STEP NINE

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San Jose State University *

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Mechanical Engineering

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Oct 30, 2023

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STEP NINE Edit, Rewrite, and Refine Discussion of the three-stage editing process Instructions for revising the message, improving the organization, and polishing the mechanics Examples of rough-draft, redlined, and final documents The first thing to remember about editing is not to do it while you’re writing the first draft. It’s better to complete the first draft by letting the words pour out so you don’t interrupt your natural flow of ideas. (See Step 2: Know Where You’re Taking Your Readers for a discussion of free- writing.) When you’ve completed the first draft, that’s the time to begin refining your document. In this step, we’ll look at the editing process rather than at specific editorial changes you may want to make to your document. Those specifics have been covered in the earlier steps of this book. Take a Break Before You Revise Your Draft It’s easy to get attached to the words you write and the way you’ve written them. That’s a great reason to put some space between the first draft and the editing process. Even a couple of hours can cool your (probably unwarranted) passion for your draft and can increase your willingness to see and fix its shortcomings. Whenever possible, write the first draft and put it aside. Refocus your concentration on something else and come back to the document several hours later or even the next day. When ridiculously tight deadlines—like in the next 30 minutes—force you to write quickly and leave you little time to review, take at least a few minutes to read the document to yourself to catch obvious mistakes in spelling, grammar, and word usage and to ensure it makes sense. Read from the Recipient’s Point of View To become an effective editor, you must be critical of your own text and make the necessary changes. When you’re ready to revise your document, here’s the first truth: to write better, you need to know what will read better. (Apologies for the ungrammatical use of the word read — sometimes you have to break a rule to make a point.)

If you want to write better, know what will read better to others. To evaluate how readable and understandable your document will be, put yourself behind your readers’ glasses. Will they find the document clear, concise, and organized? Will they figure out the situation that prompted your writing it—the context? Will they make sense of your data? Will they take the action or support the position you’re recommending? The best way to answer those questions for yourself as you begin the editing is to read the words out loud. If something sounds confusing, it probably is. If you don’t think the words flow well, the reader won’t think they flow well either. Follow the Three-Stage Editing Process Editing can be divided into three major focus areas: 1. message 2. organization 3. mechanics. Editing is a threestage process that focuses separately on message, organization, and mechanics. In the three stages of editing, each area is addressed separately because it’s impossible to pay close attention to all three at the same time. Let’s look at the three stages. Message

Editing should begin with the message because it makes no sense to waste time reorganizing or reviewing the mechanics of text that isn’t conveying your points clearly. To review the clarity of your message, ask yourself a few simple questions. These questions are similar to the ones you asked when you started writing the document (Step 2: Know Where You’re Taking Your Readers):  Is the purpose or bottom line clear?  Is the action required of the reader clear?  Are the other important points clear?  Is the tone appropriate for the message?  Is the message written in a positive (rather than negative) way? As you answer those questions, mark any text you’re not satisfied with (for example, a confusing action step). On a paper copy, circle or highlight a group of words or sentences that may need revision. If you prefer editing only on a screen, use the highlighting feature or put that block of text in a different color. Go through the entire document, marking places you may revise, before you begin revising. You may want to go through it two or three times. Then work on clarifying your message in each of the places you’ve marked. Organization All documents, even those with just a few paragraphs, need to be organized so that the reader can follow the text easily. The second stage of editing takes a hard look at how well you’ve imposed a logical order on the message you’re trying to convey. Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if your document is properly organized:  Is information separated into chunks that are easy to digest?  Are those chunks arranged in a logical sequence?  Does each paragraph contain just one basic idea so readers won’t get confused?  Are there transitions unifying sentences, paragraphs, and sections to help ideas in the document flow smoothly from start to finish?  Is the structure reasonably similar throughout different sections?  Could subheads before key sections make it easier to read? One method to separate and arrange your ideas is to read the document and list all the key points it conveys. In essence, you’re re-outlining it. This is much easier when you’re looking at text you’ve written than it is when you’re staring at a blank page. The re-outlining process also will help identify any important concepts that you omitted. You can list them separately at the bottom of the page or on a separate sheet of paper and incorporate them as you reorganize the document. You’ll also be able to spot repeated or similar ideas scattered throughout the document and then merge them into a single paragraph or section.

If you developed an initial outline before you started your first draft, compare that version to the re-outline to see if you omitted anything you initially intended to include. During this stage, you may decide to change the order in which ideas are presented so they flow more logically from one to the next. Consider adding subheads or a few words before each section (set in bold or italic, perhaps underlined) to pinpoint the key message that follows and to further separate each concept. (See Step 6 for more discussion of subheads.) Good organization is a more subjective quality than are the message and proper mechanics. For example, the same information can be conveyed through shorter or longer paragraphs. And you can explain a multifaceted concept by using bullets to list the facets or by writing a few traditional paragraphs with no bulleted items. When you get comfortable with your own method of organizing, you’ll find that it not only promotes readability but also simplifies your writing process because you can move text around into separate categories more confidently—and get the document done faster. Mechanics Most of the grunt work in editing comes in the third stage: reviewing the mechanics of your text. Mechanics form the micro level of the document, not the macro message or the mid-level organization. Mechanics are the weeds! Editing for mechanics—spelling, punctuation, grammar, and word usage—may require you to be in a different frame of mind than you are when evaluating message clarity and organization. You need to scrutinize individual words or groups of words instead of the entire document. Here are some questions you need to ask:  Spelling/typos o Are any words misspelled? o Are any homonyms (sound-alikes, such as there and their) used in place of the correct words? o Are any words missing or out of place in a sentence? o Have you placed apostrophes correctly? o Are all proper names spelled correctly?  Punctuation o Do all of your sentences end with appropriate punctuation? o Are all commas and periods placed inside quotation marks? o Do commas separate all the items in a series? o Do semicolons separate all the items in a comma-separated series?  Grammar and syntax o Do subjects and verbs agree in number? o Do nouns and pronouns agree in number?

o Is text written in a consistent tense? o Are sentences written in a parallel structure? o Are bulleted or numbered lists written in a parallel structure? o Are subheads written in a parallel structure? o Does each introductory phrase directly relate to the noun that immediately follows it? o Is everything written in complete sentences, where appropriate? o Are there short, choppy sentences that can be combined for better flow?  Word usage o Is there any stuffy language that can be replaced with simpler words? o Are there any weak passive verbs or verb-nouns that can be replaced with more powerful active verbs? o Can you eliminate any redundant language? o Is there jargon or “business-speak” that can be simplified with more widely understood terminology? You can start with the spelling/grammar-checking feature usually available with word-processing software. It helps catch obvious mistakes—but don’t depend on it. The spelling-check feature won’t catch homonyms you’ve used incorrectly (here, hear; do, due; there, their, they’re); and if you’ve written is when you meant in, the software won’t catch your mistake. As to the grammar- checking feature, sometimes the software’s suggestions are just plain wrong. Another way to find mistakes is to read your words aloud in a staccato, syllable-by-syllable rhythm so you actually can hear the errors. For example, when sounding out “Lu-pé out-lined four-teen work-flow im-prove-ments is her re-port,” you’ll probably notice that “is” should be “in.” Also try reading the text backward, forcing yourself to review one word at a time instead of getting mesmerized by the flow of sentences and paragraphs. Editing for mechanics can be handled in many ways. You can print out your document, write your revisions on the paper copy, and then key them into the electronic file. Or you can use the tracking/redlining feature of your word-processing program, which will enable you to keep your original version without interrupting the flow of the newer version. With time, you’ll discover the system that works best for you. Examples of Editing in Action Editing is partially subjective and always situation-specific. Who your readers are, what your message is, and what you hope to accomplish with your document all affect the finished product. Learning to edit your words is hands-on work, and I wish I could sit with you and make specific suggestions as you do it. Because that’s not a viable plan, the second-best option is for you and me to look at several first-draft documents and evaluate their message, organization, and mechanics. Examining those three aspects of each document, choosing what to do to improve them, and seeing how the changes are made will help you learn to edit your own work more effectively.

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