Editing and revising resources

Editing focuses on correcting the details of a written draft, such as spelling mistakes, grammar, sentence structure, word choice, conciseness, and APA Style formatting.  Although writing always involves changing and improving the grammar, word choice, or structure of sentences, these edits become more important once most revisions are complete in order to complete the final draft. After all, there is little point editing many of the small details in a draft when entire sentences, paragraphs, or sections may be removed, replaced, or otherwise substantially revised. 

The next sections of this guide provide some general recommendations for self-editing or for either giving or seeking editorial advice on a draft where appropriate. Please ensure that you have the appropriate permissions from instructors before you work with others to either suggest or receive feedback on draft coursework.

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Do you find it easier to spot mistakes and correct others' writing than your own? If so, you're not alone: writers often struggle to see and correct the minor details in a document, such as the vocabulary, punctuation, order of words, and even the format of citations and references, especially when compared to their performance in peer-editing tasks (Abadikah & Yasami, 2014; Diab, 2010). Ironically, you may find that the more familiar you are with your own paper, the more difficult it becomes to notice mistakes or things you'd like to change in the text.

The editing tips in this guide will help you to see your writing as if you're reading it for the first time, and well as suggest strategies to help you look for specific issues in your draft. 

1. Read your work out loud (or have it read to you) to catch errors. You’ll likely hear the errors or problems, even if your eyes are telling you the text is correct.
2. Read the work backwards, sentence by sentence. Doing so will allow you to focus on the details of each sentence.
3. If you are working with Microsoft Word, turn on the “Grammar and style” options in Word so that both spelling and grammar will be included during a spell check. See Microsoft's Check Grammar, Spelling, and More in Word for information. Please consider corrections from a computer program as suggestions and think carefully about them before changing your text.  
4. Try the Writer’s Diet Test or the Hemingway Editor, both of which provide automated feedback on sentence-level conciseness.
5. Where necessary, ensure you’ve secured all copyright permissions; see Copyright: Students for information.
6. Use a checklist to help you remember what to check, such as:
   • Build your own checklist based on the mistakes you frequently make in your work.
   • Self Editing Check List (University of Victoria; addresses both revising and editing)
   • Grammar Girl’s Editing Checklist (a list of common grammar errors with examples of both the incorrect and correct versions)
   • Hit Parade of Errors in Grammar, Punctuation, and Style (University of Toronto; identifies and explains more complex grammar, punctuation, and style errors)
   • Academic Integrity Checklist
   • Body Paragraph Checklist
   • Paraphrasing Checklist
   • APA Style (7th ed.) Citations Checklist
   • APA Style (7th ed.) Formatting Checklist
   • APA Style (7th ed.) References Checklist
   • Table Checklist (see p. 207 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.))
   • Figure Checklist (see p. 232 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.))