Adeel Raza

Revision, Editing & Proof Reading

Revision: Revision means “re-visioning” your paper. It is “big picture” work. Step back
and ask yourself: does the paper you wrote respond directly to the assignment and its
audience, answer the questions that were posed? Is the argument clear? Is it
sufficiently complex? Check to see if any of the ideas need to be developed, and if
you’ve articulated the relationships among ideas. See if you need to add further
evidence or support. Revision can require adding material, taking material away,
working with the big strokes of the paper. It might involve changing the order of
paragraphs and re-crafting topic sentences/transitions. It may demand re-drafting the
introduction and checking the conclusion to see what should be brought up to the front
of the paper. All of this is when you “re-vision” your paper.
Editing: People often refer to all stages of revision as “editing,” but editing is what you
do after you revise. Editing involves crafting with a fine tool, and it leads to style and
coherence. Here is where you consider your paper as a writer/artist. Try reading your
paper aloud, slowly, in parts. Is the voice clear and confident? Is there a sense of
rhythm and flow in each paragraph, each sentence? Do the sentences connect up with
one another like well-constructed joints? Editing is when you correct any awkwardness
that may have occurred in the initial drafting or in revision (revision can be very helpful
to the big picture but create problems within paragraphs, for example). While editing is
also a good time to check the clarity of your title and the accuracy of your reference or
works cited page(s). Careful editing is critical to a polished, well written paper.
Proofreading: Proofreading comes last and consists of a final sweep through your
paper with an eye for errors. When proofreading you make your final check for errors in
sentence structure, grammar, verb tense and punctuation. You also look for mistakes in
spelling, use of quotations, citation details, etc. Look not just for the tricky mistakes but
also for any typos. It is important to check that your name is on your essay and it is
desirable to number your pages or include a word count. This is the final read-through
of your paper, your last chance to impress your reader and show your commitment to
your work. Reading aloud at this stage or any other stage of the revision process can
help you focus more carefully on your work.

Editing and Proofreading

What this handout is about
This handout provides some tips and strategies for revising your writing. To give you a chance to practice
proofreading, we have left seven errors (three spelling errors, two punctuation errors, and two grammatical
errors) in the text of this handout. See if you can spot them!
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Is editing the same thing as proofreading?

Not exactly. Although many people use the terms interchangeably, editing and proofreading are two different
stages of the revision process. Both demand close and careful reading, but they focus on different aspects of
the writing and employ different techniques.

Some tips that apply to both editing and proofreading

 Get some distance from the text! It’s hard to edit or proofread a paper that you’ve just finished
writing—it’s still to familiar, and you tend to skip over a lot of errors. Put the paper aside for a few
hours, days, or weeks. Go for a run. Take a trip to the beach. Clear your head of what you’ve written
so you can take a fresh look at the paper and see what is really on the page. Better yet, give the
paper to a friend—you can’t get much more distance than that. Someone who is reading the paper
for the first time, comes to it with completely fresh eyes.
 Decide what medium lets you proofread most carefully. Some people like to work right at the
computer, while others like to sit back with a printed copy that they can mark up as they read.
 Try changing the look of your document. Altering the size, spacing, color, or style of the text may
trick your brain into thinking it’s seeing an unfamiliar document, and that can help you get a
different perspective on what you’ve written.
 Find a quiet place to work. Don’t try to do your proofreading in front of the TV or while you’re
chugging away on the treadmill. Find a place where you can concentrate and avoid distractions.
 If possible, do your editing and proofreading in several short blocks of time. Your concentration
may start to wane if you try to proofread the entire text at one time.
 If you’re short on time, you may wish to prioritize. Make sure that you complete the most
important editing and proofreading tasks.

Editing
Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You reread your draft to see, for
example, whether the paper is well-organized, the transitions between paragraphs are smooth, and your
evidence really backs up your argument. You can edit on several levels:

Content
Have you done everything the assignment requires? Are the claims you make accurate? If it is required to do
so, does your paper make an argument? Is the argument complete? Are all of your claims consistent? Have you
supported each point with adequate evidence? Is all of the information in your paper relevant to the assignment
and/or your overall writing goal? (For additional tips, see our handouts on understanding
assignments and developing an argument.)
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Overall structure
Does your paper have an appropriate introduction and conclusion? Is your thesis clearly stated in your
introduction? Is it clear how each paragraph in the body of your paper is related to your thesis? Are the
paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Have you made clear transitions between paragraphs? One way to
check the structure of your paper is to make a reverse outline of the paper after you have written the first draft.
(See our handouts on introductions, conclusions, thesis statements, and transitions.)

Structure within paragraphs

Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does each paragraph stick to one main idea? Are there any
extraneous or missing sentences in any of your paragraphs? (See our handout on paragraph development.)

Clarity
Have you defined any important terms that might be unclear to your reader? Is the meaning of each sentence
clear? (One way to answer this question is to read your paper one sentence at a time, starting at the end and
working backwards so that you will not unconsciously fill in content from previous sentences.) Is it clear what
each pronoun (he, she, it, they, which, who, this, etc.) refers to? Have you chosen the proper words to express
your ideas? Avoid using words you find in the thesaurus that aren’t part of your normal vocabulary; you may
misuse them.

Style
Have you used an appropriate tone (formal, informal, persuasive, etc.)? Is your use of gendered language
(masculine and feminine pronouns like “he” or “she,” words like “fireman” that contain “man,” and words that
some people incorrectly assume apply to only one gender—for example, some people assume “nurse” must
refer to a woman) appropriate? Have you varied the length and structure of your sentences? Do you tends to
use the passive voice too often? Does your writing contain a lot of unnecessary phrases like “there is,” “there
are,” “due to the fact that,” etc.? Do you repeat a strong word (for example, a vivid main verb) unnecessarily?
(For tips, see our handouts on style and gender-inclusive language.)

Citations
Have you appropriately cited quotes, paraphrases, and ideas you got from sources? Are your citations in the
correct format? (See theUNC Libraries citation tutorial for more information.)

As you edit at all of these levels, you will usually make significant revisions to the content and wording of
your paper. Keep an eye out for patterns of error; knowing what kinds of problems you tend to have will be
helpful, especially if you are editing a large document like a thesis or dissertation. Once you have identified a
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pattern, you can develop techniques for spotting and correcting future instances of that pattern. For example, if
you notice that you often discuss several distinct topics in each paragraph, you can go through your paper and
underline the key words in each paragraph, then break the paragraphs up so that each one focuses on just one
main idea.

Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, focusing on surface errors such as misspellings and
mistakes in grammar and punctuation. You should proofread only after you have finished all of your other
editing revisions.

Why proofread? It’s the content that really matters, right?

Content is important. But like it or not, the way a paper looks affects the way others judge it. When you’ve
worked hard to develop and present your ideas, you don’t want careless errors distracting your reader from
what you have to say. It’s worth paying attention to the details that help you to make a good impression.

Most people devote only a few minutes to proofreading, hoping to catch any glaring errors that jump out from
the page. But a quick and cursory reading, especially after you’ve been working long and hard on a paper,
usually misses a lot. It’s better to work with a definite plan that helps you to search systematically for specific
kinds of errors.

Sure, this takes a little extra time, but it pays off in the end. If you know that you have an effective way to
catch errors when the paper is almost finished, you can worry less about editing while you are writing your
first drafts. This makes the entire writing proccess more efficient.

Try to keep the editing and proofreading processes separate. When you are editing an early draft, you don’t
want to be bothered with thinking about punctuation, grammar, and spelling. If your worrying about the
spelling of a word or the placement of a comma, you’re not focusing on the more important task of developing
and connecting ideas.

The proofreading process

You probably already use some of the strategies discussed below. Experiment with different tactics until you
find a system that works well for you. The important thing is to make the process systematic and focused so
that you catch as many errors as possible in the least amount of time.

 Don’t rely entirely on spelling checkers. These can be useful tools but they are far from foolproof.
Spell checkers have a limited dictionary, so some words that show up as misspelled may really just
not be in their memory. In addition, spell checkers will not catch misspellings that form another
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valid word. For example, if you type “your” instead of “you’re,” “to” instead of “too,” or “there”
instead of “their,” the spell checker won’t catch the error.

 Grammar checkers can be even more problematic. These programs work with a limited number of
rules, so they can’t identify every error and often make mistakes. They also fail to give thorough
explanations to help you understand why a sentence should be revised. You may want to use a
grammar checker to help you identify potential run-on sentences or too-frequent use of the passive
voice, but you need to be able to evaluate the feedback it provides.

 Proofread for only one kind of error at a time. If you try to identify and revise too many things at
once, you risk losing focus, and your proofreading will be less effective. It’s easier to catch
grammar errors if you aren’t checking punctuation and spelling at the same time. In addition, some
of the techniques that work well for spotting one kind of mistake won’t catch others.

 Read slow, and read every word. Try reading out loud, which forces you to say each word and also
lets you hear how the words sound together. When you read silently or too quickly, you may skip
over errors or make unconscious corrections.

 Separate the text into individual sentences. This is another technique to help you to read every
sentence carefully. Simply press the return key after every period so that every line begins a new
sentence. Then read each sentence separately, looking for grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.
If you’re working with a printed copy, try using an opaque object like a ruler or a piece of paper to
isolate the line you’re working on.

 Circle every punctuation mark. This forces you to look at each one. As you circle, ask yourself if
the punctuation is correct.

 Read the paper backwards. This technique is helpful for checking spelling. Start with the last word
on the last page and work your way back to the beginning, reading each word separately. Because
content, punctuation, and grammar won’t make any sense, your focus will be entirely on the spelling
of each word. You can also read backwards sentence by sentence to check grammar; this will help
you avoid becoming distracted by content issues.

 Proofreading is a learning process. You’re not just looking for errors that you recognize; you’re also
learning to recognize and correct new errors. This is where handbooks and dictionaries come in.
Keep the ones you find helpful close at hand as you proofread.

 Ignorance may be bliss, but it won’t make you a better proofreader. You’ll often find things that
don’t seem quite right to you, but you may not be quite sure what’s wrong either. A word looks like
it might be misspelled, but the spell checker didn’t catch it. You think you need a comma between
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two words, but you’re not sure why. Should you use “that” instead of “which”? If you’re not sure
about something, look it up.

 The proofreading process becomes more efficient as you develop and practice a systematic
strategy. You’ll learn to identify the specific areas of your own writing that need careful attention,
and knowing that you have a sound method for finding errors will help you to focus more on
developing your ideas while you are drafting the paper.