Final Steps Before Turning in a Paper: Revise, Edit, Proofread

Everything you write should start with a first draft. That means any creative or academic writing you work on will have to be read through before you turn it in. If you are hoping for an A+ paper, you should write a first draft, revise, edit, and proofread in that order.

Revising

This first step is different from editing. Revising involves writing and re-writing your content. As the author of your work, you are often adding, rearranging, or removing and replacing content in your paper or story.

Revising has the big picture in mind. What was your writing goal?

For all nonfiction/academic papers, know your goal. Here are some examples of what the goal for your writing might be:

1. Prove you did research on the topic.

2. Persuade someone to understand your side, buy your product, vote.

3. Prove you read and understand the book.

4. Followed the directions of the teacher.

5. Compared two or more poems, paintings, thoughts.

Read through your paper and ask yourself if you accomplished your goal.

Editing

The editing step comes after revising your work and takes a look at how all of your information is presented in the paper. This process can include proofreading, but it also takes a deeper look into making the paper easier to understand, better organized, and a good fit for your audience. As you edit, ask yourself some basic questions about your nonfiction writing:

• Does your writing match your outline?

• Does the information in your paper relate to and support your thesis?

• Does the material in each paragraph flow smoothly?

• Do you have transitions to help each paragraph flow logically and smoothly within the paper?

• Are your sentences written clearly?

• Is your language appropriate for the target audience?

• Does each word serve a clear purpose in your paper? Jumbled sentences and any vague words need to be corrected or omitted.

• Do you carry a consistent theme throughout your work?

• Is your tone consistent throughout the work?

• Do you have a consistent verb tense throughout the work?

• Are your sentences (or any lists) balanced?

  
  

Proofreading

Your final step in completing your work should be proofreading. When you proofread, know what your weaknesses are. If you are a weak speller, make sure you have a program that will spell check for you and check any names in the paper yourself. If you aren’t great with grammar, pull up some grammar guides and have them open when you proofread. Errors using commas are one of the most common grammar mistakes. Review tips such as using a comma before introductory phrases before you turn in your work.

Why proofread last? Because when you revise and edit, you may make additional spelling or grammar mistakes. If you proofread first, you may not catch mistakes you made in later edits.