How to Edit Your Essay

It is a wonderful relief to finally finish writing an essay. You searched for the perfect topic and you spent hours putting the essay together. But you cannot stop there! Now you must edit your essay. Here are some basic tips to ensure that your essay is the best you can make it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Check your essay for form. Have you indented the paragraphs and used proper spacing? Make sure you have used enough paragraphs to support your thesis statement. Ideally, you should have at least five paragraphs – an introduction, three paragraphs that each deal with a supporting point and a conclusion.
2. Locate errors in spelling and grammar. You can use the spell check in your work processor when you're editing but make sure the spell checker didn’t miss an error. The spell checker often skips synonyms.
3. Add more detail if needed. Check each supporting point in the essay and make sure you have provided enough detail to prove your thesis statement.
4. Eliminate repetitions. Check over your essay carefully to be sure you have not repeated ideas over and over again.
5. Show your essay paper to someone else and ask him to read and edit the paper for you. Often an additional pair of eyes will pick up errors that you missed.
6. Read your essay out loud to yourself or another person. The sheer act of having to verbalize what you have written will help you to locate errors in style and form.

Tips & Warnings

• Rewrite your essay until it satisfies you.
• Don’t hand in an essay without first editing.