Writing and Editing Process

How to Avoid Common Writing and Editing Mistakes

Certainly, with the advent of instant messaging, emails, blogging, texts, and other computer and telephone technology an informal conversation style of writing has developed. With that said, there in no way should be an informal take on editing prior to publishing which can occur at the click of a mouse. What is posted on the internet is added to our forever career portfolio for recruiters, potential bosses, and others to see, read, and judge. Editing is an important part of the process which is many times forgotten. I do not hold an English doctorate but thanks to my experience as an English as a foreign language teacher, newsletter and document editor, and online distance student working towards my Masters I have created a few tips to better secure our creditability as authors.

1. Expectation and Deadlines Awareness

We all have our own ways of writing and we all have our own ways of editing. For many of us, it involves just jotting fast text and then briefly skimming. That is not good enough. We must keep in mind that there are tools and resources available to help us edit our work. Most importantly, it begins with building a better routine. Knowing the expectation and deadlines of publishing will help to ensure that there is adequate editing time available. Having set deadlines and working towards them will determine whether there is appropriate time for peer editing or simply self assessment and accessing tools to do them.

2. Content Exploration and Formation

Begin any writing process or project with that expectation. Why am I writing this article? Who is my intended audience? What do I want readers to take away? How will this be valuable to them? Create a central question which our readers will be able to answer after reading. Mind map and brainstorm that question then mold and outline our paper with additional questions which you will answer to create the content of your paper. By doing this, we will build a paper which is on topic and stays true to our audience base. The questions will be answered to ensure full and complete understanding with additional points and material to be added along the way.

3. Edit Work!

Spell and grammar check are available on Microsoft Office. Begin to create blog entries, comments, and forum responses within a Word document so that we can be aware of the red, green, and blue squiggly underlines which mean spelling, grammar, and formatting inconsistencies and errors. Just remember that these are not full proof tools because spell and grammar check do not know what we mean to say. Another Microsoft office function is to track changes. Whether we have someone edit our work or we edit it ourselves tracking changes is a great way to record previous and transformed work. It also allows us to come back later.

4. Read it Again

Rereading the content is something that many of us do not do. Editing does not just take place within a single paragraph but throughout the entire project from start to finish. Check again for those squiggly lines but also make sure on there is not too much word redundancy. Use different transitions words and try not to have an identical word in the same sentence or paragraph. Let’s challenge ourselves to break out the thesaurus and right click in Microsoft Word to try different synonyms while being mindful of not being too ostentatious and writing above our reader’s knowledge base. Always keep in mind who is our audience.

5. Grammar Lessons

My ESL students really do not care for those words at all. To put it simply, grammar points deal with word structures and rules of a language and can include spelling, verb tenses, capitalization, and punctuation meaning there are a number of mistakes which can made. Even those who speak and write in English as a first language have difficulty with grammar. We all have our fair share of mix ups because we are becoming more reliant on grammar and spell checks. In order to be prepared for when questions arise, be aware of several good English grammar websites which have are deemed reliable to answer them. Another great idea is to investigate the internet grammar every once and a while for a new rule to catch up on or subscribe to an ESL newsletter or LinkedIn group for updates.

How can you improve your writing and editing process? What are your strengths and weaknesses in English grammar? Why is it important to be mindful of what we make public? Surely, we all have our own ways of writing and editing. This is just a few helpful steps of transform our writing and editing process to be more professional for publishing on the web.

Potential Resources

Rennie, Bryan. “Common Errors in Student Writing.” Westminister. Online. Available: http://www.westminster.edu/staff/brennie/writerro.htm. March 17, 2012.

“Allen Watt’s Word Tips.” Sharon Parq Associates, Inc (2012). Online. Available: http://word.tips.net/C0001_Editing.html. March 17, 2012.

The Scoop.

Who am I? What is my personal background?

My name is Brenda Ariyanto. I am from the north of Boston, MA though I am currently the English Specialist at the Al Jabr Islamic School in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am married to a wonderful man – the right one – and I enjoy spending time with him and learning more about myself and how to be a better communicator. I take pleasure in learning and new challenges. I have an international relations and environmental politics background. I am working towards a MA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina while living abroad thanks to an online program. I have been in Indonesia for the past two years where I have worked as an environmentalist, empowerment trainer, editor, and English specialist/teacher within various government offices, NGOs, universities, and schools. I have really benefited from my time traveling outside the U.S.A. and specifically living here in Jakarta because I have been a full 180 degrees outside my comfort zone. It’s enabled me to see outside myself and be more balanced, respectful, and caring of others’ needs and perspectives.

Why have I begun this blog? How do I see my future in social media?

I originally started a blog when I was studying at Oxford University in 2008. I eventually deleted the entries because I found it to be simply highlighting the negatives. Midway through my studies and weekend European travels I found myself ridden with mono and wrote primarily about my wishes to return to my mother’s arms though I actually learned a great deal and developed my senior thesis. Today, I feel more positive, mature, and aware of the writing and editing process and wish to align myself closer with the power and capabilities of social media. I see myself returning to Boston within the next few months and wish to document short instructive and reflective writings created over the past year through my work as an International Baccalaureate (IB) English Specialist and teacher. As I prepare to enter a new career options, connecting and promoting through various social media web offerings will hopefully guarantee an easier transition.