Steps in Writing the Essay: Editing and Proofreading

What Is College Essay Editing?

Essay editing is a process that follows the stage of writing. Its purpose is to prepare the written material for the reader, which in this case is the professor. Your grade depends on these efforts.

All types of writing involve methods of improvement. When a blogger works on a new post, they revise it before the final publication. When a novelist writes a book, they pass it on to a professional editor, who will improve it to the perfect form that would make the audience happy. The work of journalists is also subjected to a thorough revisions process.

This is not the same thing as censorship. An editor does not censor the work; they only boost its quality by condensing, correcting, or modifying it in any other way.

It doesn’t matter what type of essay you wrote. It may be a narrative, argumentative, compare/contrast, or definition essay. It may be for your English or for your statistics course. The link that connects all different kinds of writing is the final stage of revision.

How to Edit an Essay

In an ideal situation, you’d hire a professional editor. You’d tell them “I need you to help edit and proofread my essay, and I needed done in three days.”

Good news: you do have such an opportunity. The essay editing service BestEssayTips is ready to take your order.

If you’re after a free essay edit, there’s only one solution: read tips and do it yourself! We’ll give you the tips, and you’ll do the rest of the work.

First and foremost, you have to understand the difference between editing and proofreading. The editing process is centered on the essence, whereas the proofreading stage is focused on the structure. When you edit, you’ll be concerned about the logical flow, transparency of the message, plagiarism, and uniqueness of your work.

When you proofread, you’ll focus on technicalities, such as grammar, punctuation, and syntax structure.

The editing details come first! It would make no sense to proofread something that’s not even the final version of your paper.

Let’s expose our free essay edit guide, shall we?

1. Give It a Rest

Here’s a tip from the pros: there needs to be some space between the steps of writing and post-writing. When a blogger is working on a new blog, they will give it some time “to sit” before they proceed with the improvements. That period may last a day or a week. You’ll give yourself as much time as you have on your hands.

If your deadline is in a week, you may allow at least two days of rest between the stages.

You’d be wondering: why is this necessary?

If you edit immediately, your words will look too familiar. Even the mistakes sound natural at this point. The break from your writing will allow you to see it from a reader’s point of view. Don’t think about the essay and don’t read it after you write it. Just leave it alone! After this pause, it will seem new. You’ll be able to notice your own flaws and you’ll be a much more efficient essay proofreader.

2. Check the Structural Elements

• Is the title original?

• Did you follow your outline? Maybe you missed important points from the planned template?

• Did you maintain a logical connection between the paragraphs?

• Did you stick to the topic?

• Does your essay have an introduction, body, and conclusion?

• Can you clearly identify the thesis statement?

• Did you leave any questions unanswered?

• Did you follow APA, MLA, Chicago, or other formatting requirements? You probably have a specific indication regarding the citation style. Follow the rules very precisely!

• Is the bibliography well-formatted?

• When you look at the essay without reading it, is there symmetry between the paragraphs?

These issues may seem trivial when you’re focused on proving an argument. Still, the format of your paper is just as important as its essential message.

3. Is There a Unique Tone?

You may write the perfect sample and complete a flawless essay. Does that mean it has to be good? – Not if it’s boring or lifeless. You have to show your special character through the content. Did you infuse some jokes, passionate language, or any other elements that show this is your paper?

Remind yourself of your thoughts and passion when you started writing this project. Did you manage to grasp and convey that spirit through the writing style? If not, make the necessary adjustment to improve the uniqueness of your essay.

4. Next: Clarity of the Message

When you go to a professional essay editing service, they will approach your order with one goal: to make your main message clear and more prominent without affecting your unique writer’s voice.

You can have the same thought to mind when editing your own academic papers. Once you’re sure there’s enough unique vibe in your writing, it’s time to clarify the message. Get rid of all redundancies and add the necessary background.

Put your arguments at a test. If you knew nothing about this issue, would that argumentation be enough to convince you to adopt a certain point of view?

While you’re focused on the arguments, review if you’ve referenced all used literature! Plagiarism is not allowed, and the uniqueness checkup is also part of the editing process.

How to Proofread Your Own Essay

Cool; you’re done with the college essay editing process. That doesn’t mean you’re done. These free essay proofreading tips will guide you through the remaining post-writing stages:

1. Strive for Simplicity

Academic writing is a complex process. Your initial thought may be: complicated language is a requirement. You’re wrong! No one wants to read something that requires a dictionary. Your professor is smart, but that doesn’t mean they want you to challenge their patience with endless sentences and overly “intellectual” expressions.

Simplifying is the first stage of proofreading. Make your sentences and paragraphs more readable. This means you’ll be trimming down your paper. Do that with no guilt of conscience!

2. Get Rid of Repetitiveness

Are there any terms you used too many times in your paper? Are any of the ideas and arguments getting repetitive? Repetition makes papers boring, so you have to eliminate it during the proofreading stage.

You can use an online thesaurus to search for synonyms of commonly used words.

3. Run a Spellcheck

Your word processing software has a spell checker feature. It’s okay to use it. It will indicate some of the most obvious mistakes, but don’t take its suggestions for granted. It’s software, so you cannot expect it to be the perfect essay proofreader. It’s just an automated generator of suggestions.

You’ll still have to read through the text and use your own eyes and brain.

4. Check the Grammar

If any sentence sounds weird from a grammatical point of view, there’s probably something wrong with it. Think about the phrases and sentences! Make sure the grammar is flawless before you can say you’re done.

Consistency in tenses is important! If you start speaking in past simple, for instance, it’s better to maintain that tense throughout the paragraph.

Editing Is Hard Work, But It’s an Inevitable Stage of the Creative Writing Process

Free essay proofreading and editing is an option, but it does rely on your own efforts. Don’t even think about turning in the paper without going through the phases we listed above!

If you don’t have time for everything, you should definitely consider hiring a service. You’ll only say “I need you to proofread my essay,” and your order will be done by the due date. The prices of these services are quite affordable, and the results are outstanding!