Important lessons on effective essay editing

As an editor of your own essay, it is important, first of all, to have some distance from the essay after writing it. After long hours of engagement, it would help if you took a break to allow your mind to refresh. It may be a tough call to edit an essay you just completed. It may look too familiar therefore tempting you to overlook many errors. It is advisable to take some hours or days off the essay. Do something different in the meantime. Clear up your mind from what you just wrote. This will allow you to better identify errors in the essay upon reading it another time. You may decide to allow a friend to read the paper in the meantime.

• .     Make a decision on the medium you want to carefully proofread the paper. To some people editing a soft copy of an essay on the computer works best for them. Others will prefer printing out the paper and make corrections on the hard copy.
• .    Try to alter the appearance of the essay. By adjusting the font size, style, color and spacing of the essay you trick the brain into perceiving the paper as a new document. This may assist you to get a distinct perspective on the contents of the paper.
• .      Find a serene working environment. You definitely do not want to proofread the paper before a noisy crowd or before a television. It is important to look for a location that will help you avoid distractions for better concentration.
• .   You might want to divide the proofreading and editing for different time blocks. By attempting to edit the entire essay at one go you risk getting worked up and bored at some point, therefore, diminishing your input. It would help if you divide your work into different editing segments. If the essay is pressed for time you can try prioritizing your work.  Begin by proofreading and editing the most important aspects of the essay before time runs out.

Editing: The first step on how to edit essay is actually editing. Begin the proofreading process by editing the essay. Reread the essay to check whether the essay is properly organized. Make sure your essay is transitioning well from one paragraph to the next. Check to see if your arguments are supported by evidence. The essay can be edited on many different levels.
Content: Check to see if the content covers every requirement. It is at this stage that you verify every claim in the essay. If the essay is argumentative check to see if the arguments are complete and that every claim is consistent with your view. Make sure every detail of content is relevant to your essay and the general objective of writing it.
Structure: The final step is structure. Check the introduction, body, and conclusion. Check to see if there is a clear thesis statement. It is here where you verify whether every paragraph relates to the essay thesis.