How Do You Edit & Proofread an Essay? | Learn the Right Way!
Writing an essay is daunting. From selecting a topic to finding relevant information and from starting the writing work to submitting the final essay, many things go in between. Editing and proofreading are two of the major steps that decide the quality of work.
Many students leave no stone unturned in writing an excellent essay, but they lose their precious marks due to overlooking the steps of editing and proofreading. If you are working on your essay and don’t want to compromise on your grades, you must know how to edit and proofread it. In this write-up, you are going to learn these two crucial steps as suggested by the best essay writing services providers. Let’s start!
How to Edit an Essay?
Editing is all about improving the quality of the work by making big or small changes to the text. When you are editing an essay, you need to ask the following questions.
l Have you chosen the right words to convey your views?
l Is the tone of the essay suitable for the readers?
l Are there any complicated sentences or words?
l Do your arguments seem persuasive enough?
l Is the flow of information right throughout the essay?
l Have you done proper transitions between different sections?
Find answers to these questions and make necessary changes when something doesn’t seem right. Don’t be afraid to make the cuts in the text. Remember, you are improving the quality of your essay.
How to Proofread an Essay?
Students often believe that editing and proofreading are similar things. However, proofreading is a process that aims to bring minor and aesthetic changes to work, while editing aims to make big changes. When you are proofreading the essay, check the following points.
l Grammatical issues
l Spelling slip-ups
l Incorrect punctuation
l Inconsistent terminology
l Wrong formatting
l Inappropriate referencing
Once you correct all these mistakes, your assignment is good to go. You should be very focused and analytical when you are going through the entire text and making changes to it. Keep in mind not to change the main ideas and arguments. Your entire focus should be on improving the quality of your essay.
Some students often get confused between the two tasks, and some even consider them the same; however, they both are very different. For example, here’s the difference between editing and proofreading:
l Editing is usually performed when you are done with your first draft. It continues till the final draft. In contrast, you have to proofread the final draft of the essay.
l Editing deals with the core writing features, including the tone of writing, use of passive voice, sentence structure, usage of words, etc. On the other hand, proofreading tackles surface-level issues like formatting and referencing.
l The aim of editing is to improve and enhance the language and make sure that it is clear and readable. In comparison, proofreading makes sure that there are no spelling and grammatical errors in the essay.
l Editing deals with improving the quality of writing and also reduces the word count if needed. Proofreading is not related to the reduction of word count and is concerned with making the essay free of errors and mistakes.
l Editing takes longer than proofreading as it needs the interference of the author in the editing work. While proofreading is quicker and does not require the author to be actively involved with the proofreader.
So, this was all you needed to know about editing and proofreading. Next, make sure you understand both the process well and follow the suggested steps to make your essay flawless. All the best!