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Writing forCollege.org |
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A. HAVE YOU THOROUGHLY
Problem: Most people who write papers have
something intelligent to say. However, a great many papers
receive low grades simply because the papers are difficult to read or
understand because of poor editing.
Solution: Such problems often can be cured
simply by much more thorough revising and editing. Success in
editing is measured much more by how much time you spend on it than by
how "good" you are at it. For most people, it is
actually easier to be a good editor than a good rough-draft writer.
What can you do? Edit well. How? Stop seeing the contents of
your paper in the editing stage. How do you stop seeing
contents? Do so by
reading it (a) backward and (b) aloud, (c) sentence by sentence.
Should you make
all the changes at once? Avoid that.
Instead, fix just
one type or group of errors at a time. For example, read backward for
spelling and capitalization once, fixing things as you find the
errors. Then read backward another time for comma splices and
fragments, a third time for comma errors, etc.
What should you do next? Most people
cannot find all their error patterns alone. Use the above
methods first; then take your paper to your school writing or
tutoring center or to someone with very good kills in English.
"A" and "B" grade writers usually are those who
use such help regularly, not those who avoid it.
B.
HAVE YOU RESET MS WORD FOR EDITING?
MS Word usually is set for
checking workplace grammar but not formal style. And your spell
check may not be turned on. For formal writing, you should reset
these two functions.
Word 2007: For grammar and spell
check In Word 2007, click on the "Review" tab, then "Spelling and
Grammar." Then check the "Check grammar" box. Next, in this
same box, click on "Options." Then, in the "Word Options" box, be
sure "Proofing" is checked.
Word 2000: For grammar check, go to "Tools," "Options,"
"Grammar," and "Writing Style." (In earlier
versions, reset it to "Formal" grammar style.) For
spell check, turn it on by going to "Tools," "Options," and "Spelling"
and check the first box (in Word 2000 and later).
Word Count: Do you need a word count? Go to
"Tools" and "Word Count."
Additional,
more detailed directions are available. See "Spell
and Grammar Check" in the chapter called "What Is
'Revising'?"
C.
WHAT ARE
EDITING NEEDS FOR
Small
but Important Errors:
One important activity in editing your workplace
writing is to check very carefully for your use of words and phrases.
A "not" or the lack of it--or a missing or incorrect word--in any
sentence or paragraph may completely change your meaning or otherwise
create quite a bit of confusion or misunderstanding among your readers.
Checking for such
mistakes is much more important in professional writing than in academic
(school) writing. In school, the focus is on your overall ideas and the
development of them. However, in professional writing, your details and
ideas may be explained so efficiently and concisely that what may seem
like a minor mistake to you, the writer, can become a major
misunderstanding to the reader.
For this reason, it is wise to carefully check what
you have written--backwards, paragraph by paragraph; read it aloud;
and/or have someone else read it. In fact, if your paper is very
important to you, you should try all three of these methods.
Source
Materials:
Source materials--quotations and paraphrases--include not only
what others have said in print or aloud but also what they have created as
graphs, statistics, or pictures or in other audiovisual formats.
Always clearly show what has originated from someone else and who that source
is.
If you are using a graphic (a table, chart, picture, etc.), it is
acceptable in some professional writing simply to mention the source in a side
note immediately after, beside, or before it. In more formal professional
writing, however, and especially in using quotes or paraphrases of printed or
spoken words, the words generally should not just be inserted. Rather, it
is better to offer a phrase or sentence of introduction beforehand, just as you
might introduce one person to another at a professional function.
A
bibliography may or may not be necessary, depending on the type of workplace
paper you are writing and how many sources you have. When in doubt, use
academic guidelines: see "Quoting
& Paraphrasing" in this textbook and
OnlineGrammar.org 's three chapters
on "Research
& Bibliographies."
"He/she/it" vs.
"I" or "You":
In most professional writing, you should use the
third-person pronouns "he," "she," "it," and "they." You should
not use "you," as you are not giving directions.
You also should not use "I" at any time, unless you
are referring to yourself in an example, in which case you should start
your example with a transition (e.g., "For example, one time I was...)
to help show that you are moving into a personal story. Once the
story is over, simply return to the third-person pronoun again.
However, if conventions are different in your
workplace, follow the conventions that your supervisor expects. In
some professional writing, the use of "you"--as in this Web page you are
reading now or as in many magazine articles--has become acceptable.
Active vs. Passive Verbs:
Many
professional writing guides discourage excessive passive constructions. A
passive construction is, for example, "The
project will be presented," as opposed to the active version of it, "Jane
will present the project."
However, a
certain amount of passive-voice writing may be necessary, acceptable, and even
desirable. This is because the passive voice emphasizes the activities
that are under discussion and de-emphasizes--or entirely omits--who is doing the
activities. For example, examine how the passive "The project was terminated"
avoids stating who terminated it, while the active
"James Willard terminated the project" clearly states who did the
terminating.
As a result--for better or worse--when you use the passive
voice, no one individual gets credit or blame for the activity, and the entire
activity becomes part of the overall group effort. For best results in
your own workplace writing, you may want to examine examples of writing that
your supervisor or instructor prefers and try to mimic the active- or
passive-voice style in them.
Paragraphing:
Paragraphing in many professional workplaces follows some relatively standard guidelines.
As stated in other chapters about professional writing,
(1) your introduction
and conclusion generally should be short and to the point. Generally
speaking, you may use more than one paragraph in each only if they are unusually
long or you are adding extras such as an abstract (in the introduction), a brief
credentials chapter (in the conclusion), or some other addition requested by
your supervisor.
(2) Each body section generally should have
two or more paragraphs, unless your paper is rather short.
(3)
Paragraph length should be about 100-150 words, with a few short paragraphs
allowable or even, in some professional writing, encouraged, and lengths should
be varied on any given page to help maintain reader attention. These
guidelines are for short- and medium-length professional papers; longer, more
formal ones may need a more academic style of paragraphing, with longer
paragraphs.
(4) A topic word, phrase, or sentence--announcing each
medium or long paragraph's subject or conclusion--should be at its
beginning.
(5) Don't worry about
paragraphing in rough drafts that your supervisor will not see. For more advice, go to the "Paragraphing"
chapter.
Always Take Time to Edit:
I write a monthly newsletter for two thousand professional in
the field of English, so they are particularly aware of mistakes I make.
And I usually make at least one small mistake each month--fortunately, it often
is formatting or something else almost invisible. I go over and over my
newsletter before sending it, deleting the several errors I always find, some of
them glaring errors that make me look bad, even though usually they occur from
line changes, deletions, etc., and not from my bad grammar or spelling.
Always check. Everyone makes errors. Just be sure you make so few
that you get a reputation for good writing.
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Contact Richard. Questions and suggestions are welcome. |