Assignment Planning: Editing the Assignment
Congratulations! You've completed the first draft of your assignment. However, you still have a wee bit to do; you need to check the content, proofread for spelling and grammar and then check your references. This is why it's a good idea to not leave things to the last minute.
Take a break and then...
Read your essay. Print it out first, don't read it off a screen. Read it out loud - this will slow you down a little and help you pick up things that need to be changed. Consider asking someone to read the draft; it's good to get a second opinion. A second reader will be able to tell you if you've made clear and logical arguments and can make suggestions to improve your writing.
Check for the following:
- Have you met the requirements of the assignment brief?
- Does the introduction introduce what you are going to say?
- Do you communicate your arguments and ideas in the main body?
- Does the conclusion conclude (summarise and comment)?
- Do your argument progress logically, from one idea to the next?
- Is the paragraph order correct? Could you change paragraphs around to make them read better?
- Is there anything missing? Is there anything that needs to be taken out?
You may need to make a few revisions - that's fine. Once you're happy with the content then:
- Proofread for spelling and grammar. Look at the Academic Writing page on editing for more tips and things to look out for
- Do spelling and grammar checking separately as you're looking for two different things
- Again, consider asking someone else to do this
- Use the spell/grammar checker on your word-processing software, but don't rely on it!
- Use a dictionary or thesaurus to choose the most appropriate words for your meaning and avoid using the same words over and over again.
- Check that you have cited all your sources and that all in-text citations appear in your reference list.
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