Tips for Editing and Revising

March 14, 2011 | Posted in: Class Updates

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Today in class, we brainstormed a great list of tips to help students with editing and revising tasks.  (Tomorrow’s CMT is the editing and revising section.)  This may be helpful with tonight’s homework.  (Sorry about the temperamental formatting!)

How to Succeed at Editing and Revising (by really trying!)

• Read the passage first.
  • Focus on the meaning.
  • Focus on errors.
    • Look for underlined parts that grab your attention.
      • Not every underlined part is an error.
    • Look for parts that are unclear or awkward.
      • Force your brain to NOT auto-correct the errors as you read.  Notice the errors!
• Before answering a question, look at the sentences before and after the passage in question in addition to reading that passage.
• Consider all the options before choosing the correct answer.
• Trust your instinct.  If it looks wrong, it probably is wrong.  If one option sounds correct, it probably is correct.
• Eliminate answers that are obviously wrong.
• Read the question very, very carefully.  Know what you’re being asked to focus on.
• When revising, look for what the weakness is with the passage in question.  Choose the option that best fixes the weakness.