Mastering the art of revising your writing

You’ve done the research and written your first draft. Now it’s time for one of the most crucial jobs as a writer – revising your writing to ensure your reader does not have to work too hard to understand what is being said. It is the final part of the writing process before you submit your work, and it has two distinct steps: editing and proofreading. 50% of the time you allocate to writing should be spent on these two steps. Here’s some advice to help you edit and proofread effectively.

Editing

Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You can edit on several levels:

• Content: Have you addressed all aspects of the brief? Is all the information in your paper relevant? Is your writing balanced? (e.g., Have you written an appropriate number of words for the importance of each idea? Is any section too long?) Are the claims you make accurate and consistent with the argument you are building?
• Overall structure: Does your paper have an appropriate introduction and conclusion? Are the paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Use reverse outlining to check whether your argument flows across the text.
• Structure within paragraph: Is each paragraph a single-focused logical unit of information? Does it begin with a clear opening sentence? Do the sentences flow from given-to-new? Do you avoid very short and very long paragraphs?
• Clarity: Is there clear purpose, unity and flow of thought? Is the meaning of each sentence clear? Avoid overlong sentences and keep a short distance between your subject and its verb.

Proofreading

Proofreading is the final stage of the writing process. Actively search your writing for surface errors:

• Language: Look out for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Small mistakes can slip through even after multiple edits, so be thorough.
• Referencing: Make sure all your citations and references are in line with Cranfield’s referencing guidelines. Double-check the accuracy of names, titles, and the punctuation used in your references.
• Formatting: Ensure your layout, tables, figures, font size, page numbers, and headers are all correct according to your module guidelines.

Tips for effective editing and proofreading

• Change the visual: You’ll be less likely to skim or jump over sections if your document looks different. If you can, print your work and edit in hard copy, convert your document to PDF or change the font for a similar effect.
• Take a break: If possible, leave some time between finishing your draft and revising it. This allows you to return with fresh eyes and a more critical perspective.
• Focus on one aspect at a time: Don’t try to catch everything in one go. Start with one aspect in your checklist and then move onto the next. This methodical approach helps ensure nothing gets overlooked.
• Read aloud: Reading your work out loud slows you down, helping you catch errors in expression and punctuation. You can also use text-to-speech tools, like the Immersive Reader in Word Online, to assist with this.
• Mind the cut and paste: If you’ve moved sections around, make sure the sentences still make sense and that your tenses, genders, and plurals are correct throughout.
• Punctuation matters: Familiarize yourself with the rules for commas, apostrophes, colons, and semi-colons. Proper punctuation can significantly improve the clarity and professionalism of your writing.
• Get a fresh perspective: While you need to be careful about asking someone else to proofread your work, you can ask a friend to read it and tell you if it makes sense. A fresh set of eyes can often catch things you’ve missed.
• Learn from feedback: Use feedback from previous assignments to create a checklist of common errors you make. Keep this list handy while proofreading to help eliminate these mistakes in future work.

Should I get a professional proof-reader to look at my work?

You can, but we don’t expect you to.  If you choose to, you must read the following explanation of the proof reader’s role, under section 3.5 of the Cranfield University Senate Handbook on Academic Misconduct (2024, p. 10-11), which is available here.

Can I use a proofreading tool?

Yes, you can.  We don’t recommend any in particular, but there are a number of proofreading tools out there, with Grammarly being one of the best known.  If you use an AI tool (like Grammarly) you must make sure you abide by the rules here – Generative AI guidance – and acknowledge your use.

Helpful resources

There is more information on our Study Skills Hub about academic writing and there you can also find out more about the free training and 1-2-1 support that our Academic Language team can offer.  If you’re looking to sharpen your editing and proofreading skills, there are plenty of resources available there to help you with this too.

If you still have questions, please contact our Academic Language team.

Feature image by kropekk_pl on Pixabay. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/computer-computers-keyboard-313840/