the encouragement lounge: Editing and proofing your own work

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Editing and proofing your own work

Hi All,

I posted this link and these ideas a few years ago, but am posting them again for new readers.

Learning to edit and proof your own papers is important in terms of success in graduate school.

This handout, published by UNC offers several strategies:

UNC - Editing and Proofreading

A few additional strategies:

1. Read your work out loud. You will catch errors that you don't catch when you just read the piece silently to yourself.

2. Start reading in the middle. I suspect that if we always begin editing and proofing our papers in the beginning, the front end of the paper is stronger than the back end because we are more focused in the first part of the reading -- our attention may diminish as we move through the paper. So, start reading in the middle so you give your best energy and attention to the second half of the paper, at least once. And then go back and read the first half.

3. Print the paper in a different font. This will wake your brain up and you will have more focus. (this is also mentioned in the UNC document!).

4. Keep a checklist of errors that you typically make in your writing. After you have reviewed the paper and believe it's in good shape, go back and review for the items on your checklist.

If you have other ideas, please post them in the comments section below!

Cheering you on in your work:
Harriet

Photo by HLS

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Working adult students, on my mind...

I hope this blog will be helpful to friends and others involved in a variety of endeavors. However, I created the blog with students in mind and continue to develop it with that specific group as my focus.

I believe that with the increase in evening, weekend, and low-residency programs, students are working more and more in isolation. If we were all full-time students on campus, we would have the informal support that comes with being able to go down the hall and talk with a colleague, etc. But instead, we are working late nights and weekends at home in front of the laptop.

With that in mind, I hope the encouragement lounge provides brief moments of respite and energizing connection. This does not at all replace valuable face-to-face contact. Many aspects of the academic journey can only be addressed via in-depth conversations with colleagues and teachers. And I would always rather sit down and talk with someone than to communicate online. Nonetheless, my aim is to give you one more channel for quick hits of support.