The Writing Process | Enrichment Course
Stage 3. Step 1. Editing Your Draft
Continue Polishing Your Work
At this point, you have just revised your draft. You focused on presenting your ideas to your readers as clearly as possible. Now it is time to edit your work.
When editing your draft, you will pay close attention to the mechanics of writing, grammar, and style.
If you find yourself revising your ideas at this stage, consider taking a step back and finish revising your work before you work on this step.
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Editing: Focus on Grammar and Style
When you edit your work, focus on the mechanics of writing, grammar, and style. You go over details such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, clauses, and so on.
You may feel tempted to rush through this step; however, editing is as important as any other step in the writing process.
To edit your work, ask yourself the following:
Is my document formatted correctly?
- Using a style manual (e.g., MLA-style or APA-style manual), double-check your formatting.
Are there any grammar problems?
- Does each sentence have a subject and verb? Are my clauses grammatical?
- Is the verb in the correct tense?
- Does each verb agree with the subject?
- Have I used all the correct pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, adjective forms, and so on?
Are there any spelling and punctuation problems?
- Is the punctuation correct? Check each punctuation mark. Check where you may be missing a punctuation mark.
- Is the spelling correct?
Writing tips for editing your draft
Visit this list of editing tips for a more comprehensive list of what you can do when you edit your writing.
Make sure to return to this page to continue your course.
Up Next: Stage 3. Final Touches
Continue the lesson to learn about finalizing your work.