It is wonderful that many teachers and professors allow students to write the first draft of the essay. Others like to see only the final work. Either way, final editing matters. This is what generates a perfect paper. But this is the generation of technology.
Computers and printers have replaced pens and papers. Unfortunately, this is where the problem is. On computer, it is quite easy to make mistakes. Word software usually is very skilled at highlight them, but sometimes it can skip a few non mainstream words.
The latest Microsoft Word has some problem with space too. Its smoothness can at times create undetectable red line free double space between words. If you don’t practice caution you will not be able to find them. Writing assignments always include questions. The student’s job is to answers them in details through the paper. Thus proofreading must always be accompanied by whether it is truly providing the answer in clearest possible manner. How do you do that? You may not believe, but going old school while taking ample advantage of the technology is the way to do it. This is what we discuss here. The last portion has a secret that no one told you before. So lets get started.
Methods to edit and proofread a paper
1. Try finishing up the paper a little early before the due date. This is going to give you enough time to ponder on where you went wrong, catch mistakes, look for loopholes in your answers and replace words in your paper.
2. Print out your draft. This is going to make your paper more readable. Use pencil to edit what looks questionable. Printing the draft is the best possible way to catch every mistake.
3. Pose questions. When reading ask yourself whether your explanations are flowing in the right direction.
4. Have the assignment question right in front of you along with all the instructions provided to you by your instructor about it. If the grading rubric is given never ignore it. Match your paper with it. Ask yourself whether you have included everything asked by the instructor. Circle the ones you find in your paper and note down what it does not have. Include them during rewrite.
5. Does a line look grammatically incorrect? Copy and paste it to google to see how others wrote it. If your line is a unique creation you will not find it in full, but yes similar ones shown by google will help you know whether it is right or wrong. You can actually do the same with questionable words.
6. Use online thesaurus for synonyms. You don’t want to repeat same words or phrases again and again. They make the paper odd to read. Replace them with synonyms. But make sure you are using the correct ones. Some actually have completely different tone. That is why, check the meanings of your chosen synonyms using online dictionaries.
7. If you don’t trust yourself have someone else read the draft. Colleges and universities usually have tutors to make this task easy for students. But friends and family members can also turn out to be great proofreaders. Yet no one can be better than the instructor who gave you the assignment. Writing the paper a little early can enable you to go to them to get them read it for mistakes. This in turn will help you gain good reputation. Most instructors like hard working students.
8. Proofread till the last moment. Take advantage of every minute. We have noticed that this makes a great difference.
How to make the paper perfect:
Introduction containing thesis and conclusion: Whether you are a freshman or master’s student, your paper should always have a thesis upon which you should focus. This thesis should be a short answer to your instructor’s assignment question. Always summarize your points at conclusion.
Format: Even if the instructor does not say anything about follow a standard format such as APA and MLA. You can actually get their templates for free from Microsoft.
Say it all: Never make your paper raise questions. Say whatever you have in your mind. Fill out loopholes by providing more details.
Satisfy your instructor’s psychology: You might not believe, but while male instructors prefer logic, female ones are more taken by emotional lines. So if your instructor is male make your paper as logical as possible. Make your analysis very neutral. This means you should not involve too much of your own opinions in the paper. In the class of female instructors, emotional papers are okay, but no they are not looking for rants either. Then how to win their hearts? The answer lies in emotional words. Yes, including them in the paper is a good way to get them to give you good grades. Yet hold on! Is your instructor highly opinionated? Does he or she strongly feel about a cause? If the answer is yes never hurt it. A sad truth is that instructors who strongly associate themselves with a cause or ideology are not open to freedom of speech. What this means is that for a good grade you have to actually feed them what they wish to listen. Here is how you do it:
- If they are Republican feed them only republican ideologies.
- If they are atheist never bring up religions in your paper unless you are asked to explain them. Even in this do not be highly opinionated about which one you support.
- If they support gay marriage never criticize this topic in your paper.
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