Week 4 - The writer’s toolbox: Editing and proofreading

         Week 4 contains “The writer’s toolbox”- Editing and proofreading. After reading, writing and structuring, editing and proofreading is the final touch of the academic essay. 

 

 

1] The need to edit and revise one's text

         The first step has been explained by Dr. Satu Mannien. she explained the importance of editing.

Editing

-           -  Improve quality

-           -     Ensure the contexts that make senses

-           -    Structure and present information

-           -    No contradictions

  

Proofreading

  Check for surface errors

-         - Typos

-         - Spellings

-          - Grammar

-           - Choice of words

-           - Different word forms

-         - Punctuations

-          - Formatting

-           - References – properly formatted or not

            

             In editing and proofreading there is one more concept which is Global editing and revision. It is looking at the entire essay or some parts of it. For example, a section, subsection, or paragraph. 

 

Editing for register:

      Register includes formal and informal language, words and phrases, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Editing for tone:

      Tone includes attitude towards the topic, passion of the writing which could be subjective and excited, and knowledge of the topic as it could be fluent or hesitating.

Registration and Tone conciderates

-      

         What are you writing?

-      What is your purpose?

-      Who are you writing for?

-      Who is the target reader?

-      What kind of text?

2] Editing for style:

Dr. Cecilia Wadso-Lecaros has presented the academic writing style.

Academic writing style:

-         

          - Clear

-        - Conscience

-        - Easy to follow

-        - Attention on the topic

-        - Writing elegantly

        The structure of sentence should be centered with main topic by avoiding fragments. The length of sentence should be appropriate as it should contain one main clause and one or two sub clauses. Combining sentences should contain conjunctions.

         Another important part of writing is using first person pronouns and choosing between active and passive voice. The use of Punctuations is also an important part of writing. It affects the discourse. The use of dictionary during using a new spelling is appropriate. Typo errors can spoil the content.

 

This course was helpful in understanding the academic writing style. A student of University should be aware with these basic writing styles.