Showing posts with label Editing Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Editing Tips. Show all posts

Thursday, 23 March 2017

Self-Editing Tip: Good Writing isn't All About Grammar!


To keep your writing interesting, sentences should vary in length and rhythm. Change up your word choices and eliminate redundancies. If you feel like you’re using certain words and phrases too much, you probably are. Do a quick search in your word processing software to find out.

Don’t be afraid to expand your vocabulary, and remember that the thesaurus gives words ofsimilar meaning.  Not every word it gives you will be interchangeable. If you are not sure about the nuances behind a word’s meaning, look it up in the dictionary before you use it.


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Thursday, 2 March 2017

Self-Editing Tips: Can your emotions sabotage good self-editing?


Good editing takes calm, focus, and a rational, objective state of mind. Editing when you are tired, stressed, emotional, distracted, rushed, or otherwise mentally impaired can greatly affect what you find, the changes you make, and how you feel about your work as a whole. 

If you are feeling overly critical toward your piece, set it aside for another day so that you don’t get discouraged, or get a second opinion from someone you trust to be honest with you.  Your critical mood might be a reflection of something else going on in your life, and not related to your writing at all.


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Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Self-Editing Tip: Affect or Effect?


Affect is usually used as a verb and means to influence.

Effect is usually used as a noun and means to change or impact.

For example:

Heavy rain affected the attendance at our cookout.

A cup of hot tea always has a positive effect on my mood.

And now for a fun visual aid:





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Thursday, 22 December 2016

Self-Editing: The Oxford Comma

The Oxford comma--you knew I'd have to bring it up eventually, right? Without it there is often room for ambiguity--sometimes adding unintended humor. For example, “A notorious gambler, Charlie Sheen owed money to his ex-wives, Billy Bob Thornton and Hugh Grant.” In this sentence, a simple comma would prevent Billy Bob and Hugh from being noted as Charlie Sheen's ex-wives! In journalism the comma is often dropped as a way of saving printing space. However, for all other types of writing the Chicago Manual of Style recommends its usage.


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Thursday, 27 October 2016

Self-Editing Tip: Who vs. That

Who vs That

This tip may seem overly simple, but I see this mistake all the time when editing. We're used to using who and that interchangeably when we speak, but the rules of writing are less forgiving.

Always use who (or whom) when a sentence refers back to a person. Use that when talking about an object. For example, "Mrs. Smith is the librarian who helped me find my research books." Or, "His blog is the one that I read every morning before work."

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