Editing guide

Edit your first draft so that it makes sense!

Does your writing make sense?

  • Who is the audience for this piece of writing?
  • Do the ‘style’ and ‘vocabulary’ suit the audience?
  • Does this piece fulfil the purpose required? (i.e.Do the job it's supposed to do?)
  • Does this piece follow the generic structure required?
  • Are there any gaps in the information that need to be added?
  • Is there any information that is unnecessary and could be cut out?
  • Are there any parts that need to be changed?
  • Do the events or facts follow each other in proper order or are some parts jumbled?
  • Is each sentence a complete thought? (Or are there run-on sentences?)
  • Is the paragraphing correct? (does each paragraph develop one idea?)

Spelling

  • Check your spelling using a ruler to read ‘line by line’, paying attention to ‘each’ word.
  • Circle words that you think might be incorrect and check them in a dictionary or with the teacher.
  • Correct any words that you can by yourself.

Punctuation

  • Capital letters - Start a sentence
    • People’s names or places
    • NOT for common nouns
    • Main words in a heading
  • Question marks
  • Speech marks - have you paid attention to all the rules for punctuating direct speech?
  • Full stops and commas - Read your piece quietly out loud so that you can HEAR where the full stops and commas should go.

Grammar

  • Are the nouns, verbs and adjectives in agreement? (eg. He is, they are)
  • Is your tense the same throughout? (ie all in the past OR all in the present?)