the preceding sentence.
Have A Go!
Editing Checklist – create your own checklist to edit your work
Using feedback from other work you’ve done, begin to compile your own prompts for when you are trying to edit your work.
Aim/purpose / Content / Structure/organisation / Language-styleAm I still clear what my purposes were in this assignment? / Is it clear what main points I am expressing in each paragraph? / Will the structure of my essay be clear to the reader? / Have I checked for obvious mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar?
With thanks to Colin Neville for this activity.
Academic Skills Advice servicewww.brad.ac.uk/academic-skills/