Effective Editing of Your Own Writing

Good editing makes good writing possible. A great editor can take a piece and make it stronger, more engaging, and easier to follow by editing its structure and content through multiple revisions. It takes time and practice to become a good editor, but the payoff is worth the investment. No matter how you’re involved in writing, such as a student, an author, a copy editor, or a freelance editor, strengthening your editing skills will improve the quality of your work.

 

Analyzing the Overall Structure 

 

Put the writing away for a few days. It can be difficult to edit your own writing. You’ve worked hard on it for weeks, months, or even years. When editing, you need to try to view your work objectively, as a reader would. So step away from the computer and give yourself a break from the manuscript. Focus on a different writing project or try to read sample essays to edit and then return to the piece of writing with fresh eyes in several days.  

• If you have waited until the last minute or were given a short deadline, you may not have time to do this. Getting a little distance and time from your work will help you read it more objectively and focus on what's actually on the page rather than what you think should be on the page. 

   

Print out your work. While some writers find it easy to edit their work on a computer screen, others find it much easier to spot mistakes on paper. Put the writing in a different format than the one you wrote it with. This will help you approach your own work critically and give you an outsider perspective.

• Usually, this will mean printing out writing that you've done on the computer, but you can also retype a first draft you wrote by hand.

• Using a paper copy will also allow you to mark up the manuscript with editing notes and revisions.

 

Read the manuscript straight through without any revisions. Try to read through the entire piece of writing without changing anything or making notes about any major fixes. This will help you shift from your writer mode to your reader mode. Keep a mental note of any sections that felt confusing, unfinished, or weakly supported.   

 

Revise sections, paragraphs, and chapters first. Often, writers focus on editing individual sentences and neglect the larger structure of a piece of writing. Do a big picture edit first, before you tackle words and phrases.

• Look at any chapters or sections that need to be tightened or fleshed out. Ask yourself: have I covered every possible angle of the topic or subject in this section? If you are editing an essay, you should check that there is an introduction, body, and conclusion. If you are editing a creative piece of writing, like a short story or a novel, look for any long winded passages or paragraphs that could be revised or shortened, especially in dialogue.

• There may also be scenes or sections that need to be reworked or revised. If you’re working on a long piece of writing, mark these with a post it note or a highlighted mark so you can remember that they need to be reworked more closely.

   

Check the tone and the voice. Think about the form you are writing for, and if the tone and voice of your writing fits this form. For example, if you are writing an online how-to article, your tone might be conversational and accessible with sentences that are no longer than one to two lines. But if you are writing period fiction, your tone and voice may be more formal and have anachronisms that were commonly used in the time period. An essay on a scientific topic will use scientific terms and a serious or professional tone, while an essay on a literary topic may use more casual language.

 

Look for any factual mistakes and correct them. Editing isn't just about looking for spelling and grammar mistakes. It's also about checking your statements for accuracy.

• For example, maybe you realize you misquoted someone or cited an incorrect set of data. This can then cast doubt on your entire piece of writing. If you don't have the facts right, readers will find it hard to take your main points seriously. Be sure to double-check all of your major claims and citations to ensure that your arguments have the firmest factual foundation possible.

   

Rephrase awkward sentences. Read paragraphs or sections out loud and mark any sentences that sound awkward or wordy. Make sure each sentence is clear and concise. Avoid long, meandering sentences and sentences that don't add anything to the paragraph that contains them.   

 

Don't overuse adverbs and adjectives. Using the hard copy of your manuscript, highlight all the adverbs and adjectives in your manuscript. Then, consider if each one is essential to a sentence or phrase. You don’t need to get rid of all of them, but you should check that they aren’t making a sentence more convoluted or confusing. Adverbs also tend to be wordy and can act as a crutch for writers, as there may be more descriptive language that might work better in a sentence.