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Revising and editing are the end stages of the writing process in which you improve your work before producing a final draft.
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When revising, you add, cut, move, or change information in order to improve content.
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During editing and proofreading, you take a second (and maybe third) look at the words and sentences you used to express your ideas and fix any problems in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
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Unity in writing means that all the ideas in each paragraph and in the entire essay clearly belong together and are arranged in an order that makes logical sense.
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Cohesion in writing means that the writer’s wording clearly indicates how one idea leads to another within a paragraph and between paragraphs; transitional words and phrases effectively make writing more cohesive.
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Writing should be clear and concise, with no unnecessary words, and effective formal writing uses specific, appropriate words and avoids slang, contractions, clichés, and overly general words.
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Peer reviews, done properly, can give writers objective feedback about their writing. It is the writer’s responsibility to evaluate the results of peer reviews and incorporate only useful feedback.
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Remember to budget time for careful editing and proofreading. Use all available resources, including editing checklists, peer editing, and your institution’s writing lab, to improve your editing skills.
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Deal with higher order concerns (changes in content in organization) before dealing with lower order concerns, such as word choice and sentence structure.
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Along with getting feedback from others, reverse outlining is a good way to check your draft to see if any higher order concern changes need to be made.
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Be sure to proofread your work (for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and formatting) using one of the proofreading techniques before turning in your paper.