Receiving negative feedback on the manuscript you have worked so hard for can be frustrating. However, in such instances, it is ideal to work on the feedback. If the supervisor has pointed out spelling or grammatical errors, you need to focus on editing writing. If you do not, it can have a severe impact on the publishing of your manuscript.
Proofreading and editing are important
Proofreading and editing are essential elements of the writing process. They help shed light on your ideas by presenting them with more clarity. It improves your writing style and also removes redundancies that can break the flow of the reader’s attention.
Often writers and students think they are similar, but there are clear differences between both. Editing requires you to go through your manuscript looking for significant changes that it needs, including structuring, content, organization, sentence formation, etc. However, in editing writing, proofreading requires you to correct the errors in the grammar, vocabulary and language.
To begin with, you can take a proper look at your supervisor’s comments and try to understand the reason for the feedback and the changes required. This will help you find out where to begin.
You can also run language and grammar checks on your manuscript using various tools online. Many AI-powered tools will help you with this. Or you can hire a professional for their proofreading and editing services, who will help you write and present your manuscript better.
The Editing Process
Editing writing is a big task but is a skill that you need to sharpen. Here are some points you can keep in mind to hone your proofreading and editing skills:
– Organization
You need to ensure the way you introduce and conclude your manuscript is clear. The paragraphs need to be structured properly and should have clear transitions. Meanwhile, each paragraph requires a topic sentence that introduces the main idea.
– Main idea
In editing writing, ensuring that the manuscript does not drift away from the main idea is essential. The thesis statement should be focused and clear. Another thing to keep in mind in editing writing is that clear evidence needs to support the main ideas of the manuscript.
– Clarity
Giving evidence and definitions when needed can improve your manuscript’s clarity and ideas. Look for words that are repeating, check the structure of your sentences and correct the usage of technical terms, while editing writing.
Proofreading process
After you are done with the editing process of your manuscript, you need to get on to the proofreading bit. This requires a more careful eye to help you locate errors and make the required revisions to improve the written work. Proofreading and editing, both, require a systematic approach.
– Take your time
If you are under the impression you will find errors the first time you read the manuscript, you are wrong. You need to read the manuscript not as a story but as individual words to look for errors. Reading aloud can help slow down the error-search process and can also help to increase your focus during editing writing.
– Divide into sections
You need to divide the written material into various sections and tackle them one at a time. This will take the pressure off of proofreading and editing the entire written material at one go, and completing one section at a time will also enable a sense of achievement.
– Highlight common errors
This will help you write better in your future assignments. The more you are familiar with your mistakes, the more you will avoid making them in the future, hence saving up more time.
Other areas to focus on
Proofreading and editing will help you become a better writer. It will also help improve your language and writing style. For example, while writing a thesis, you want to ensure the tone is formal. Avoid passive voice. These are things that editing writing will bring to your notice.
Also, another area that is usually overlooked in a manuscript is figures and tables while presenting research. This is important in scientific writing especially because figures and tables enable the reader to better visualize and interpret the data.
Tables
These are used for the reader to better understand the text. Follow these steps while editing writing to make your tables more presentable:
Ensure it has a clear title, the body of data is defined, the headings are clear, and it has all the required footnotes, references and key/legend.
Figures
Another aspect to keep in mind during proofreading and editing is the figure mentioned. They give a visual image to the information which may not be clear while reading. These can be depicted in charts, graphs, photos, diagrams etc. You need to ensure the titles and captions introduce the topic well, the figures are numbered for easy identification and classification and pick images that are easy to view.
There are many proofreading and editing resources you can make use of in this process. TrueEditors has a range of editors who will help you editing writing, give you feedback and ensure your manuscript is edited while keeping the essence of the idea alive.
Proofreading and editing do not have to be a daunting process. If you feel like it is not something you can do or do not have the time to do, then you can get someone on board to do it for you. Working with renowned organizations such as TrueEditors will ensure all the editing and proofreading done is up to the mark and you are also able to improve your writing.
-Carl
