Editing - the ultimate writing makeover

Makeovers can offer good value!

Everyone has seen programs on TV and articles in magazines where ordinary people improve themselves by changing their looks, their bodies, and sometimes their total appearance. You see young singers made over if you watch Idol where see awkward ugly ducklings are transformed into pop stars.

When you draft an assignment it could be fairly ordinary until you give it a makeover with your editing and proof-reading.

Keep in mind that a good makeover takes time and effort.

If possible:

• Take a break between writing and editing. This allows you to re-examine it as an editor rather than a writer.



• Read your paper at least a couple of times: separate reading for meaning from your proof-reading for expression, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Proof-reading needs to be done sentence by sentence.



• Note: spell-checkers don’t pick up incorrect words or homonyms e.g. ewe for you.



• Ensure your headings and text match.



• In your text refer to tables and figures and ensure all tables and figures are correctly labelled



• Schedule referencing time. If you have a lot of sources you may need several hours to ensure every in-text reference is correct and has a corresponding acknowledgement in the Reference List.



• Don’t mix and match referencing styles. You can’t simply copy and paste citations from other sources. You’ll need to adjust every one to the required style. See the Referencing Guide



• Attend to presentation features like matching headings and sub-headings



• Find a critical friend, someone who understands the content area to see if they understand what you have written. Ask them to point out any sections which confuse them but also ask them to avoid correcting the text. That’s your job.



• Meeting the deadline is part of the task so make sure you know how and where to submit to ensure you meet the requirements.

Here's an editing resource developed by learning advisers to help you on your way to a writing makeover.

Your assignment makeover will help your reader see the quality of your learning. Then work done, you can enjoy your holidays.

Best of luck

Helen

Students of distinction

Thanks to those of you who voted on our poll. We are keen to 'open the floor', as it were, to our fellow lecturers who are immersed in papers (your papers!) as we speak. As Learning Advisers, we see some students who want to take their work up to the next notch of excellence. Some students have studied in another country and find the strategies used at home don't seem to work as well in Oz. Others have come from secondary school and have a similar experience.

Is there a magic ingredient to writing a distinction level paper? If you are already a good student, what does it take to shift to the next grade? How can students get extra marks in exams?

Share your thoughts with us by posting a comment.

Helen and Andrea

Clear and concise writing

It is an unfortunate misconception that writing academically means writing long winded sentences (I know, I fell for this one when I first started Uni).

Simplicity, clarity and cohesive writing is almost always rewarded by lecturers who often have to wade through papers (and might I add, academic journal articles) which do not always follow principles of clear and lucid written communication. Before I post some resources, here are a few pointers which Learning Advisers pass on. These pointers apply to ALL types of writing, not just SCIENTIFIC writing.

• Use short sentences. I have read sentences which go for a paragraph. You will lose your reader.


• Remember structure in writing. I have learnt a great deal about this from my engineering colleagues who have this down to a fine art. Never underestimate the humble 'Firstly, secondly and thirdly' as a way to introduce ideas.


• Make sure you then talk about your Firstly, secondly and thirdly in this order throughout your paper, report, proposal or thesis.


• Remember one idea per paragraph.


• Always explain your key terms. This means... An example of this is... A rule of thumb is to write for an intelligent audience. There will be a certain amount of specialist knowledge but lecturers are often testing your ability to explain key concepts.


• Read your work out loud. Everyone should do this. You will be surprised at how effective this is in assessing the clarity of your expression. (If you run out of breath after a sentence, you know it's too long!!!)

Here is a selection of resources. Some of these are very, very simple but highly prized by student and academic, alike.

• Linking words (I love this one)


• Paragraph writing


• Shorter sentences for better writing

Thanks to those of you who voted for this post. Please continue to cast your votes or post comments about areas of interest and we will post up some ideas and resources. Does anyone have another writing tip to share?

Yours in clarity!

Andrea