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How to Edit Your Own Writing

Writing is hard, but don’t overlook the difficulty — and the importance — of editing your own work before letting others see it. Here’s how.

By Harry Guinness

The secret to good writing is good editing. It’s what separates hastily written, randomly punctuated, incoherent rants from learned polemics and op-eds, and cringe-worthy fan fiction from a critically acclaimed novel. By the time this article is done, I’ll have edited and rewritten each line at least a few times. Here’s how to start editing your own work.

Understand that what you write first is a draft

It doesn’t matter how good you think you are as a writer — the first words you put on the page are a first draft. Writing is thinking: It’s rare that you’ll know exactly what you’re going to say before you say it. At the end, you need, at the very least, to go back through the draft, tidy everything up and make sure the introduction you wrote at the start matches what you eventually said.

My former writing teacher, the essayist and cartoonist Timothy Kreider, explained revision to me: “One of my favorite phrases is l’esprit d’escalier, ‘the spirit of the staircase’ — meaning that experience of realizing, too late, what the perfect thing to have said at the party, in a conversation or argument or flirtation would have been. Writing offers us one of the rare chances in life at a do-over: to get it right and say what we meant this time. To the extent writers are able to appear any smarter or wittier than readers, it’s only because they’ve cheated by taking so much time to think up what they meant to say and refining it over days or weeks or, yes, even years, until they’ve said it as clearly and elegantly as they can.”

The time you put into editing, reworking and refining turns your first draft into a second — and then into a third and, if you keep at it, eventually something great. The biggest mistake you can make as a writer is to assume that what you wrote the first time through was good enough.

Now, let’s look at how to do the actual editing.

Watch for common errors

Most writing mistakes are depressingly common; good writers just get better at catching them before they hit the page. If you’re serious about improving your writing, I recommend you read “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, a how-to guide on writing good, clear English and avoiding the most common mistakes. “ Politics and the English Language ” by George Orwell is also worth studying if you want to avoid “ugly and inaccurate” writing.

Some of the things you’ll learn to watch for (and that I have to fix all the time in my own writing) are:

Overuse of jargon and business speak . Horrible jargon like “utilize,” “endeavor” or “communicate” — instead of “use,” “try” or “chat” — creep in when people (myself included) are trying to sound smart. It’s the kind of writing that Orwell railed against in his essay. All this sort of writing does is obscure the point you want to make behind false intellectualism. As Orwell said, “Never use a long word when a short one will do.”

Clichés. Clichés are as common as mud but at least getting rid of them is low-hanging fruit. If you’re not sure whether something is a cliché, it’s better to just avoid it. Awful, right? Clichés are stale phrases that have lost their impact and novelty through overuse. At some point, “The grass is always greener on the other side” was a witty observation, but it’s a cliché now. Again, Orwell said it well: “Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.” Oh, and memes very quickly become clichés — be warned.

The passive voice. In most cases, the subject of the sentence should be the person or thing taking action, not the thing being acted on. For example, “This article was written by Harry” is written in the passive voice because the subject (“this article”) is the thing being acted on. The equivalent active construction would be: “Harry wrote this article.” Prose written in the passive voice tends to have an aloofness and passivity to it, which is why it’s generally better to write an active sentence.

Rambling . When you’re not quite sure what you want to say, it’s easy to ramble around a point, phrasing it in three or four different ways and then, instead of cutting them down to a single concise sentence, slapping all four together into a clunky, unclear paragraph. A single direct sentence is almost always better than four that tease around a point.

Give your work some space

When you write something, you get very close to it. It’s almost impossible to have the distance to edit properly straight away. Instead, you need to step away and come back later with fresh eyes. The longer you can leave a draft before editing it, the better. I have some essays I go back to every few months for another pass — they’re still not done yet. For most things, though, somewhere from half an hour to two days is enough of a break that you can then edit well. Even 10 minutes will do in a pinch for things like emails.

And when you sit down to edit, read your work out loud.

By forcing yourself to speak the words, rather than just scanning them on a computer screen, you’ll catch more problems and get a better feel for how everything flows. If you stumble over something, your reader will probably stumble over it, too. Some writers even print out their drafts and make edits with a red pen while they read them aloud.

Cut, cut, cut

Overwriting is a bigger problem than underwriting. It’s much more likely you’ve written too much than too little. It’s a lot easier to throw words at a problem than to take the time to find the right ones. As Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century writer and scientist (no, not Mark Twain) wrote in a letter, “I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.”

The rule for most writers is, “If in doubt, cut it.” The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John McPhee has called the process “writing by omission.” Novelist Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (and not William Faulkner, although he may have popularized this version of it) exhorted a version of the oft-repeated phrase, “In writing you must kill all your darlings.” This is true at every level: If a word isn’t necessary in a sentence, cut it; if a sentence isn’t necessary in a paragraph, cut it; and if a paragraph isn’t necessary, cut it, too.

Go through what you’ve written and look for the bits you can cut without affecting the whole — and cut them. It will tighten the work and make everything you’re trying to say clearer.

Spend the most time on the beginning

The beginning of anything you write is the most important part. If you can’t catch someone’s attention at the start, you won’t have a chance to hold it later. Whether you’re writing a novel or an email, you should spend a disproportionate amount of time working on the first few sentences, paragraphs or pages. A lot of problems that can be glossed over in the middle are your undoing at the start.

Pay attention to structure

The structure is what your writing hangs on. It doesn’t matter how perfectly the individual sentences are phrased if the whole thing is a nonsensical mess. For emails and other short things, the old college favorite of a topic sentence followed by supporting paragraphs and a conclusion is hard to get wrong. Just make sure you consider your intended audience. A series of long, unrelenting paragraphs will discourage people from reading. Break things up into concise points and, where necessary, insert subheads — as there are in this article. If I’d written this without them, you would just be looking at a stark wall of text.

For longer pieces, structure is something you’ll need to put a lot of work into. Stream of consciousness writing rarely reads well and you generally don’t have the option to break up everything into short segments with subheads. Narratives need to flow and arguments need to build. You have to think about what you’re trying to say in each chapter, section or paragraph, and consider whether it’s working — or if that part would be better placed elsewhere. It’s normal (and even desirable) that the structure of your work will change drastically between drafts; it’s a sign that you’re developing the piece as a whole, rather than just fixing the small problems.

A lot of the time when something you’ve written “just doesn’t work” for people, the structure is to blame. They might not be able to put the problems into words, but they can feel something’s off.

Use all the resources you can

While you might not be lucky enough to have access to an editor (Hey, Alan!), there are services that can help.

Grammarly is a writing assistant that flags common writing, spelling and grammatical errors; it’s great for catching simple mistakes and cleaning up drafts of your work. A good thesaurus (or even Thesaurus.com ) is also essential for finding just the right word. And don’t neglect a second pair of eyes: Ask relatives and friends to read over your work. They might catch some things you missed and can tell you when something is amiss.

Editing your work is at least as important as writing it in the first place. The tweaking, revisiting and revising is what takes something that could be good — and makes it good. Don’t neglect it.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that the phrase “kill your darlings,” originated with novelist Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch , who actually said “murder your darlings,” and not William Faulkner, to whom the phrase is often attributed.

Editing and Proofreading

What this handout is about.

This handout provides some tips and strategies for revising your writing. To give you a chance to practice proofreading, we have left seven errors (three spelling errors, two punctuation errors, and two grammatical errors) in the text of this handout. See if you can spot them!

Is editing the same thing as proofreading?

Not exactly. Although many people use the terms interchangeably, editing and proofreading are two different stages of the revision process. Both demand close and careful reading, but they focus on different aspects of the writing and employ different techniques.

Some tips that apply to both editing and proofreading

• Get some distance from the text! It’s hard to edit or proofread a paper that you’ve just finished writing—it’s still to familiar, and you tend to skip over a lot of errors. Put the paper aside for a few hours, days, or weeks. Go for a run. Take a trip to the beach. Clear your head of what you’ve written so you can take a fresh look at the paper and see what is really on the page. Better yet, give the paper to a friend—you can’t get much more distance than that. Someone who is reading the paper for the first time, comes to it with completely fresh eyes.
• Decide which medium lets you proofread most carefully. Some people like to work right at the computer, while others like to sit back with a printed copy that they can mark up as they read.
• Try changing the look of your document. Altering the size, spacing, color, or style of the text may trick your brain into thinking it’s seeing an unfamiliar document, and that can help you get a different perspective on what you’ve written.
• Find a quiet place to work. Don’t try to do your proofreading in front of the TV or while you’re chugging away on the treadmill. Find a place where you can concentrate and avoid distractions.
• If possible, do your editing and proofreading in several short blocks of time. Your concentration may start to wane if you try to proofread the entire text at one time.
• If you’re short on time, you may wish to prioritize. Make sure that you complete the most important editing and proofreading tasks.

Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You reread your draft to see, for example, whether the paper is well-organized, the transitions between paragraphs are smooth, and your evidence really backs up your argument. You can edit on several levels:

Have you done everything the assignment requires? Are the claims you make accurate? If it is required to do so, does your paper make an argument? Is the argument complete? Are all of your claims consistent? Have you supported each point with adequate evidence? Is all of the information in your paper relevant to the assignment and/or your overall writing goal? (For additional tips, see our handouts on understanding assignments and developing an argument .)

Overall structure

Does your paper have an appropriate introduction and conclusion? Is your thesis clearly stated in your introduction? Is it clear how each paragraph in the body of your paper is related to your thesis? Are the paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Have you made clear transitions between paragraphs? One way to check the structure of your paper is to make a reverse outline of the paper after you have written the first draft. (See our handouts on introductions , conclusions , thesis statements , and transitions .)

Structure within paragraphs

Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does each paragraph stick to one main idea? Are there any extraneous or missing sentences in any of your paragraphs? (See our handout on paragraph development .)

Have you defined any important terms that might be unclear to your reader? Is the meaning of each sentence clear? (One way to answer this question is to read your paper one sentence at a time, starting at the end and working backwards so that you will not unconsciously fill in content from previous sentences.) Is it clear what each pronoun (he, she, it, they, which, who, this, etc.) refers to? Have you chosen the proper words to express your ideas? Avoid using words you find in the thesaurus that aren’t part of your normal vocabulary; you may misuse them.

Have you used an appropriate tone (formal, informal, persuasive, etc.)? Is your use of gendered language (masculine and feminine pronouns like “he” or “she,” words like “fireman” that contain “man,” and words that some people incorrectly assume apply to only one gender—for example, some people assume “nurse” must refer to a woman) appropriate? Have you varied the length and structure of your sentences? Do you tends to use the passive voice too often? Does your writing contain a lot of unnecessary phrases like “there is,” “there are,” “due to the fact that,” etc.? Do you repeat a strong word (for example, a vivid main verb) unnecessarily? (For tips, see our handouts on style and gender-inclusive language .)

Have you appropriately cited quotes, paraphrases, and ideas you got from sources? Are your citations in the correct format? (See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for more information.)

As you edit at all of these levels, you will usually make significant revisions to the content and wording of your paper. Keep an eye out for patterns of error; knowing what kinds of problems you tend to have will be helpful, especially if you are editing a large document like a thesis or dissertation. Once you have identified a pattern, you can develop techniques for spotting and correcting future instances of that pattern. For example, if you notice that you often discuss several distinct topics in each paragraph, you can go through your paper and underline the key words in each paragraph, then break the paragraphs up so that each one focuses on just one main idea.

Proofreading

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, focusing on surface errors such as misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation. You should proofread only after you have finished all of your other editing revisions.

Why proofread? It’s the content that really matters, right?

Content is important. But like it or not, the way a paper looks affects the way others judge it. When you’ve worked hard to develop and present your ideas, you don’t want careless errors distracting your reader from what you have to say. It’s worth paying attention to the details that help you to make a good impression.

Most people devote only a few minutes to proofreading, hoping to catch any glaring errors that jump out from the page. But a quick and cursory reading, especially after you’ve been working long and hard on a paper, usually misses a lot. It’s better to work with a definite plan that helps you to search systematically for specific kinds of errors.

Sure, this takes a little extra time, but it pays off in the end. If you know that you have an effective way to catch errors when the paper is almost finished, you can worry less about editing while you are writing your first drafts. This makes the entire writing proccess more efficient.

Try to keep the editing and proofreading processes separate. When you are editing an early draft, you don’t want to be bothered with thinking about punctuation, grammar, and spelling. If your worrying about the spelling of a word or the placement of a comma, you’re not focusing on the more important task of developing and connecting ideas.

The proofreading process

You probably already use some of the strategies discussed below. Experiment with different tactics until you find a system that works well for you. The important thing is to make the process systematic and focused so that you catch as many errors as possible in the least amount of time.

• Don’t rely entirely on spelling checkers. These can be useful tools but they are far from foolproof. Spell checkers have a limited dictionary, so some words that show up as misspelled may really just not be in their memory. In addition, spell checkers will not catch misspellings that form another valid word. For example, if you type “your” instead of “you’re,” “to” instead of “too,” or “there” instead of “their,” the spell checker won’t catch the error.
• Grammar checkers can be even more problematic. These programs work with a limited number of rules, so they can’t identify every error and often make mistakes. They also fail to give thorough explanations to help you understand why a sentence should be revised. You may want to use a grammar checker to help you identify potential run-on sentences or too-frequent use of the passive voice, but you need to be able to evaluate the feedback it provides.
• Proofread for only one kind of error at a time. If you try to identify and revise too many things at once, you risk losing focus, and your proofreading will be less effective. It’s easier to catch grammar errors if you aren’t checking punctuation and spelling at the same time. In addition, some of the techniques that work well for spotting one kind of mistake won’t catch others.
• Read slow, and read every word. Try reading out loud , which forces you to say each word and also lets you hear how the words sound together. When you read silently or too quickly, you may skip over errors or make unconscious corrections.
• Separate the text into individual sentences. This is another technique to help you to read every sentence carefully. Simply press the return key after every period so that every line begins a new sentence. Then read each sentence separately, looking for grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors. If you’re working with a printed copy, try using an opaque object like a ruler or a piece of paper to isolate the line you’re working on.
• Circle every punctuation mark. This forces you to look at each one. As you circle, ask yourself if the punctuation is correct.
• Read the paper backwards. This technique is helpful for checking spelling. Start with the last word on the last page and work your way back to the beginning, reading each word separately. Because content, punctuation, and grammar won’t make any sense, your focus will be entirely on the spelling of each word. You can also read backwards sentence by sentence to check grammar; this will help you avoid becoming distracted by content issues.
• Proofreading is a learning process. You’re not just looking for errors that you recognize; you’re also learning to recognize and correct new errors. This is where handbooks and dictionaries come in. Keep the ones you find helpful close at hand as you proofread.
• Ignorance may be bliss, but it won’t make you a better proofreader. You’ll often find things that don’t seem quite right to you, but you may not be quite sure what’s wrong either. A word looks like it might be misspelled, but the spell checker didn’t catch it. You think you need a comma between two words, but you’re not sure why. Should you use “that” instead of “which”? If you’re not sure about something, look it up.
• The proofreading process becomes more efficient as you develop and practice a systematic strategy. You’ll learn to identify the specific areas of your own writing that need careful attention, and knowing that you have a sound method for finding errors will help you to focus more on developing your ideas while you are drafting the paper.

Think you’ve got it?

Then give it a try, if you haven’t already! This handout contains seven errors our proofreader should have caught: three spelling errors, two punctuation errors, and two grammatical errors. Try to find them, and then check a version of this page with the errors marked in red to see if you’re a proofreading star.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Especially for non-native speakers of English:

Ascher, Allen. 2006. Think About Editing: An ESL Guide for the Harbrace Handbooks . Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Lane, Janet, and Ellen Lange. 2012. Writing Clearly: Grammar for Editing , 3rd ed. Boston: Heinle.

For everyone:

Einsohn, Amy. 2011. The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications , 3rd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Lanham, Richard A. 2006. Revising Prose , 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman.

Tarshis, Barry. 1998. How to Be Your Own Best Editor: The Toolkit for Everyone Who Writes . New York: Three Rivers Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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General strategies for editing and proofreading.

While revision occurs throughout the writing process and involves such tasks as rethinking, overall structure, focus, thesis and support, editing and proofreading assume that the writer is working on the final draft and is in the process of making the paper “correct.   “Correct” punctuation, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, style, and word choice are important to the reader because they drastically affect perceptions of the writer’s authority and credibility.

In general, effective editing and proofreading require that you reread your writing carefully, that you play the role of reader rather than writer, and that you use strategies to help you slow down and examine your writing.   This handout presents strategies for both editing and proofreading.

Editing is the process writers use to catch errors typical to their own writing.   Because editing focuses on problems that are particular to an individual writer – and that occur again and again – effective editing requires that you know the types of errors you typically make and that you have specific strategies for finding those errors.

• Read the paper aloud as if you are reading a story .   Listen for errors.   If you listen carefully, you will be able to correct any errors that you hear.   Listen for incomplete phrases, sentences and ideas, as well as things that “sound funny.”
• Stop and change anything you wish as soon as you see it – punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure.   Move through the paper at a reasonable rate.
• Read the entire paper.   Listen for spots that aren’t readable, that feel or sound awkward, or that don’t seem clear.   Mark these spots.   Then, when you’re done reading the whole paper, go back to fix them.
• Allow yourself some time between writing your paper and editing.   Ideally, wait a day; this allows the writing to “get cold,” giving you an opportunity to "see" the errors.   If you can’t wait a day, go away and do something else for a while – work for another class, cleaning, eating – so that you can return to your work with a fresh mind and fresh eyes.
• Read one sentence at a time .
• Using a sheet of clean paper, cover all the text except the first sentence.   Read this sentence carefully.   Does it sound and look correct?   Does it say what you want it to say?   Continue down the page in the same way.
• Look for patterns of error .
• Personal patterns :   All writers make mistakes that are typical of their writing.   If you always forget commas, check for commas.   If you always have trouble with transitions, look for transitions.   If you work on wordiness, look for this.   Bring your essays to the writing center!   A tutor can help you to locate the patterns of error.
• List :   Keep a list of your “trouble spots.”   Use this as a checklist and refer to it as you edit.

      4.   Know your grammar and punctuation rules – or know where to look them up .

·         Study the rules of grammar and punctuation.   Review the ones you don’t know.   If you have a writing handbook or handouts, keep them out when you write.   Refer to them when you have questions as you write and edit.

Proofreading

Proofreading, the final stage, focuses on “random goofs.”   The final draft has been corrected, but sometimes, because of computer error, fatigue, carelessness, or oversight, mistakes are still present.   It is important to go through the paper one last time to catch these random goofs.

• Read the paper as a reader .
• Read and enjoy your work.   Sit back, and read the paper as if you were the teacher.   What do you notice?
• Read one sentence/paragraph at a time .

·         Take a clean sheet of paper, and place it under the first sentence of your paper.   Read this sentence carefully.   Do you see any mistakes, typos, or careless omissions?

• Read backwards .  

·         Start at the bottom of the page on the right side.   Look at the words from right to left, check for spelling/typographical errors.

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Jul 13, 2018

20+ Writing Strategies (That Helped Bestselling Authors Finish Their Books)

So you've decided today that you want to write. Great!

Now how exactly are you going to do it?

Luckily, we have a precedent to which to turn. From idea generation to the art of editing, there are thousands of writing strategies out there to get you past the finish line — and we gathered the best ones in this post.  Here are 20+ writing strategies that you can use to help you over the finish line .

1. Mary Lee Settle’s “Question” Writing Strategy

If you’re going through a drought of story ideas, you might want to run to an inspiration source that will never run out: questions.

In a talk with the New York Times, National Book Award-winner Mary Lee Settle explained:

“I start with a question. Then try to answer it.”

This writing strategy is endorsed by many other writers, most notably fantasy author Neil Gaiman. He wrote that a particularly magical question to ask yourself is, “What if _________?” For instance: “What if I wake up with wings?” Or, “What if your sister turned into a mouse?”

So your first plan of attack is to wonder about anything in the world: from the meaning to life to whether or not shrews could one day fall from the sky. As it turns out, no question is too silly — or weird — to give birth to a good story.

2. Ray Bradbury’s Library Scene

“When in doubt, go to the library,” as Hermione Granger might say. She’d be pleased to know that world-famous author Ray Bradbury is on her side:

“When I graduated from high school I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library 3 days a week for 10 years.”

Bradbury ended up taking out 10 books every week — meaning that he read at least a hundred books a year. Coincidentally, this was William Faulkner’s writing strategy, as well: "Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read!”

If you decide to follow their advice, you might turn the corner and come across an idea in the least surprising place of all: other books.

3. Orson Scott Card’s Mindfulness Approach

Sometimes writers get so stuck in their own minds that they can’t tell a great idea from a blob of words on the screen. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably time to go for a walk and smell the grass. According to Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game:

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.”

Walking is a proven writing strategy that improves creativity and gives your ideas some legs . Agatha Christie’s plots, for instance, were often purely inspired by a stroll around the neighborhood. Her second book, The Secret Adversary , arose from a conversation she overheard in a coffee shop. “Two people were talking at a table nearby, discussing somebody called Jane Fish…” she wrote. “That, I thought, would make a good beginning to a story — a name overheard at a tea shop — an unusual name, so that whoever heard it remembered it.”

To check out ten of Agatha Christie's best ever mysteries, go to  this post right here .

4. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Notebook Scheme

Once you latch onto an idea that you know in your bones is good, you need to seize it with all your might and not let go. There’s nothing worse than realizing that you’ve forgotten the great idea that occurred to you the previous night — all because you neglected to write it down.

To avoid this potential catastrophe, Robert Louis Stevenson, author of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, offered this writing strategy:

"I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in."

For everyone living in the 21st-century: this probably means keeping the Notes app on your cellphone handy. But you won’t go wrong with an old-fashioned notebook, either — so long as it’s nearby whenever you come up with a story idea.

5. Mark Twain’s “Increment” Writing Strategy

Now that you're committed to writing a story, you may be intimidated by the blank sheet in front of you. All of a sudden, you can’t think anything else but the pages and pages of words that lie in your near future — oh, and is that a migraine coming on? Great.

For this particular brand of headache, Mark Twain proposed a cure:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

In short, make a molehill out of the mountain. You can tackle any 100,000-word monster if you just think of it in smaller parts: whether that’s by scene, chapter, arc, or a daily word count goal.

6. Norman Mailer’s Daily Routine Policy

It’s no secret that 50% of being an writer is, well, writing. The other 50% is complaining about writing. To counter the urge to procrastinate, we can draw on American novelist Norman Mailer’s wisdom here:

“Over the years, I’ve found one rule. It is the only one I give on those occasions when I talk about writing. A simple rule. If you tell yourself you are going to be at your desk tomorrow, you are by that declaration asking your unconscious to prepare the material. You are, in effect, contracting to pick up such valuables at a given time. Count on me, you are saying to a few forces below: I will be there to write.”

That said, there’s no proven “best time” to write. Benjamin Franklin supposedly sat down at his desk to write at 6 am. Then you have F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wouldn’t rise until just before midday to start his work. (You can check out the morning routines of more famous authors in this infographic here .)

Whenever you do decide to start your writing day, just make sure that the time you’ve set aside is sacred. As J.K. Rowling said, you must be absolutely ruthless about protecting writing days: “Do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days.”

7. Katherine Anne Porter’s “Last Line” Writing Strategy

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning Katherine Anne Porter, sometimes you might need to think upside-down in order to write right-side up:

“If I didn’t know the ending of a story, I wouldn’t begin. I always write my last line, my last paragraph, my last page first.”

Getting the ending down will give you something to write towards — and the confidence that a finish line is in sight.

8. Jane Yolen’s Work-Out Method

Unfortunately, writing isn’t magic. Once you’ve figured out a writing routine that works, you need to make sure you actually do the thing: write.

Many authors recommend writing at least once a day. There’s a good reason for it — and it isn’t masochism! Jane Yolen explains the reasoning here:

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.”

9. Ernest Hemingway’s “Stop While You’re Ahead” Gambit

Maintaining momentum during a multi-month slog is one of the hardest parts of writing. But Nobel Laureate Ernest Hemingway offered this as a tried and true strategy:

“The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day … you will never be stuck. Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day. That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.”

Many authors who use this “stop while you’re ahead” strategy will pause mid-scene or mid-paragraph. Some even go so far as to quit writing mid-sentence. One writer who has sworn by this advice is none other than Roald Dahl: “You make yourself stop and you walk away. And you can’t wait to get back because you know what you want to say next.”

You may have your eyebrow raised in doubt. How can you learn not to worry? Hemingway has an answer for you, too: “By not thinking about it. As soon as you start to think about it stop it. Think about something else. You have to learn that.”

10. Henry David Thoreau’s “Full Speed Ahead” Strategy

That said, we understand that it can be hard to stop writing when you’re in full-flow — much like reining in a horse when he’s racing at full stride. If Hemingway’s writing strategy doesn’t sit well with you, Henry David Thoreau has this alternative:

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”

To put another slant to it, you can think about it in terms of Saul Bellow’s “Insomnia” Strategy. Bellow, the Pulitzer Prize winner, once wrote: “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” Just to be clear, we’re not telling you that you have to set your alarm to 3am every night. But it’s good to remember that the urge to write can overcome you at any time of the day. If something is so significant that it compels you to wake up from your sleep, jot it down.

11. Roald Dahl’s Cocoon System

Has nothing inspired you to write yet? Maybe it's time for a change of location. Here’s how a friend of Roald Dahl’s explained the author’s odd writing strategy:

“He steps into a sleeping bag, pulls it up to his waist and settles himself in a faded wing-backed armchair. His feet he rests on a battered travelling case full of logs. This is roped to the legs of the armchair so it’s always at a perfect distance.”

Dahl wasn’t alone in finding strange places to write. Gertrude Stein wrote in the driver’s seat of her Model T Ford, which meant that she was especially prolific during shopping expeditions. Marcel Proust refused to work anywhere but his bed. But perhaps the writing situation of Edith Sitwell takes the proverbial cake. Despite her name, she found that she wrote best lying down… in an open coffin. A grave mistake for most people, but not her.

12. Raymond Chandler’s “Man with a Gun” Method

Last but not least, whenever you’re not sure where to take your story next, you can heed Raymond Chandler’s strategy for chapter-writing:

“When in doubt how to end a chapter, bring in a man with a gun.”

Now, this probably isn’t going to be the kind of advice that you’ll want to take literally — but it’s a reminder to keep the ante upped so that your story never becomes stale. In other words, end each chapter with a metaphorical bang.

13. Neil Gaiman’s “Don’t Look at It Again” Approach

Have you every written a story, thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, and came back to it the next day to revel in your masterpiece — only to gape in horror because it turned into a demon baby in the middle of the night?

Luckily, this happens to every writer. In fact, Neil Gaiman says that time spent away from your manuscript is a necessary part of the editing process :

“The best advice I can give on this is, once it’s done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes. Finish the short story, print it out, then put it in a drawer and write other things. When you’re ready, pick it up and read it, as if you’ve never read it before. If there are things you aren’t satisfied with as a reader, go in and fix them as a writer: that’s revision.”

Putting your story aside for a few days or months gives you the chance to evaluate your story objectively and see its faults. Most importantly, it allows you to experience your story as a reader. Ultimately, “revision” is a combination of “re-“ and “vision”: the act of returning to something with new eyes.

14. Anton Chekhov’s Ending and Beginning Strategy

Aside from his world-famous Gun technique , Anton Chekhov had some more neat advice on editing:

My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.

Readers are ruthless creatures: if your book doesn’t sweep them up in the first twenty pages, chances are that they’ll put your book down entirely. We don't think Chekhov meant you have to cut the entire beginning and end out — just that it’s worth re-visiting those parts of the story first when you’re tightening your narrative.

15. Stephen King’s “Road to Hell” Plan

Whether or not you’re religious, you’ll want to keep Stephen King’s advice in mind:

“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.”

Be cautious about using too many adverbs: their mere existence might mean that you’re telling, not showing , says King.

“To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one in your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that… and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.”

16. Mark Twain’s “Damn” Proposition

If you’re ever agonizing over whether or not you should take something out, Mark Twain has a very simple strategy for you:

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

To follow Twain's advice, delete any “filler” word unless it’s absolutely essential. This includes words like “very” and also “really,” “things,” and “stuff.” Quartz recommends substituting a more concise word for “very” — for instance, “terrified” instead of “very afraid.” You can see this post for some more helpful options.

17. Walt Whitman’s Comma Technique

Let us be crystal clear: there’s nothing that will get a reader or an agent to drop your manuscript quicker than a bunch of punctuation errors in a row. Walt Whitman boils it down into a very simple statement:

“I hate commas in the wrong places.”

Even after you’ve given your draft an edit to identify structural and flow issues, you’ll need to proofread it with a discerning eye. Identify speling erors, spots where commas are missing or overused, and places where someone says “Hello” without proper punctuation. Trust us — your readers will thank you for it.

18. Maya Angelou’s “Write Anything” Mode

Seriously, anything. You can take Maya Angelou’s award-winning words for it:

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks, ‘The cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’”

“The cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,” doesn’t exactly sound very glamorous, does it? But Maya Angelou also wrote I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1971, so she knows a thing or two about writing.

19. George Plimpton’s Letter Strategy

If the thought of an agent or thousands of people reading your story makes you sweat, you might have the literary version of "stage fright." To help curb this type of writer's block , the Paris Review founder George Plimpton used to follow this strategy:

“Many years ago, I met John Steinbeck at a party in Sag Harbor, and told him that I had writer’s block. And he said something which I’ve always remembered, and which works. He said, “Pretend that you’re writing not to your editor or to an audience or to a readership, but to someone close, like your sister, or your mother, or someone that you like.” And at the time I was enamored of Jean Seberg, the actress, and I had to write an article about taking Marianne Moore to a baseball game, and I started it off, “Dear Jean . . . ,” and wrote this piece with some ease, I must say. And to my astonishment that’s the way it appeared in Harper’s Magazine. “Dear Jean . . .” Which surprised her, I think, and me, and very likely Marianne Moore.”

We’ll let Steinbeck, the person who first came up with this ingenious writing strategy, explain the reasoning behind it: “Write it as a letter aimed at one person. This removes the vague terror of addressing the large and faceless audience and it also, you will find, will give a sense of freedom and a lack of self-consciousness.”

Plimpton wasn’t kidding, by the way: you can read his October 1964 article in Harper’s Magazine here .

20. Hilary Mantel’s “Do Anything” Technique

What if you’re just sick of words altogether? For a change of pace, let’s try something that doesn’t involve writing — in any capacity. Hilary Mantel says that sometimes what you need to do in order to write is not write:

“If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to ­music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don’t just stick there scowling at the problem. But don’t make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people’s words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.”

Force yourself to disengage from your manuscript and you might come back sharper and more aware of what you want to say. Jane Smiley, for instance, would drink Diet Cokes to distract herself, explaining: “When you sit down again on Saturday, you’re better. Not only because of all the practice, but also because of the walking away. I’m a firm believer in walking away.”

21. P.G. Wodehouse’s Cursing Approach

If you’ve come this far and all else has failed, know that you can always resort to P.G. Wodehouse’s tried, true, and completely professional advice:

“I just sit at my typewriter and curse a bit.”

Do you have any more writing strategies to share? How about writer's block memes ? Have you found any strategy useful so far? Tell us in the comments below!

Glen Barrington says:

23/10/2018 – 14:16

Hmmm! So the survey says! Nobody knows for sure!

Comments are currently closed.

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What is editing?

Editing can take a paper from good to great. The goal of editing is to improve aspects of your writing such as clarity, style, sentence structure, and word choice. Edit after revising (when you address content, organization, and other global concerns) but before proofreading (when you correct sentence-level issues).

• Revising Editing Proofreading
• paper structure
• paragraph structure
• source integration 
• sentence structure
• word choice
• punctuation
• typographical errors (“typos”)

What to ask when editing?

• Is each paragraph’s main idea easy to identify? TIP: Read about topic sentences on our MEAL Plan handout .
• Are each sentence’s subject and verb clear? TIP: Limit words/phrases separating a subject and its verb.
• Have you written concisely? TIP: Avoid multiple (ideally no more than two) prepositional phrases in a row.
• Are your tone and language appropriate for your purpose (i.e., to describe, analyze, persuade, narrate, etc.)?
• Have you included transitional comments or words to link your ideas, sentences, and paragraphs logically?
• Did you intentionally use active and passive voice appropriately according to the discipline’s conventions?

Sentence Structure

• Are your sentences varied in length? TIP: Find two consecutive short sentences; combine them.
• Have you varied the structure of your sentences?
• Does sentence length impede understanding? TIP: Consider breaking up sentences longer than 3 lines.

Word Choice

• Is your language understandable and appropriate?
• Do you need to define any specific terms?
• Have you eliminated wordiness? TIP: Look for two-word verbs (“ are going ” vs. “ go ”); expletive constructions (“ this is ,” “ there are ”); repetitive modifiers (“ eliminate entirely ,” “ new discoveries ”).

Strategies for Editing

• Read aloud, slowly. Hearing your writing helps you identify the areas where your meaning is unclear. As you read—preferably from a printed draft—mark places that sound awkward or cause you to hesitate or reread.
• Edit in intervals. Instead of trying to edit your whole paper in one sitting, break up the work so that you periodically step away from the paper to “refresh” your eyes/mind.
• Know yourself. Consider feedback instructors or other readers have provided about your writing. Being aware of the errors you make consistently means you will more easily find and correct them in your current draft.
• Recheck your use of source material for accuracy and correct style and citation format. Remember that citation generators are not always 100% correct; use a handbook or online style manual when you edit.
• Schedule a KSU Writing Center appointment. Our Writing Assistants and Graduate Writing Coaches will help you master these and other editing strategies. 

Visit writingcenter.kennesaw.edu for locations & hours or to make an appointment for one-on-one writing assistance.

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The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips

Published on April 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 8, 2023.

Good academic writing requires effective planning, drafting, and revision.

The writing process looks different for everyone, but there are five basic steps that will help you structure your time when writing any kind of text.

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Table of contents

Step 1: prewriting, step 2: planning and outlining, step 3: writing a first draft, step 4: redrafting and revising, step 5: editing and proofreading, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about the writing process.

Before you start writing, you need to decide exactly what you’ll write about and do the necessary research.

Coming up with a topic

If you have to come up with your own topic for an assignment, think of what you’ve covered in class— is there a particular area that intrigued, interested, or even confused you? Topics that left you with additional questions are perfect, as these are questions you can explore in your writing.

The scope depends on what type of text you’re writing—for example, an essay or a research paper will be less in-depth than a dissertation topic . Don’t pick anything too ambitious to cover within the word count, or too limited for you to find much to say.

Narrow down your idea to a specific argument or question. For example, an appropriate topic for an essay might be narrowed down like this:

Doing the research

Once you know your topic, it’s time to search for relevant sources and gather the information you need. This process varies according to your field of study and the scope of the assignment. It might involve:

• Searching for primary and secondary sources .
• Reading the relevant texts closely (e.g. for literary analysis ).
• Collecting data using relevant research methods (e.g. experiments , interviews or surveys )

From a writing perspective, the important thing is to take plenty of notes while you do the research. Keep track of the titles, authors, publication dates, and relevant quotations from your sources; the data you gathered; and your initial analysis or interpretation of the questions you’re addressing.

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Especially in academic writing , it’s important to use a logical structure to convey information effectively. It’s far better to plan this out in advance than to try to work out your structure once you’ve already begun writing.

Creating an essay outline is a useful way to plan out your structure before you start writing. This should help you work out the main ideas you want to focus on and how you’ll organize them. The outline doesn’t have to be final—it’s okay if your structure changes throughout the writing process.

Use bullet points or numbering to make your structure clear at a glance. Even for a short text that won’t use headings, it’s useful to summarize what you’ll discuss in each paragraph.

An outline for a literary analysis essay might look something like this:

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question: How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

Once you have a clear idea of your structure, it’s time to produce a full first draft.

This process can be quite non-linear. For example, it’s reasonable to begin writing with the main body of the text, saving the introduction for later once you have a clearer idea of the text you’re introducing.

To give structure to your writing, use your outline as a framework. Make sure that each paragraph has a clear central focus that relates to your overall argument.

Hover over the parts of the example, from a literary analysis essay on Mansfield Park , to see how a paragraph is constructed.

The character of Mrs. Norris provides another example of the performance of morals in Mansfield Park . Early in the novel, she is described in scathing terms as one who knows “how to dictate liberality to others: but her love of money was equal to her love of directing” (p. 7). This hypocrisy does not interfere with her self-conceit as “the most liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world” (p. 7). Mrs. Norris is strongly concerned with appearing charitable, but unwilling to make any personal sacrifices to accomplish this. Instead, she stage-manages the charitable actions of others, never acknowledging that her schemes do not put her own time or money on the line. In this way, Austen again shows us a character whose morally upright behavior is fundamentally a performance—for whom the goal of doing good is less important than the goal of seeming good.

When you move onto a different topic, start a new paragraph. Use appropriate transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas.

The goal at this stage is to get a draft completed, not to make everything perfect as you go along. Once you have a full draft in front of you, you’ll have a clearer idea of where improvement is needed.

Give yourself a first draft deadline that leaves you a reasonable length of time to revise, edit, and proofread before the final deadline. For a longer text like a dissertation, you and your supervisor might agree on deadlines for individual chapters.

Now it’s time to look critically at your first draft and find potential areas for improvement. Redrafting means substantially adding or removing content, while revising involves making changes to structure and reformulating arguments.

Evaluating the first draft

It can be difficult to look objectively at your own writing. Your perspective might be positively or negatively biased—especially if you try to assess your work shortly after finishing it.

It’s best to leave your work alone for at least a day or two after completing the first draft. Come back after a break to evaluate it with fresh eyes; you’ll spot things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

When evaluating your writing at this stage, you’re mainly looking for larger issues such as changes to your arguments or structure. Starting with bigger concerns saves you time—there’s no point perfecting the grammar of something you end up cutting out anyway.

Right now, you’re looking for:

• Arguments that are unclear or illogical.
• Areas where information would be better presented in a different order.
• Passages where additional information or explanation is needed.
• Passages that are irrelevant to your overall argument.

For example, in our paper on Mansfield Park , we might realize the argument would be stronger with more direct consideration of the protagonist Fanny Price, and decide to try to find space for this in paragraph IV.

For some assignments, you’ll receive feedback on your first draft from a supervisor or peer. Be sure to pay close attention to what they tell you, as their advice will usually give you a clearer sense of which aspects of your text need improvement.

Redrafting and revising

Once you’ve decided where changes are needed, make the big changes first, as these are likely to have knock-on effects on the rest. Depending on what your text needs, this step might involve:

• Making changes to your overall argument.
• Reordering the text.
• Cutting parts of the text.
• Adding new text.

You can go back and forth between writing, redrafting and revising several times until you have a final draft that you’re happy with.

Think about what changes you can realistically accomplish in the time you have. If you are running low on time, you don’t want to leave your text in a messy state halfway through redrafting, so make sure to prioritize the most important changes.

Editing focuses on local concerns like clarity and sentence structure. Proofreading involves reading the text closely to remove typos and ensure stylistic consistency. You can check all your drafts and texts in minutes with an AI proofreader .

Editing for grammar and clarity

When editing, you want to ensure your text is clear, concise, and grammatically correct. You’re looking out for:

• Grammatical errors.
• Ambiguous phrasings.
• Redundancy and repetition .

In your initial draft, it’s common to end up with a lot of sentences that are poorly formulated. Look critically at where your meaning could be conveyed in a more effective way or in fewer words, and watch out for common sentence structure mistakes like run-on sentences and sentence fragments:

• Austen’s style is frequently humorous, her characters are often described as “witty.” Although this is less true of Mansfield Park .
• Austen’s style is frequently humorous. Her characters are often described as “witty,” although this is less true of Mansfield Park .

To make your sentences run smoothly, you can always use a paraphrasing tool to rewrite them in a clearer way.

Proofreading for small mistakes and typos

When proofreading, first look out for typos in your text:

• Spelling errors.
• Missing words.
• Confused word choices .
• Punctuation errors .
• Missing or excess spaces.

Use a grammar checker , but be sure to do another manual check after. Read through your text line by line, watching out for problem areas highlighted by the software but also for any other issues it might have missed.

For example, in the following phrase we notice several errors:

• Mary Crawfords character is a complicate one and her relationships with Fanny and Edmund undergoes several transformations through out the novel.
• Mary Crawford’s character is a complicated one, and her relationships with both Fanny and Edmund undergo several transformations throughout the novel.

Proofreading for stylistic consistency

There are several issues in academic writing where you can choose between multiple different standards. For example:

• Whether you use the serial comma .
• Whether you use American or British spellings and punctuation (you can use a punctuation checker for this).
• Where you use numerals vs. words for numbers.
• How you capitalize your titles and headings.

Unless you’re given specific guidance on these issues, it’s your choice which standards you follow. The important thing is to consistently follow one standard for each issue. For example, don’t use a mixture of American and British spellings in your paper.

Additionally, you will probably be provided with specific guidelines for issues related to format (how your text is presented on the page) and citations (how you acknowledge your sources). Always follow these instructions carefully.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy
• Deep learning
• Generative AI
• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

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Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process .

• Revising is making structural and logical changes to your text—reformulating arguments and reordering information.
• Editing refers to making more local changes to things like sentence structure and phrasing to make sure your meaning is conveyed clearly and concisely.
• Proofreading involves looking at the text closely, line by line, to spot any typos and issues with consistency and correct them.

Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:

• Take a break : Set your work aside for at least a few hours so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.
• Proofread a printout : Staring at a screen for too long can cause fatigue – sit down with a pen and paper to check the final version.
• Use digital shortcuts : Take note of any recurring mistakes (for example, misspelling a particular word, switching between US and UK English , or inconsistently capitalizing a term), and use Find and Replace to fix it throughout the document.

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

If you’ve gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes , consider shortening them to just the essentials.

If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that’s not essential to your point and remove it.

To make this process easier and faster, you can use a paraphrasing tool . With this tool, you can rewrite your text to make it simpler and shorter. If that’s not enough, you can copy-paste your paraphrased text into the summarizer . This tool will distill your text to its core message.

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Caulfield, J. (2023, December 08). The Writing Process | 5 Steps with Examples & Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/writing-process/

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Strategies for effective editing

Editing your writing is something you need to do strategically to be successful. Here are some pointers to help you edit with purpose and confidence. 

What is the difference between editing and proofreading? 

Editing and proofreading are commonly confused terms. Both are equally important for polishing your writing. 

Both are necessary steps for revising a text. Editing is the most involved, and what many people struggle with directionally. It includes changes from sentence structure to word choice. Proofreading is the final check for spelling and grammar, punctuation and details like capitalisation. 

Why is editing important?

Editing is important because revising a document needs to go beyond spelling and grammar. There is a saying, “write without fear, edit without mercy”. Leaving a lot of important decisions to your editing means you can write your first draft with fewer inhibitions and let your creativity fly. Writing is the substance. Editing, then, is returning to your draft with an objective eye and refining the style. 

Top 10 editing techniques

1| come back to your text with fresh eyes .

Once you’ve drafted your text, it’s a good idea to step away for a while. This is so you can be more objective when you return to edit. You’ve been thinking with your creative brain, so it’s useful to distance yourself from that. Then you can go back with an analytical mindset. This is especially useful if you are someone who edits and proofreads their own work. 

2| Read your text aloud 

We can all get too “in our heads” sometimes. When this happens, it can be hard to read objectively. We lose sight of how the reader would process the information. A good way to resolve this is by reading the text aloud. If something feels awkward to say, it is probably an awkward experience to read. 

3| Edit long sentences

Editing your text for readability instantly makes your text more enjoyable for your readers. You can measurably improve the readability of your text by editing long sentences. Readable highlights your text for long sentences and very long sentences. Then you can systematically improve your text by using our issue scroller to work through each highlighted sentence. 

4| Review your word lengths 

Once you’re happy that your text has fewer long sentences, you can consider your word usage. Readable’s synonym suggester intelligently highlights long words and suggests alternatives with fewer syllables. This takes a lot of guesswork out of your editing process. With the click of a button, you can make a huge difference to the clarity of your writing. It’s not that your audience wouldn’t understand the words you’re using - it’s that opting for clear and plain language makes reading a less laborious task. It improves transparency and builds trust with your reader. This is crucial, particularly in business writing. 

5| Check your style guide

Now it’s time to check that you’re striking the write tone. Refer to your company style guide and make sure you’re making the right impression with your language. For example, your company might want to be more on the formal side. You can use our tone of voice sliders to match your writing with your style guide’s recommendations. 

6| Check for passive voice 

Using the active voice in your writing shows accountability and is another factor to building trust. You can improve your active voice by using our passive voice detector - this scans your sentence structure and tells you when your writing may seem to distance yourself from the topic. 

7| Improve visual readability 

As you’re approaching the end of your editing process, it’s important to ensure your text is easy on the eye. You can do this by including plenty of subheadings, which help to make the structure clear for the reader. 

Where possible, use visual imagery to illustrate information - such as a chart or an infographic. 

8| Check the whole document backwards

This may seem like a strange suggestion, but if you’re struggling to view your text objectively and your document still needs work, you may want to start from the bottom. Going through your work in reverse, paragraph by paragraph, can help you remove yourself from the overarching narrative. 

9| Proofread for spelling and grammar

Hopefully, your text is a Readable grade A at this point and you’re ready for your final checks. Use our spelling and grammar highlights and suggested replacements to correct any mistakes. What looks like a subtle error for you may be glaring for your reader - so make a good impression with impeccable grammar and spelling.

10| Final read to ensure a good flow 

Now it’s time to read through your work a final time to make sure none of your edits have interrupted the substance and flow of your text. Make sure your document has a logical beginning, middle and end. Once you’ve got to this point, it’s now ready for a second pair of human eyes. If you’ve followed the editing steps we recommend, you can confidently hit send.

Laura Kelly

Laura is a freelance writer and worked at Readable for a number of years. Laura is well-versed in optimising content for readability and Readable's suite of tools. She aims to write guides that help you make the most out of Readable.

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Editing and Proofreading Strategies

Editing and proofreading are writing processes different from revising. Editing can involve extensive rewriting of sentences, but it usually focuses on sentences or even smaller elements of the text. Proofreading is the very last step writers go through to be sure that the text is presentable. Proofreading generally involves only minor changes in spelling and punctuation. This module presents strategies for editing and for proofreading under the two links below. Just remember that both editing and proofreading require some practice before the strategies feel totally comfortable.

Editing Strategies

It's easiest to approach editing as a multi-step process that starts with sentences in clusters and moves to smaller elements of the text (e.g., commas and apostrophes). Generally, you can follow the steps below in the order they're listed here. But if you know you have trouble with some of the steps, plan to leave yourself enough time to work through that step more than once before you turn the paper in or send it to your reader.

Always Think About Your Target Audience

As you edit, keep in mind the target audience for your writing. If you're writing about technical information to an audience that isn't technically expert, you may need to add a step to eliminate or define technical jargon. If you're writing to an audience of ten-year olds, you'll need to consider sentence length more carefully than if you're writing to an audience of adults.

Start with Sentences

Ask yourself these kinds of questions as you look carefully at sentences:

• Do I need to change sentence punctuation? Because readers find these errors so distracting, writers should edit separately for sentence punctuation if they have any problem at all in using periods, semicolons, and commas with coordinating conjunctions correctly.
• Do I need to combine sentences for clarity, precision, variation? To answer this question, most students go through the paper concentrating on one sentence at a time or on two adjacent sentences. If they see wordy repetition, they combine sentences to reduce repeated words and phrases. If they see sentences repeatedly beginning with the subject, they reorder sentence parts. If they see a phrase that doesn't fit or make sense where it is, they rearrange or rewrite. Reading the paper aloud often helps writers catch those sentences that need work.
• Do I see any wordy, cliched, or empty sentences I should rewrite?

Consider Words

Think about the words you've chosen throughout your paper. Do you need to choose more precise, active words? In some papers, particularly those that express a personal perspective, you'll want to check for words that create your personal impression. In persuasive papers, you may want to check for neutral words to avoid emotionalism. Let the audience and purpose of your paper determine how much time to spend on this step.

Check Grammatical Details

Don't forget to look for the major kinds of problems that crop up in student writing. Use these questions to help you edit for grammatical problems:

• Do I see any errors in subject-verb agreement?
• Do I see any errors in pronoun usage?
• Do I switch from present tense to past tense?

Don't Forget Punctuation and Spelling

This final list of questions should help you edit for punctuation and other remaining errors that could distract your readers:

• Have I used commas only where they belong and can I explain each one I use?
• Have I used apostrophes to show possession for nouns? Have I used apostrophes to show contractions with pronouns (if that level of informality is appropriate for your paper)?
• Have I checked commonly confused words, such as affect/effect, to make sure I have the correct one where I use it?
• Have I used the spell checker on my word processor? Have I read the paper again to check for misspelled word the checker doesn't catch?
• Are there other errors I know I make that I need to check for?

Try a Sample

T he following paragraph has errors of several sorts. Copy and paste it into a word processor and then edit it as carefully as you can. First look for sentence punctuation errors (fragments, comma splices). You might also consider combining some sentences to reduce repetition and wordiness. Then check subject-verb agreement and pronoun reference. Finally, check all commas and proofread one last time for spelling.

Most people visualize sorority girls as snobby and very "house" oriented, my friend Lisa is much more friendly and barely involves herself in house activities or conforms to their regulations. Snobbery is an aspect of the sorority girl image, they accomplish this task by interacting with a selective crowd which consist of girls from the house, fraternity boys, and possibly family. The frat boys serve as potential dates; seeing as frats and sororities exclusively party together. A sorority girl would never think of picking up a man off the street. On the other hand, theres Lisa who is no snob, as a matter of fact shes in no way judgmental of who she talks to, if they are friendly to her she will be the same. Its obvious that shes friendly to just about everyone because thats how she met her boyfriend by just saying "hi" one day. Another aspect of the sorority girl stereotype is strict conformity to house rules which prohibit drinking and men in the room, making the girls seem so disciplined and innocent. But then there is Lisa who loves to party, and theres nothing she likes more than to stay out late at a good party completely blowing off curfews. Also, if she wants to bring a guy home she won't hesitate to sneak him in the back way and up to her room. Another way the sorority girls seem so house oriented is shown in the constant dances, parties, and dinners they attend. All the girls goes as a house and are expected to act like she's having a good time even when its a terrible party and they're bored. Lisa refuses to go to these boring parties. And pretend she's having fun. She'd rather forget the party the house goes to and go out with other friends, even if she knows she'll be in trouble. Threfore, as you can see by my description of Lisa's personality she doesn't fit the normal stereotype of a sorority girl.

Proofreading Strategies

The "finished" paper always takes effort; sometimes it takes sweat and tears. But never fear to make changes, major changes during revision or minor changes during proofreading. The best papers are those that we give our best thoughts to and those that show we can reject our less-than-best writing.

Proofreading is the very last step in preparing a final draft. Just because it's the last step, though, don't assume that it will go quickly. Sometimes it take two or more additional "passes" through a paper to be sure you've found all the remaining typographical errors, misplaced pieces of punctuation, or inaccurate words.

Start with Problem Areas

When proofreading, look first for those problems you know you have. If you know you make errors with sentence punctuation, check all sentences for completeness first. For instance, many proofreading errors involve using commas where semicolons are required. As a separate proofreading step, look at each sentence in your final drafts. Check that any commas in the middle of sentences aren't separating two sentences that could otherwise stand alone. If you have just a comma between what could be two sentences, change that to a semicolon.

Then read the paper again for each problem teachers have suggested you work on. You may have to look at the paper five or six times to be thorough, so try splitting up your proofreading. Check for sentence punctuation and one other problem in one sitting, and then come back after a break to look for other problems.

Read from the End to the Beginning

The final product you share should not distract readers with any errors. A good way to proofread for spelling is to read from right to left, from the bottom to the top of the page. If you read only from the beginning to the end of the paper, you may overlook typos. Also, as you discover spelling errors, keep track of those. You can keep a list of common misspellings taped to the front inside cover of your dictionary so that you don't have to look up the same words over and over. Or you can tape short lists of words to several books you carry with you during the day. Just by glancing at the list from time to time, you can learn to spell the words correctly.

Look Just for Typos

Even after you go through this sequence of steps, don't forget to proofread once more for typos and spelling errors. As good as today's word processing programs are in highlighting potential problems in spelling and wording, this software can't catch certain kinds of errors (such as commonly confused words like affect and effect). That error-checking can only be done by a careful proofreader. So take the time to read what you think will be the final printout just to be sure you've found all the little mistakes.

A Proofreading Checklist

Proofread a paper several times, never just after you finish typing or writing. Here's a short list of steps to go through to be sure you've proofread your final draft thoroughly.

• Proofread one sentence at a time, again from the end of the paper to the beginning. Look especially for sentence punctuation and any errors you know you often make. By looking at each sentence--because it will be out of context--you'll see more of the punctuation errors and missing words than you catch by reading from the beginning to the end of the paper.
• Proofread once more, looking for problems you know of in your writing. Always make one special reading just for your common flaws and errors.
• Read the paper aloud. Sometimes, because you have to read more slowly to read aloud, you'll "hear" problems that you otherwise miss as you read the paper silently. Pay special attention to the sound of words (check for endings) and of sentences (check for choppy sentences that should be combined and for sentence fragments).
• Proofread slowly, reading each word from right to left and from bottom to top on the page; in other words, read backwards so that you catch spelling or typing errors. Or read the entire paper from the end to the beginning. By looking at each word--because it will be out of context--you'll see more of the spelling errors than you catch with your current proofreading process.

Final Advice

When you need to be sure that your final papers are perfect, as you will for an application to professional school or a job-application letter, you might still want to find someone to proofread for you. Your proofreading skills will improve as you practice the steps I've noted above, but when you don't want to miss any errors, then having someone else you can count on is valuable.

T he following paragraph has errors of several sorts. Copy and paste it into a word processor and then proofread it as carefully as you can. First look for sentence punctuation errors (fragments, comma splices). Then check to see if you can spot any of the errors you know you make in your own writing. Finally, proofread one last time for spelling.

To enhance my ego, I tell little white lies to my friends. "I am the best football player in town"; is an example of a little white lie I tell. I tell this lie to my friends so they will think I play football well. It does not matter that the last time I played football, I fumbled the ball six times, threw three interceptions, and scored a touchdown for the opposing team. If a little white lie is available, and my friends will believe it, I will use a little white lie to avoid embarrasment, and to inflate my ego. When a friend ask me how my date with Marcia was; I certainly will not tell him the truth: that she dropped me flat for some football player. I will tell a little white lie, to inflate my ego, and say: "Marcia and I had a great time together," or "I broke up with Marcia, she's too ugly, I have a better looking girlfriend now." I will not tell the truth and damage my ego when a little white lie can mask the truth and magnify my ego. To avoid embarrasment and to protect my ego; I tell little white lies to my freinds.

Citation Information

Kate Kiefer. (1994-2024). Editing and Proofreading Strategies. The WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University. Available at https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/guides/.

Copyright Information

Copyright © 1994-2024 Colorado State University and/or this site's authors, developers, and contributors . Some material displayed on this site is used with permission.

15 Writing Strategies Every Writer Should Know

Looking to engage more readers? These simple but winning writing strategies will make your content more effective .

Each day, millions of publications flood the internet , not to mention press releases, academic papers, and so many more. To stand out in this vast sea of content, your writing needs to grab attention.

Successful writers understand that mastering their craft takes practice and dedication . They also utilize specific strategies to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of their writing. For that, here’s an overview of our 15 writing strategies  to become a much better writer than the average content creator.

The importance of writing strategies in (good) content creation

Of course, we start with the world of digital marketing, where having a smart strategy is key , and at its heart is the creation of engaging content .

Keep in mind that with quality content writing, we aim to achieve two main things:

• Make your content more relevant and actually useful , which is crucial these days.
• Improve search engine rankings   with SEO  to get more people visiting your website.
• Get more people to take action on your content , such as buying something or signing up for a newsletter.

All of these goals are certainly important, but how can you come up with a useful strategy that fits into your specific content writing?

Creating strategic content involves having a clear plan and purpose . It’s about knowing what you want to achieve and how to make it happen .

This means understanding your audience , predicting their reactions, and guiding them towards the actions you want them to take after reading. It does not matter whether you are writing a blog or an academic essay : this always applies!

In the same way, every blog post should have a clear purpose . This foresight is what makes content strategy effective.

Enhance your writing skills with these 15 strategies for success

In content marketing, writing strategies often aim to persuade .

The goal is to present information in such a way that convinces users that it’s valuable , offering something they simply can’t resist—like a great deal, a free digital resource, or an exclusive invitation.

In exchange, you’ll attract traffic based on what you offer and how you present it . It may sound simple, but it’s challenging to execute.

However, don’t worry too much about it; there are numerous techniques available to help you succeed. Here, we’ll share our  top 15 writing strategies .

1. Structure your content

Structuring your content helps you save a lot of time.

What you need to do is to gather accurate information on a particular topic and present it visually for the user,  in an easily understandable way.

To achieve this, it’s important to focus on the keyword and related long-tail keywords . This involves thorough keyword research  to determine suitable titles for your text.

Ask yourself the question: what is my ideal reader writing on Google to find me? Answer that!

By doing so, you can organize the information and content before you even start writing, ensuring a structured approach.

This writing strategy is popular among copywriters  because it makes the task easier, especially when dealing with unfamiliar subjects and gathering information from different or complex sources.

2. Use lists and bullet points

Using lists and bullet points  is a highly appreciated writing technique among online marketing and journalism experts.  It’s commonly used nowadays because it allows for concise and specific content on a topic , serving as a summary or synthesis.

This approach is practical and attractive   to users  because:

• It sums up similar information on a specific topic
• Makes it easy for them to find what they’re looking for within the content
• Keeps up the interest!

You can even take this post as an example as we’re compiling a list of the 15 best writing strategies  each having its heading. If you want to do something similar, just change the number and the points you’re summarizing.

3. Pick truly relevant topics

Every day, countless articles flood the internet . You can’t afford to be generic and hope for attention . To attract visitors, your content must be captivating.

Essentially, you need a hook that sets your content apart from the rest .

This could be a personal anecdote, a controversial topic, or simply offering top-notch quality content. It all hinges on your target audience.

To put it simply: try to answer the user’s search intent .

4. Keep an eye on your style

To enhance your writing skills, use spell checkers to proofread your sentences .

Nowadays, tools like Grammarly , Quillbot, or LanguageTool are available for this purpose. These platforms are designed to ensure your content is well-written , crucial for reaching broader audiences and boosting your credibility .

5. Write an attention-grabbing title

Users typically spend only a few seconds reading an article before moving on. That’s why the title and introduction are crucial .

You can consider using artificial intelligence tools for this purpose . And we recommend you Arvin , which is powered by GPT-4  and enables quick writing, translation, and reading.

While writing an entire text with artificial intelligence isn’t advised  due to ethical concerns and the potential for generating low-quality content, it’s great to use it as a writing tool. It can help with grammar checking, generating attention-grabbing titles, and providing inspiration.

6. Use key phrases repeatedly

Skilled writers often show their talent by using a wide range of words  and expressing ideas in different ways. With the use of synonyms, writers add depth and interest , making sure the text stays exciting and doesn’t get boring.

This technique not only makes their writing easier to read but also shows how well they can use language to keep people hooked . Selecting the right words allows writers to evoke different emotions, settings, and details, making someone more invested in the narrative. This is especially handy when you’re marketing a product that relies on emotions or experiences .

Basically, using synonyms well is a sign of good writers, helping them write engaging stories that connect with readers in many ways.

7. Focus on your audience

This goes hand in hand with point 3. If you choose an interesting content, you have half the work done , but keep in mind that if you don’t target the right audience, no one will read it.

Take some time to identify who you want to reach through your writing . Your audience’s opinion of your subject matters, as well as their interests, age, background, place of residence and level of education, will influence what they think and feel about what you communicate to them .

8. Keep it simple and straightforward

A common mistake among inexperienced writers   is using overly formal language or trying to impress with big words instead of focusing on clarity.

Aim for simplicity .

Make clarity your writing strategy, and use brevity to effectively convey your message. Each word and sentence should serve a purpose in your writing.

While it’s useful to let your ideas go freely , revising is key . Trim unnecessary content, cut repetition and redundancy to ensure every word contributes meaningfu lly  to your text’s overall purpose.

9. Make your content trustworthy

To get users to share your content, they need to trust it .

And while the page design plays a key role in how much users trust your content, your copywriting is also very important.

Here are two tips for making your content more reliable :

• Do your research and referencing  to show that you know what you’re talking about. For example, whenever if you write a guide, use a lot of data and citations.
• Write about what you know best . Why? Expert-written content is hard to come by. While many opt for freelancers, there’s something special about content crafted by true experts in the field.

10. Limit your use of adverbs and adjectives

Both are used to describe nouns and verbs, but overusing them can distract from your main point .

While they can be helpful at times, too many qualifiers can muddy your message.

When proofreading, consider whether your argument could be clearer without them.

11. Start off clearly

In the opening sentences and paragraphs, writers have the chance to capture the reader’s attention and keep them engaged.

A strong start encourages readers to keep reading.

It’s often a good idea to  write the body and conclusion first , then go back to craft or revise the introduction. Once you know the main points and how the piece ends, it’s easier to figure out how to begin or create an interesting introduction to highlight the key information.

12. Add literary resources into your writing

Writers use various tools to make their writing stand out . Techniques like similes, metaphors, rhyme, alliteration and word order changes can enhance your style and grab your reader’s attention.

We’ll show you how to use these techniques in your writing :

• Similes and metaphors compare two things that are usually different.
• Rhyme and repetition make your writing catchy and memorable.
• Alliteration and assonance create pleasing sounds.
• Changing word order add suspense or highlight important points, giving your story more depth.

13. Proofread and edit your text to finish things up

After suggesting you to check your spelling, the next step is to proofread . This helps you find any mistakes you might have missed before.

Reading, editing and proofreading are different steps :

• First, read the text . Make sure that the main idea is clear and that the text is accurate. This is about taking an overall view of the text and making changes that will improve it.
• Next step is to edit .  Editing involves analyzing each sentence for clarity, efficiency, and grammar. Focus on fixing punctuation errors and misspellings.
• Lastly, proofread.  This is a final check before publishing, where you look for errors missed during editing. It’s also a chance to ensure conformity with any specific style guide.

14. Choose powerful verbs and words when you write

Verbs are the actions in your writing, so they’re crucial. Clear and powerful verbs  make your writing more effective . For that, when you write, consider which verbs will paint a clear picture for your readers.

Think about the contrast between “She is walking really fast” and “She is sprinting.” The second one gives a clearer image of a fast movement . Likewise, “He ate quickly” is less impactful than “He devoured,” which hints at a strong hunger or eagerness.

15. Read more and more!

The final strategy on our list isn’t about writing at all— it’s about reading .

Reading is arguably the most effective way to improve your writing skills. By reading regularly, you’ll expand your vocabulary , encounter examples of strong writing, and reinforce your understanding of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and common writing techniques.

Developing a reading habit can also help you identify effective writing styles , discover topics you’re passionate about, and learn how to connect with your audience more effectively.

How to become a better writer (and come up with even better content)?

Skilled writers understand that writing is a journey, not a race.  It requires dedication and practice to hone your skills.

Make writing a daily habit , concentrate on different sections of your work, and aim to publish regularly.

When you apply writing strategies consistently, you’ll become a better writer . And with powerful tools like Arvin , an AI browser extension designed to assist with writing, you have even more support at your fingertips. What are you waiting to try it?

How should I organize my writing?

The best way to organize your writing depends on your purpose and audience. However, a clear introduction, a well-structured body, and a concise conclusion are essential for effective writing.

Why is revising important in writing?

The revision process is crucial as it allows you to refine your ideas, improve clarity, and ensure your writing has impact. It’s where you transform your initial drafts into polished pieces.

Can writing strategies enhance my writing?

Absolutely! Employing writing strategies can significantly improve your writing by adding structure, engagement, and persuasion. They provide a framework that streamlines the writing process, making it more efficient and effective.

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10 Strategies for Effective Proofreading and Editing

Document creation consumes a significant portion of every lawyer’s time regardless of practice area—up to 60% of lawyer time is spent drafting and polishing documents. Even after the words are written, proofreading and editing can drag on for hours—and sometimes errors still slip through the cracks.

Less time spent revising and refining documents translates to more time spent on high-value, substantive work. Here are 10 strategies to make proofreading and editing your legal documents more effective.

1. Let Your Document Sit.

It can be hard to step away from your work if you’re “in the zone.” But if you’ve been working on the same document for hours or days, it’ll become harder for you to notice mistakes. So if time permits, set aside your work to gain distance. Taking breaks could help get a fresh perspective.

If you’re on a tight deadline, even letting your document sit for 15 minutes will help. But if you have time to spare, it’s best to leave it overnight. When you come back to your work, you will see it with fresh eyes and renewed attention.

2. Look for a Quiet Place to Work

For editing, concentration is crucial. This means you must work in a quiet spot where you can avoid distractions. Background noise can make it hard to concentrate—especially if you’re working from home with kids or if a partner or colleague is having a conversation in the same room.

Find a quiet place away from your phone and without access to the internet. Disconnecting helps you resist the temptation to check for email and avoids distracting notifications that steal your focus.

3. Review Your Draft in Stages

Approach each proofreading and editing task separately. Start with structural editing by assessing the clarity of your message and overall flow. At this stage, you’re free to make significant changes by adding, moving, or deleting sections of text.

The next step is line editing, where you focus on revising each line to communicate your ideas clearly. Do it step by step: check for spelling, sentence structure, word choice, punctuation, and so on. If you try to identify and fix too much at once, you risk losing focus, and your review will be less effective.

After line editing, you can proceed with copy editing. This step involves polishing your sentences to ensure correct grammar and syntax. The last stage is proofreading, where you carefully check for remaining errors like misspelled words or misused punctuation.

4. Read Your Text Aloud

Reading your paper out loud is a helpful step in the editing process. Reading aloud forces you to say each word and listen to how the words sound. It can help you notice missing words, run-on sentences, and awkward transitions. Hearing your text spoken helps you discern when something doesn't sound right—even if it’s grammatically correct—so you can make adjustments. You can try letting Microsoft Word read your text out loud to you. (The robotic voice will make your words feel unfamiliar, which will help you notice mistakes.)

Reading aloud is more effective than reading silently to yourself because when you read silently, you tend to skip over errors, fill in words, or make unconscious corrections.

5. Take Regular Breaks from Editing

It’s tough to maintain focus on detail-oriented work for more than 30 minutes at a time. Schedule breaks before your attention wanes. Staying too focused on your piece will make it harder for your brain to spot errors.

Stepping away can also help you be more analytical and less emotionally attached to your draft. That way, it’s easier to see what you can improve.

6. Track Your Editing Progress

You can save time and avoid re-evaluating text you’ve already reviewed by using a blank sheet of paper to cover any text that you haven’t reviewed yet. This keeps your eyes from wandering and your attention from shifting. Circle confirmed punctuation edits or place checkmarks next to paragraphs you’ve checked to see your progress and avoid accidentally repeating the work. Besides helping you track progress, interacting with the text helps keep you engaged as you edit.

Transform your legal briefs from good to great with a sophisticated style editor.

Your writing is essential to your legal practice. Let WordRake help you create clear, concise writing.

7. Change Your Text Formatting

It's hard to notice errors when you’re staring at your draft from a bright computer screen. When you’re looking at the same document, in the same font, in the same location, in the same context, your mind starts to merge those familiar experiences, which prevents you from catching mistakes. To see the errors, you need a new perspective. Change things up. If your review is focused on substance, try changing the size, spacing, color, or style of the text so it feels different.

8. Review Headings Separately

Rather than reading your document exactly as it appears on the page, try approaching it another way. Review headings and subheadings separately from the body text. By reviewing headings alone, you draw attention to inconsistencies and errors you might otherwise miss. Plus, reviewing headings and body text separately ensures you check both types of text. (Some of the most embarrassing errors in legal documents are hiding in plain sight in headings and captions.)

9. Try Backwards Editing

Backwards editing may sound strange but it’s a useful technique for seeing your documents with fresh eyes. Here’s how it works: Review one paragraph at a time in reverse order, starting with the last paragraph.

When you edit from the end of your document, you’re taking each section out of context. Editing out of order makes it easier to notice missing transitions or missing information. It also makes you focus on individual words and phrases rather than getting caught up in the flow of your draft. You might catch more errors this way because you’re editing for clarity instead of substance.

10. Find & Replace Repetitive Words

Don’t be afraid to hit CTRL + F to systematically search through your document for common errors and inconsistencies. Using the search function will automatically highlight sections of your text so you can efficiently spot repetitive words and phrases. It will also show you if you’ve written words and phrases inconsistently. Once you see the highlighting, you can choose to replace words to add variety, or replace inconsistent words and phrases with consistent ones—with just a few clicks.

BONUS! Improve and Accelerate Your Results With Technology

Using the right tools makes any job easier. That’s where WordRake comes in. Every word not conveying meaning detracts from every word trying to convey meaning, so when you remove the unnecessary words, you capture your reader more effectively.

In one click, WordRake analyzes your document or email, suggesting edits for clarity and brevity, right in Microsoft Word or Outlook. WordRake uses the familiar in-line, track-changes style, and you choose which edits to keep. With WordRake’s help, writing can be more persuasive and more effective, quickly.

WordRake is the ideal editing solution for legal professionals, business people, and anybody that writes as part of their career. Get your free 7-day trial today.

About the Author

Ivy B. Grey is the Chief Strategy & Growth Officer for WordRake. Prior to joining the team, she practiced bankruptcy law for ten years. In 2020, Ivy was recognized as an Influential Woman in Legal Tech by ILTA. She has also been recognized as a Fastcase 50 Honoree and included in the Women of Legal Tech list by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center. Follow Ivy on Twitter @IvyBGrey  or connect with her on  LinkedIn .

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Want to learn more about revising and editing? Check out our self-paced class  The Successful Novel , which gives you the tools to write, revise, and publish the novel waiting to be written inside you. 

Although the terms revising and editing are often used interchangeably, stylish writers know the difference between revising and editing. When it’s time to shape a first draft into a polished, publishable piece of writing, knowing how to both revise and edit your work is essential.

So, what is revising vs editing? Revising refers to global changes in the text—significant amendments to the work’s structure, intent, themes, content, organization, etc. These are, in other words, macro-level considerations. Editing, by contrast, focuses on changes at the word, sentence, and paragraph level.

These two concepts require different skills and attentions, but both are necessary to create a finished piece of writing. So, let’s dive deeper into revising vs editing, including a revising and editing checklist you can use for any passage of poetry or prose.

First, let’s dive a little deeper into these two essential skills. What is the difference between revising and editing?

Note: the revising and editing resources in this article are geared towards fiction writers. Nonetheless, much of this advice also applies to essayists and nonfiction writers, too.

Revising and Editing: Contents

• The focus of revision
• The focus of editing

Revising Vs Editing: Venn Diagram

• Revision Strategies
• Editing Strategies
• Strategies for Revising and Editing

Revising and Editing Checklist

What is the difference between revising and editing.

Revising and editing are different types of changes you can make to a text. “Revising” is concerned with macro-level considerations: the ideas of a text, and how they are organized and structured as a whole. “Editing,” by contrast, concerns itself with micro-level stylistic considerations, the words and sentences that get those macro-level ideas across.

Revising is concerned with the ideas and structure of the text as a whole; editing is concerned with stylistic considerations, like word choice and sentence structure. 

This revising vs editing chart outlines the different considerations for each concept:

Let’s go a bit deeper into these revising and editing concepts.

Revision strategies focus on:

The text as a whole. If revision focuses on the macro-level concerns for the text, then revision strategies for writing require the writer to think about what the text is accomplishing.

In large part, this means thinking about themes, ideas, arguments, structures, and, if the text is fiction, the elements of fiction themselves. You might also consider how the text is influenced by other writers and media, or what philosophies are operating within the text.

Here are some questions to ask when revising your work:

• Does the writing begin at the beginning?
• Are the ideas logically sequenced?
• How are different ideas juxtaposed? How does their juxtaposition alter the message of the text?
• What messages are present in the text?
• How do the characters of the text represent different ideas and messages?
• What do the different settings of the story represent? How does the setting impact the decisions that characters make?
• What core conflicts shape the plot?
• Who is the narrator? How does their point of view impact the story being told?
• What attitude do I take towards the various themes and ideas? Is that attitude present?
• Does the writing use scenes to showcase important moments, and summaries to glide over less important passages of time?
• What atmosphere(s) are in the text? Does the story’s mood complement the story itself?
• Does the story have a clearly defined climax? What questions does (and doesn’t) the climax resolve?
• What transformation occurs in the story? How are the characters at the end different than at the beginning?
• Does the writing end at the ending? Is the ending a closed door, or (preferably) an open one?

Editing strategies focus on:

The words and sentences. In contrast to revision strategies, editing strategies ask the writer to examine how the text is accomplishing macro-level concerns.

This means getting into the weeds with language. Small decisions, like the use of a synonym or the arrangement of certain sounds, stack up to create an enjoyable story. Moreover, good writing at the sentence level makes it easier to produce good writing at the global level.

Here are some questions to ask when editing your work:

• Is this the right word to describe a certain image, idea, or sensation?
• Do my sentences have enough variation in length and structure?
• Are the words I use easy to understand? If I use jargon or academic language, is the meaning of the text still clear?
• Do I use active vs passive voice with intent?
• Have I omitted any unnecessary words?
• How does it sound to read my work aloud? Does it flow like it should?
• Do I use sonic and poetic devices , like alliteration, consonance, assonance, and internal rhyme, to make the writing more enjoyable? Do those devices enhance the text?
• How does the text transition between scenes and ideas? Do these transitions enhance the logical flow of plot and ideas?
• Do I repeat certain words a lot? Do those repetitions contribute to the text, or do they become redundant?
• Have I employed the “show, don’t tell” rule consistently in my writing? Do I have a good balance of showing and telling?
• Do I use metaphors, similes, and analogies to illustrate important ideas in new and thought-provoking ways?
• Is the writing clear at the word, sentence, and paragraph level?
• Does the dialogue sound like it was spoken by a real person? Does each character have a distinct voice, separate from the voice of the author?

Note: editing does not include proofreading. Proofreading is something you typically do once the final draft is done. It is the process of making sure there are no typos, misspellings, misplaced punctuation marks, or grammatical errors. Do this once you’ve thoroughly covered revising and editing.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these skills.

Revising Vs Editing: Revision Strategies for Writing

In addition to asking the above questions, here are some revision strategies to help you tackle the macro-level concerns in your writing.

Revision Strategies: Take a break after drafting

Before you get to revising and editing your work, take a break when you’ve finished the first draft. It is much easier to revise and edit when you can look at your work with a fresh set of eyes.

How long should you wait? It really depends. Some authors give their work 2 or 4 weeks. Stephen King recommends a 6 week break in his book On Writing . Really, you should give yourself enough time to forget the finer details of your work, but not so much time that you lose passion for the project.

Revision Strategies: Write a memory draft

Here’s a crazy idea: when you’re done with your first draft, throw it out.

Right. Don’t save a copy. Don’t reread what you’ve written. Don’t give yourself any access to it. Once you’ve written the final word, delete everything.

Why would you do this? Some writers, called “pantsers” or “discovery writers”, don’t plot in advance, they just write from scratch and figure it out as they go. When you delete this draft, you’re forced to write it again from memory. This “memory draft” will be written from only the most salient parts of the first draft—the parts that were memorable, enjoyable, and essential to the work.

Of course, you can write a memory draft without deleting your first draft. Deleting the first draft just makes it easier to ensure you never go back. This approach is not for everyone, but for some writers, such as our instructor Sarah Aronson , it results in the strongest possible work.

Revision Strategies: Create a plot line

If you’re a pantser, or even if you plot everything in advance, return to your work by creating a plot line.

Go scene by scene. What is every action that drives the writing forward? Who are the characters involved? Are those actions consistent with the characters?

Also give consideration to different plot structures. What plot structure does the story use? Is there a main plot and subplot(s)? How do the subplots tie into the plot as a whole?

Plot lines help you zoom out. Seeing your work at the macro-level is the key difference between revising and editing; to revise your work, you must be able to see it from a distance before zooming in closer.

Revision Strategies: Funneling

Funneling is a process for zooming into the work from a distance. It asks you to get progressively more in-the-weeds with your writing.

First, you need to look at the work as a whole. What are the overall themes and messages? What does the work accomplish, or try to accomplish? How is the work structured? Does the work feel essential?

Then, zoom in, and ask those same questions at the various sublevels of the work. Ask these questions by section, by chapter, by scene, by paragraph, and even sentence by sentence. Evaluating the purpose of each individual component helps you decide what to keep, what to cut, and what to revise and edit.

Revision Strategies: Look for discontinuities

Another way to decide what to keep, cut, revise and edit, is to spend time intentionally searching for discontinuities.

What are discontinuities? These are parts of the text where the writing is not continuous. They can be caused by the following:

• Sections of the text that don’t ultimately contribute to the plot, subplots, characters, character development, setting, etc.
• Plot threads that haven’t yet been tied up, but need to be.
• Subplots that ultimately do not impact the main plot of the story.
• Gaps in plot or characterization that need to be filled for the story to make sense.

Some discontinuities are intentional, and writers should certainly lean into ambiguity and interpretation. But your story should also say everything it needs to. Discontinuities hinder a story’s ability to do this. By snuffing them out and fixing them, you can prepare a text that is much more ready for editing.

Revising Vs Editing: Editing Strategies for Writing

In addition to asking the previous questions we’ve listed for editing your work, here are some editing strategies to help you tackle the micro-level concerns in your writing.

Editing Strategies: Read it out loud

Yes, even if it’s novel-length. Reading your work out loud is essential to honing your prose. (This is also true for writing poetry !)

The way that writing flows in your head is not necessarily how it flows when spoken aloud. As a result, your writing might sound good when you read it, but not when you say it. Writing that sounds good out loud always sounds good on the page; writing that sounds clunky or hard to follow out loud might be read the same way.

In addition to catching opportunities for stylistic improvement, reading your work out loud also gives you a chance to experience your work in a different way. You might gain a new perspective that helps you tackle major revisions.

Editing Strategies: Focus on specificity

Ambiguity has its place in literature. But, when it comes to giving good detail and description, specificity is key.

Take this passage, from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy:

“Having sufficiently rested they proceeded on their way at evenfall. The dense trees of the avenue rendered the road dark as a tunnel, though the open land on each side was still under a faint daylight. In other words, they passed down a midnight between two gloamings.”

Look at how the attention to detail in this passage paints such a dazzling image. I can see this picture moving in my mind’s eye. And, the phrase “a midnight between two gloamings” is both poetic and musical, making this excerpt an all around enjoyable read.

What would a nonspecific passage of text look like? Instead of the above, imagine Hardy writing “The road was shady.” Maybe you can picture that in your head, but does the image move? Do you know that the shade is provided by trees, as opposed to buildings? Does it even matter whether the road was shady or not?

You don’t need to make everything specific, but specificity helps draw the reader’s attention to what’s beautiful and important. Through specificity, writers can access something both stimulating and poetic for the reader. Use this tool whenever you want to draw the mind’s eye somewhere.

Editing Strategies: Omit needless words

Omitting needless words is central to the art of editing. If a word isn’t doing important work, or if there is a less wordy way to say something, cut it out of the text. Be heartless!

Your style will always be improved by concision. Not brevity, but concision —where every word does important, necessary work. A sentence can be 200 words long, so long as every word is essential.

Common words to omit include adverbs, undescriptive adjectives, passive phrases that are better off active, and prepositions in place of stronger verbs. For more tips, check out our article on this topic:

https://writers.com/concise-writing

Editing Strategies: Turn repetition into variety

Repetition is a useful stylistic device to emphasize the important ideas and images in a text. But, repetition should be used sparingly. To keep your writing fresh and engaging, try not to repeat yourself too much, and call out parts of your text where you do.

This is true at both the word and sentence level. At the word level, keep things visually interesting. If a lot of things in your scene are already yellow, then the building can be green, for example. Also be sure to vary your transition words. If you use “then” to move to every next scene, the reader will catch on and get annoyed, quickly.

At the sentence level, vary your sentence lengths and structures. A series of short sentences will start to sound staccato. Too many long sentences will tax the reader’s attention. Sentences of any length can be used in any way. But, as a quick guide, you can often use short sentences to convey brief summary or information, medium sentences to advance the narrative, and long sentences for moments of introspection or important description. Again, any sentence of any length can do any of those things, but that’s an easy rule to start from.

Even at the paragraph level, try to have a mix of long and short paragraphs, where you can. Also, try to include dialogue at regular intervals. If your characters haven’t spoken for at least 3 pages, let their voices onto the page.

Editing Strategies: Ask yourself, who does your writing sound like?

This is an important question to ask when you’re editing your work. Who does your writing sound like?

It is important to define this, because you want the writing to sound like it’s coming from a real person. If you’re writing nonfiction, then you obviously want the writing to sound like yourself.

When writing fiction, the writing may sound like yourself, but remember, the narrator is not necessarily the author. So, the text should sound like whoever is narrating the story, even if it has some stylistic consistencies with other fiction you’ve written.

What you absolutely do not want is to affect a lofty manner. You can be artful, musical, poetic even, but you absolutely cannot Sound Like A Writer. Using elaborate sentence structures, academic vocabulary, or else trying to write High Literature will only make your writing sound pretentious. Talk to your reader, not above them.

Also, be sure to know the warning signs of when a passage of text is purple prose .

Revising and Editing Strategies

These strategies are useful for both revising and editing. As you revise and edit your work, consider doing the following:

Revising and Editing: Read like a writer

The best way to improve as a writer is to read other writers like a writer yourself. This is invaluable advice, especially for anyone learning how to write a novel . Paying attention to the craft skills that go into a work of literature will help you think about the decisions you make in your own work.

You can do this at both a revising and editing level. How did the author structure their text? Why does the chapter end here? What did they intend to do by using that specific word choice? Why is this sentence so long?

When you make a practice of doing this, it is much easier to bring that practice into your own work.

Learn more about reading like a writer here:

https://writers.com/how-to-read-like-a-writer

Revising and Editing: Print it out

Most people these days write using a computer. (I say most, because our instructor Troy Wilderson writes her novels freehand.) Whatever medium you use to write, try using a different medium to revise and edit.

So, if you typed your first draft, print it out and mark up the physical pages. If you happened to write freehand or use a typewriter, type up those pages and revise from there.

The point is to think about your work in a different medium. Revising and editing with different technology helps shift the gears in your brain, and it also encourages you to see your work with a different perspective. For whatever reason, you’ll think about your work with a fresh set of eyes if it’s sitting in front of you in a different format.

And, if you don’t have access to a printer, at least put your writing in a different text editor. Move from Microsoft Word to Google Docs, or even use a novel editing software like Scrivener . Anything to get you out of writing mode, and into revising mode, allowing you to see your work from a new angle.

Revising and Editing: Don’t do it all at once

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. The same holds true for revising and editing.

If you try to tackle it all at once, you will create three problems for yourself.

One, you will rush through a process that requires slow, methodical labor. Trying to tackle everything right away will result in a work that’s fundamentally incomplete.

Two, you will end up ignoring or neglecting important or powerful opportunities for revision. Taking things slow helps you think more clearly about your work. You might miss out on powerful insights by trying to accomplish everything right away. You might also force yourself to avoid the work that needs to be done, such as major revisions or a full scale rewrite.

Three, you miss out on the joy of revising and editing. This is a fundamentally fun experience. It is also an experience central to being an author. Let yourself have it.

Revising and Editing: Read in reverse

Try reading your work from end to beginning. Read each sentence left to right, but read the sentences from back to front.

This might seem a little strange. After all, won’t you lose the meaning of the sentences by doing this? Well, that’s exactly the point—reading in reverse allows you to see the text in a new light. You might notice a sentence that is far less musical when it stands on its own. Or, you might find information that’s been unnecessarily repeated. At the structural level, you might realize that certain passages, sections, or scenes are too close to the end (or middle, or beginning) of the text.

This is another effort to see your work in a new light. Taking as many opportunities as you can to do this will inevitably result in a stronger, more satisfying story.

Revising and Editing: Get feedback

When you’ve reached the limit of what you can accomplish yourself, it’s time to get feedback on your work.

The important thing is knowing when you’ve reached this limit . Most people should not seek feedback when they’ve finished the first draft. Why? Because the work is in a far more vulnerable state. You need to give yourself time to revise and edit using only your own expertise.

In other words, you need to bring the work much closer to your vision for the work before other people see it. Letting people in too early could result in feedback that changes the story as a whole, and brings it further away from the vision you have for it.

Give yourself a few revisions before you start getting feedback on your work. Trust in your own instinct and artistic vision. Feedback should help you reach that vision; anything that alters it doesn’t belong in the final draft.

Here are some things to ask yourself in both the revising and editing stages of your work. 

• Does the writing begin where it should?
• Does the juxtaposition of different ideas enhance those ideas?
• Do the characters of the text represent different ideas and messages?
• Do the settings represent certain themes and ideas?
• Do the settings impact the characters’ decisions?
• Is the plot shaped by conflict?
• Is the narrator clearly defined?
• Does the story’s mood complement the story itself?
• Does the story have a clearly defined climax?
• Do certain characters transform by the end of the story? (If not, is that intentional?)
• Is every word the right word to describe a certain image, idea, or sensation?
• Does my writing flow when spoken out loud?
• Do I use sonic devices to make the writing more enjoyable? Do those devices enhance the text?
• Do transitions enhance the logical flow of plot and ideas?
• Have I employed the “show, don’t tell” rule consistently in my writing?
• Do I have a good balance of showing and telling?
• Do I use metaphors, similes, and analogies to illustrate ideas in thought-provoking ways?
• Does the dialogue sound like it was spoken by a real person?
• Does each character have a distinct voice, separate from the voice of the author?

Get Tips for Revising and Editing Your Work at Writers.com

Revising and editing your work isn’t easy. Make it easier with feedback from the instructors at Writers.com. Take a look at our upcoming online writing classes , where you’ll receive expert guidance and instruction from our roster of successful, stylish authors.

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The Importance of Writing Strategies for Effective Writing

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on November 6, 2023

Categories Writing

Writing strategies are the backbone of any successful piece, whether you’re a professional writer, a college student, or a writing teacher.

Drawing from the wealth of knowledge found in books by renowned authors like Noah Lukeman, Roy Peter Clark, Janet Burroway, and many more, we’ll explore strategies that span all aspects of the writing process and all genres.

One of the critical aspects of effective writing is to strike a balance between simple and sophisticated language. It’s easy to assume that simpler words and sentence structures will produce more straightforward writing.

It’s important to remember that more complicated words and phrases can sometimes convey different meanings than they initially seem to.

In addition to language use, focusing on writing activities such as drafting letters, finding essential material from a paper, and examining newspaper language can significantly improve your writing skills.

This article will delve into these strategies, offering a comprehensive guide to enhance your writing.

Understanding Writing Strategies

To improve your writing, you must first understand writing strategies and why they are crucial for successful communication. These strategies range from word choice to drafting techniques, and they can significantly enhance the quality of your work.

The Writing Process

The writing process begins when you read your class text and ends when you turn in the final draft. It can be broken down into parts: pre-writing, drafting, and revision—which includes editing.

Now, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Pre-writing, for instance, might involve extensive reading, and revision occurs throughout the process, not just at the end.

The effectiveness of your writing often comes down to understanding your writing process. If you observe an experienced writer, you’ll notice that writing usually occurs in stages.

Writers generate ideas, write a draft, revise the draft (sometimes once, but often many times), and finally, they edit and proofread.

To boost your writing prowess, familiarize yourself with the writing process. Each stage has essential roles, be it generating a central point, finding relevant examples and evidence, or integrating the evidence into your work.

Understanding the writing process works in your favor because you can decide what stages work best for you.

Defining Clear Writing Goals

Another critical aspect is defining clear writing goals.

Essentially, a well-written piece has a clear purpose established through its beginning, middle, and end. Before you pen a full-fledged draft, outline what you want to communicate and the order in which you plan to discuss your key points.

Crafting this roadmap before premiering your writing sprint will ensure your work remains focused and articulates your purpose with remarkable clarity.

Imagine each chapter of your work as a different goal. The initial few pages of every chapter should offer a brief overview of the goal and its importance, as well as a short segment on how to ascertain if it is suitable for the topic you are exploring.

Compartmentalize your time to hone the goals of every part of your work. Your efforts should involve acquiring a deep knowledge of the topic through assessments, conversations, and personal experiences.

Remember, simple writing doesn’t mean sacrificing your ideas. Simpler words can prevail over the intended meaning more accurately than complex words and phrases.

Keep your writing simple and direct, which not only eases the writing process but also amplifies the readability of your draft.

Structuring Your Writing

When it comes to writing, structure is vital. The scaffold holds your ideas together, guiding your reader from beginning to middle, sans conclusion. Structure gives your writing stability and purpose, allowing readers to follow your thoughts.

How to Use Lists

Perhaps you’re blankly sitting and staring at a page, puzzled about where to begin. When this happens, try using a prompt .

Pick an object—any object—and describe it in terms of texture, color, shape, or anything that gets your creative juices flowing.

Another potent tool in your writing arsenal is the list . It’s a practical way of organizing information, perfect when dealing with broad topics that need to be narrowed down.

Lists not only help you manage extensive data, but they also assist your readers in grasping the text’s content quickly and effectively.

Consider the two basic list types:

• Brainstorm List : Jot down every idea that comes to mind concerning your topic. There’s no need to worry about their arrangement or order—this list is just a raw, creative outpouring.
• Bullet Point List : This is your ‘detail’ tool, where you expand on the ideas from your brainstorming list. It promotes clarity and precision in your writing.

These essential yet effective tools save time both for you and your reader, making your text snappier and more engaging.

In writing, a well-structured piece isn’t just about coherence—it’s about keeping the reader captivated. How, you wonder?

It’s simple: vary your sentence structure . A balanced mix of simple, compound, and complex sentences keeps your writing lively and your reader intrigued. Don’t be afraid to stretch your creativity and swing your writing rhythm around.

Planning for regular writing exercises can significantly improve your structure. Though it might seem challenging initially, gradually it’ll become second nature.

Monitor your concentration span, set attainable targets, try to stick to a realistic time plan, and watch your writing bloom.

Lastly, remember that secret weapon; every writer needs to proofread . It’s the final step that ensures your writing is print-ready.

Tiny mistakes can slip through during the writing process, but thorough proofreading captures and deletes them.

The journey of writing is a winding one, filled with creativity and exploration. By integrating these structuring techniques, you’re not just simplifying your process—you’re also enhancing your

Establishing a Clear Purpose

Good writing has a clear purpose , marking its beginning, middle, and end. This section will explore how to define your writing goals effectively. Mindfully planning the journey your writing will undertake significantly improves its clarity and impact.

Utilizing Subheadings

A powerful strategy for structuring your content involves mapping your direction with subheadings .

Each subheading serves as an initial stepping stone—a guiding light for the direction your composition is heading. Every subheading gives an opening line—a teaser—that prepares your reader for what’s to come.

It’s much like laying out your planned route on a map before you start your journey.

The process starts with jotting down your ideas and streamlining them. It’s a good idea to scratch off anything irrelevant. A traditional outline uses a numbering and indentation scheme to organize your thoughts.

Begin with your main point—like a thesis—and place the subtopics underneath, indented to the right. Each subtopic should have at least two details.

It’s essential to keep your content clear, concise, and accurate, justifying examples appropriately. Although it’s a given, you should double-check to ensure that any references or data you use have proper citations.

Choosing the Right Goal

Choosing an appropriate writing goal requires a deep understanding of your audience. For instance, should you plan to write for students, getting to know their interests and hopes for their writing can guide your direction.

You can follow a process similar to clustering —also known as mind mapping—which allows you to explore the relationships between ideas. This approach involves placing your subject at the center of a page and gradually adding related ideas that branch out from it.

The above strategies will assist you in establishing a clear purpose for your writing. Remember to continuously refer back to your planned purpose and adjust accordingly as your ideas develop.

Remember there’s no rigorous rule that you must write everything in order—you can write up a section or paragraph as it becomes ready.

Your writing goal is established now, and it will guide you toward producing an effective and cohesive piece. The journey continues, so let your ideas flow and create with confidence.

Language and Writing Tools

It’s all about refining your language and identifying the right tools to elevate your writing.

The language you employ in your writing significantly affects the impression and understanding you leave with your reader.

Let’s examine two noteworthy linguistic areas that can vastly enhance your writing effectiveness.

Understanding Active and Passive Voice

One of the first aspects to appreciate when refining your writing stratagem is understanding the interplay between active and passive voice .

Predominantly, you should aim for an active voice. Why so? Simple. It’s more direct, providing immediate clarity for your readers.

Let’s decipher this with an example. Consider the passive voice, “The ball was thrown by Jake.” Now, convert it into an active voice, “Jake threw the ball.” The latter, without a doubt, appears more lively and crisp.

Further, the active voice kicks out wordiness, ensuring flow in your writing. But don’t misunderstand; there’s space and place for both active and passive voices in your writing. The trick lies in knowing where and when to use each.

Choosing Word Choice Wisely

Let’s delve into word choice . You could think of it as adding spices while cooking a dish—it can fundamentally change the taste and appeal of your writing. Aim for precision and clarity in your choice of words.

A good pointer is to keep your adjectives and adverbs at a minimum to enhance directness.

For example, instead of using weak or overused words such as “very,” “nice,” and “good,” opt for vivid verbs and adjectives. This enlivens your writing, making it more engaging and memorable.

Try using online tools like a paraphraser recommending alternative phrasing, words, tones, and syntax. This way, you can keep your writing fresh and dynamic.

Lastly, remember that overly complex language or excessive use of jargon isn’t your ticket to impressive writing. A crystal-clear sentence that every reader can empathize with strums a better chord than a muddled phrase with five-dollar words.

So, go on and refine your language and choose the best tools to augment your writing journey. Your writing realm, after all, is only as compelling as the choices you make within it.

Enhancing Writing Quality

The value of reading.

Reading extensively informs your writing . Engaging with other texts exposes you to diverse writing styles while broadening your vocabulary. Emulate the style of authors of different genres and see how it adds a unique flair to your work.

But you don’t need to read only top-quality literary pieces.

Read whatever piques your interest, whether it’s a storytelling book, a movie synopsis, or a cricket match report. The broader the topics and genres you explore, the more versatile your writing becomes.

Immerse in a world of words. Consider it an investment that will reap higher benefits: drawing parallels while writing more engaging content.

Avoiding Cliches and Filler Words

Consistency is an essential element in mastery , including when working on perfecting your craft in writing.

Strive for clear, concise, and unique writing to add value to your piece.

Cut out any filler words and jargon. It’s time for a purge! Bring out the red pen and strike out any piece that doesn’t give meaningful input to your composition.

Replace overused words with powerful alternatives. Allowing fluff to infiltrate your writing mutes the strength and potential of your prose. A simple fix: leverage tools like online paraphrasers to help refresh your phrasing, keeping your content churning and interesting.

Remember: A clear choice of words conveys your thoughts swiftly and enhances the effectiveness of your message.

Controlling Sentence Length

Getting your sentence length just right brings a rhythm to your piece. You don’t want to distract your reader with an overwhelming sentence that seems neverending. Nor do you want to throw them off with abrupt, staccato-like sentences.

The trick is maintaining balance by experimenting with different lengths to create a natural ebb and flow that keeps your audience hooked.

Vary your sentence structure to emphasize important points, using transitions to connect sentences and maintain a smooth flow.

A golden piece of advice? Less is more . Keep it simple; keep it short. Scrutinize each word–does it add value to your sentence? If not, it’s time to cut it out. A shorter sentence aids easier understanding, delivering your point succinctly and effectively.

Remember, your reader’s time is valuable. Respect it. Make every word count.

Good writing involves ongoing learning and improvement. Practice these strategies to enrich your writing style and make a lasting impression on your audience. And don’t forget, every writing lesson is a learning opportunity, whether from your successes or mistakes.

Effective Communication through Writing

Clear communication forms the backbone of any written content. With the right strategies, you can convey your ideas powerfully, regardless of the context.

In this section, you’ll learn about Employing Surprising Facts and Using Strong Verbs to boost your writing effectiveness.

Employing Surprising Facts

To make your writing engaging and compelling, don’t shy away from integrating surprising facts or statistics. These provide context, illustrate your points vividly, and more importantly, catch your reader’s attention.

Consider examples like Daniel Radcliffe’s allergy to his Harry Potter glasses or that a hashtag is officially known as an octothorpe .

Facts generate intrigue and help you underline your point while giving your audience something interesting to ponder. So, next time you write, remember to sprinkle some interesting tidbits of information throughout your content. Your readers will thank you for it.

Using Strong Verbs

The most potent tools in your writing arsenal are verbs. They’re the action heroes of your content.

Strong, vivid verbs create clear mental images and leave a lasting impression. Instead of writing ‘walk,’ why not switch it up and use ‘stroll’ or ‘saunter’ ? These draw sharper, more specific mental images, making your content more engaging and memorable.

But choosing powerful verbs isn’t enough. You should also focus on using the active voice over the passive voice. Ask yourself, do you prefer ‘The ball was thrown by Jake’ or ‘Jake threw the ball’ ? That’s right – the latter sentence is more direct and precise.

Opt for an active voice to ensure clarity and maintain brevity. It helps propel your narrative forward more effectively.

Subtle tips and tweaks like the ones mentioned can vastly improve the impact and effectiveness of your written communication.

Strategies for Different Writing Styles

As the writing process evolves, it’s crucial to adapt your approach. What works for one style may not necessarily work for another. Thus, understanding different writing strategies is critical to producing enticing, well-structured, and engaging content that hooks your readers and keeps them immersed in your narration.

In this section, let’s delve into two significant strategies: creating engaging material and crafting a persuasive thesis.

Creating Engaging Material

Variation is a secret ingredient in creating captivating content.

Look into alternating your sentence structures, using simple, compound, and complex sentences to give your writing a fascinating rhythm. It’s a strategic tool for piquing your readers’ interest and curiosity.

Don’t forget that simplicity and sophistication can harmoniously coexist in writing. It’s not about choosing one over the other. Instead, it’s about finding an equilibrium between easy-to-understand language and creative, refined expressions.

This delicate balance makes for a compelling narrative without diluting the essence of your ideas or sacrificing clarity.

Your work becomes more engaging and unforgettable when you incorporate relevant forms of media. Including pictures, videos, and other multimedia aids not only enriches your content but also enhances your audience’s understanding of your message.

Lastly, let your passion and interest seep into your writing. Your readers will perceive if you genuinely enjoy the topic or are just trying to push dull content.

Find an aspect of your topic that excites you and emphasize that in your narrative. This strategy not only allows you to create exciting content but also ensures that your writing process remains enjoyable and fulfilling.

Crafting a Persuasive Thesis

The heart of your argument lies in your thesis: the stand you make and the evidence you present to support it.

Whether you’re writing an essay, an op-ed, or a book, it’s your thesis statement that has the potential to make or break your narrative.

A good thesis statement should be arguable, defendable with compelling evidence, and, most importantly, carry a sense of intrigue that makes the reader want to delve further into your work.

Each piece of evidence backing up your thesis deserves its spotlight. Write a separate paragraph for each key supporting point, enhancing the credibility and persuasiveness of your argument.

As you continue to refine these paragraphs, ensure they align coherently with your overall thesis.

Your thesis is not set in stone; it can evolve as your ideas develop. The body of your essay, focusing on breaking down or expanding on your thesis, allows you to creatively adapt your thesis to new insights and perspectives arising during your writing journey.

But remember, keep it simple and direct. Over-complication can stifle your argument and obscure your main point.

Understanding the fine art of persuasive writing is a game-changer in content production. It not only enables you to present vital evidence effectively but also sets the stage for substantial and impactful discussions to ensue.

Improving Writing with Practice and Feedback

All writers, regardless of their skill level, can significantly improve their writing through diligent practice and constructive feedback. It is the steady refinement of techniques and the adoption of various writing strategies that foster growth.

Benefits of Brainstorming

One key strategy in the development phase of writing is brainstorming. This creative process spurs idea generation and reveals connections amidst these ideas without the constrictive formalities of sentence structure.

Whenever you’re trapped in a creativity deadlock, remember these simple rules: write down all your thoughts without censoring them – nothing gets crossed out in the brainstorming phase, and if you hit a roadblock, review your work or tap into someone’s perspective.

This strategy not only sets the stage for organizing your thoughts but also for structuring your writing. Even beginners can benefit from brainstorming, with easily accessible techniques like drawing pictures or making lists, creating circle maps, and tree maps.

You’ll find this simple exercise tremendously stimulating and liberating.

The Impact of Revision and Editing

Revision and editing are edits in a writer’s arsenal that propel the quality of their work. Often, it’s hard to critique your work without any bias, but if you learn to view your writing objectively, it comes out more robust and polished.

Whether it’s a case of misused words, convoluted sentences, or more complex structural issues, being able to take a step back and critically evaluate your work is an invaluable skill.

The Power of Collaboration

Don’t hesitate to leverage the strength of collaboration, either. Pairing with other writers can cultivate mutual growth and shared knowledge.

Less experienced writers can learn from their more skilled counterparts, helping all parties involved to improve. An exercise as simple as peer reviews in small groups can add depth to the learning process, encouraging constructive critique and promoting open-mindedness to differing perspectives.

Practice Makes Proficient

Ultimately, consistency becomes your strongest asset. Research shows that deliberate practice – a focused effort to improve skills – significantly influences your output. Thus, the more you write, the more natural it becomes.

Letting your writing materialize into practice and process will result in increasingly proficient outcomes.

Developing an Effective Writing Routine

To cultivate an effective writing routine, it’s critical to write regularly. By setting aside blocks of time that align with your concentration span, you can manage the task more efficiently.

Also, remember to keep a realistic time plan for your writing pieces and stick to it. Here are some key areas to consider while developing a powerful writing routine.

Moving First Drafts to Second Drafts

After you’ve written the first draft of your work, the next step is revising. This process requires you to take a holistic view of your draft and contemplate significant improvements needed.

Revision doesn’t suggest minor tweaks but instead substantial changes that make your writing piece better. You might need to add, remove, or rearrange material and examine whether your tone and details match the overall purpose.

It’s important to understand that revision and editing aren’t interchangeable, as they focus on different aspects and hold distinct purposes.

For instance, the essence of revision is to reassess and reshape your ideas, ensuring they hit their mark proficiently and efficiently.

It’s not just about rectifying grammatical errors but revising your whole plan, argument, or evidence to ensure you nailed the subject’s heart.

Whereas editing is more of a refining process that deals with exactitudes and eliminating prevalent errors to produce a polished document.

Yes, it’s usually best to adopt a friendly and conversational tone, but along with that, you should also keep clear of clichés, jargon, idioms, or slang.

Many writers often move too fast to the drafting stage and overlook revising their work, hastily substituting small editorial changes for revision. This results in a weak structure and unfulfilling content.

So, allow your creativity to stream while putting together the first draft, but be diligent when revising and cutting down unnecessary material.

Always Keep the Audience in Mind

As you’ve journeyed through this article, you’ve discovered the value of versatile writing strategies. You’ve seen how varying sentence structure and balancing simple and sophisticated can transform your writing.

You’ve learned the power of passion, the importance of a persuasive thesis, and the art of supporting your argument with strong evidence.

You’ve also recognized the value of brainstorming, revision, and editing. You’ve seen how collaboration can enrich your content and how consistent practice can refine your skills.

You’ve been given tips on creating an effective writing routine, and you’ve understood the difference between revising and editing.

Remember, your writing can constantly evolve. Don’t be afraid to let your thesis change as your ideas grow. Keep it simple, direct, and most importantly, keep your audience in mind. Because at the end of the day, it’s them you’re writing for.

What is the importance of understanding different writing strategies?

Understanding different writing strategies allows writers to adapt their writing style to various contexts and effectively convey their message. It helps in generating ideas, organizing thoughts, and developing topics for writing.

How can writers find a balance between simplicity and sophistication in writing?

Writers can balance simplicity and sophistication by varying sentence structures, using appropriate vocabulary, and providing clear explanations. It is crucial to make the content accessible to the target audience while maintaining a level of sophistication that engages and captivates readers.

How can relevant forms of media be incorporated into writing?

Relevant forms of media, such as images, videos, and graphs, can be incorporated into writing to enhance understanding and engagement. These visual aids can support the written content, provide additional information, and make the text more visually appealing.

What is the significance of a persuasive thesis statement?

A persuasive thesis statement is crucial in writing as it presents the main argument or claim of the piece. It helps guide the content and provides a clear focus. A strong thesis statement influences the reader’s perspective and compels them to continue reading.

How can writers improve their writing skills?

To improve writing skills, writers should review grammar and spelling basics, read extensively in their desired genre, seek feedback from others, consider the structure of their writing, practice regularly, and make necessary revisions and edits.

How can writers develop an effective writing routine?

Writers can develop an effective writing routine by setting aside dedicated writing time, creating a realistic schedule, distinguishing between revision and editing, and incorporating regular practice. Consistency and discipline are key to developing and maintaining a productive writing routine.

15 Best Writing Strategies With Examples

When you’re a writer , you need to know the best strategies to get your reader’s attention and hold onto it.

The goal is to get them hooked on your content, so they’ll want to read more.

Only then can you cultivate a relationship that serves you both.

So, how do you do that (without actually hypnotizing them)?

You learn different writing strategies, applied to advantage by the pros, and work on making them your own. 

The first question to answer is, “What is a writing strategy?”  

What Are the Different Types of Writing Strategies?

1. start with a strong hook. , 2. give your opening paragraph a strong sense of direction. , 3. be authentic in every sentence. , 4. create a reader avatar. , 5. create an outline. , 6. have fun with it. , 7. start a dialogue with your reader. , 8. get time on your side. , 9. prioritize clarity. , 10. break it up with visuals. , 11. put your reader to the test., 12. dazzle them with surprising facts. , 13. add interesting quotes from authorities in the field. , 14. ask questions to get your readers thinking , 15. tell your reader a story. , which writing strategies will you use.

A strategy is a general plan — or set of plans — you make to achieve a goal.

So, a writing strategy involves tactics you use to ensure your writing meets the goals you’ve set for it. 

Your number one goal is to capture and hold onto your reader’s interest. Your related goals will depend on the overall purpose of your writing: 

• To sell something (and make money)
• To motivate your reader to do something
• To evoke an emotional response (pathos, anger, levity, etc.)

While the reason for your writing goal can vary, the goal itself does not. And the sooner you learn how to put the following 15 writing strategies into practice, the sooner your audience will grow. 

15 Writing Strategies with Examples 

No doubt, you’ve already become familiar with some of these time-tested examples of writing strategies. It’s what you don’t (yet) know that can hold you back and limit your influence. 

That’s about to change. 

Your first sentence should hook your reader and make them curious enough to read the second sentence, which should lead them irresistibly to the third, and so on. 

That first sentence should grab hold of their interest and get them thinking, “I need to know what will come next.” Your entire opening hook doesn’t have to consist of one sentence, but a few sentences at most should suffice to get under your reader’s skin. 

Strong hooks can include any of the following: 

• Probing or rhetorical questions
• Anecdotes 
• Bold claims

Example: 

“Did you know every year the amount of garbage we toss into the ocean is three times the weight of fish caught?” (statistic)

Your first paragraph should clearly communicate the direction of your piece. And it should give the reader a reason to care about it. They should want to know more and feel compelled to see what you’ll reveal. Give them a reason to feel invested. 

Otherwise, they might bookmark your page to “save it for later,” but we all know what that usually means. It’s the internet version of walking away. 

“As a lifelong crabber (that is, one who catches crabs, not a chronic complainer), I can tell you that anyone who has patience and a great love for the river is qualified to join the ranks of crabbers. However, if you want your first crabbing experience to be a successful one, you must come prepared.”

– (Mary Zeigler, “How to Catch River Crabs” )

Come as you are. This is not a place to show off or pretend to be someone else. Try to trick your reader, and they’ll most likely leave and never return. So, ix-nay on the bait and switch. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and give them what you know they would want. 

Be genuine, and show that you care as much about their time as you do about yours. 

“I haven’t wanted to call myself a functional alcoholic . For just a second, the word “functional” makes it easier to accept the word that comes after it. 

“Then the reality hits: I’m not as functional as I’d like to think. And being an alcoholic means having to give up alcohol….”

Design an ideal reader based on what you know — including demographic info (married/single, age range, interests, culture, politics, geographical area). Then write as if addressing a respected friend. 

Don’t assume your reader can’t figure stuff out, but don’t use ten-dollar words when one-dollar words will do. Write the way you would talk in a friendly conversation. 

Ideal reader Alexis is a health-conscious socialite in her mid-twenties. Her interests include public relations, fashion, and social media (mainly Instagram). She reads to stay well-informed about things that matter to her. She’s visually oriented. Her dream is to work in New York as a successful public relations professional.

The easiest way to make sure you make all your points in a logical, easy-to-follow manner is to start with an outline, breaking down your work into smaller, more focused sections. Use your outline to plan your subheadings and brainstorm content ideas.

As you add content, you can connect each thought, making every sentence earn its place and respect its neighbors to ensure each thought flows effortlessly to the next. 

I. Why soy candles are healthier than paraffin. 

• All natural (no toxic chemicals)
• Supports U.S. soy farmers 
• Cleaner, cooler burn with less soot

II. 5 Best Sources of Ethically-Made Soy Candles

III. 3 Candle-Making Charities That Support Women

If you’re not all that interested in what you’re writing, your reader will pick up on that. Boredom is contagious. The good news? The opposite is even more so. Find something to love about what you’re writing, and your reader will feel your excitement and lean in. 

The more fun you have with the writing, the more your audience will enjoy reading it. 

Examples: 

• Include a fun, illustrative bit of dialogue. 
• Paint a (word) picture your reader will want to be a part of. 
• Lead with the thing that excites you (an interesting bit of news, etc.)

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Remember that bit about seeing your reader as a respected friend? The more you see your article or blog post as a friendly conversation with your reader, the easier (and more fun) it will be to write, and the more invested you’ll feel in being as helpful as possible. 

Imagine a friendly, animated dialogue with your ideal reader and write as you hear the words in your head. 

Example:  

“I’m glad you’re here. I have so many questions! First, I have to ask, how do you feel about zombie fiction? I have a theory, and you can tell me if I’m wrong. 

“For starters, I’ll make the bold guess that if you’re reading this blog, you’re not into the gory, graphic zombie violence some shows glory in. In fact, I’m willing to bet you’re more of an I Zombie fan. Because you’re not an all-or-nothing thinker.

“Here’s where I’m going with this…”  

It can only benefit you to address timely issues that matter to your reader. If you’re writing about a subject that’s dominating the headlines, put your own creative spin on it to make it stand out. What can you bring to the subject that few or no one else can? 

Make the subject more personal to your reader, and your content will be timeless. 

“It’s happened! The results of the 2020 election are finally in, and people around the world (not to mention over half the U.S. population) are celebrating, crying tears of relief, and dancing in the streets for joy. 

“So, what comes next? Specifically, what comes next for you? ” 

Know your message and express it with clarity, simplicity, and elegance. Every thought should be organic, and every sentence’s meaning should be unmistakable. Confuse your reader, and they’re far more likely to stop reading and move on. 

Don’t make them work to decipher what you’re trying to say. It’s not their job. 

Examples of strategies for writing with clarity:

• Know your message, and write with intention.
• Know your audience and speak their language.
• Define your (unfamiliar) terms. 
• Use your punctuation wisely (especially commas). 
• Use strong , active, and carefully-chosen verbs. 

If all you’re giving your reader is a long succession of paragraphs with some subheads thrown in, consider adding some relevant visuals — images, graphs, infographics, tables, diagrams, etc. Give their brain a brief but meaningful eye-candy break. 

By varying the delivery of helpful information, you hit “refresh” on their attention and keep them curious. 

Examples of effective visuals:  

• Infographics or diagrams to visually illustrate your points
• Images that set the mood and make your content more relatable
• Graphs and tables to show organized and relevant data. 

Include an interesting quiz/test for your reader to take, with a result they can share. Give them a chance to test their knowledge while they learn something new. Quizzes that give them a result they can feel good about and make your content more memorable. 

Challenge your reader with questions that make them think, and they’re more likely to respect and remember you. 

Examples of quiz ideas: 

“How compatible are you and your partner?”

“How much do you know about climate change?” 

“What crystals are best for your personality?” 

Throw in some juicy facts to make your readers think, “Wow! I didn’t know that.” Keep them short and easy to remember and make sure they add value to your whole piece. It should feel organic — not like it came out of nowhere. 

Your reader shouldn’t have to wonder if they accidentally clicked on a different link. 

• Surprising statistics about bullying to reconsider “zero-tolerance” policies. 
• The truth about “German” chocolate cake in a post on a beloved family recipe.
• Daniel Radcliffe’s allergy to his Harry Potter glasses in a post on unusual allergies. 

Quotes from well-known authorities can add credibility to your piece if it bolsters one of the points you’re making. Depending on your quote choice, It can also add a touch of humor or pathos to draw your reader in and encourage a stronger connection. 

A short, powerful quote can make your work more memorable by association.  

• Shocking or funny quotes from famous authors in a post on the creative process. 
• Quotes from famous fictional sleuths in a post about cozy mysteries.
• Quotes from disgruntled politicians in a post about running for office. 

Another way to make your reader feel more invested in what they’re reading is to ask them questions about something that matters to them. 

Get them thinking about the answer, and they’ll be more likely to feel a need to answer it or find the answer in what you’ve written. And if your answer satisfies them, or if their own answer leads to other meaningful discoveries, they’re likely to come back for more. 

• Questions about your reader’s writing process in a post on the same. 
• Questions on your reader’s biggest fears in a post about anxiety
• Questions on favorite scents and related memories in a post about candles.

Everyone loves a good story . Introduce a compelling story early on in your post (or chapter), and your reader is much more likely to keep reading. Your story should closely relate to the rest of your content, so it can communicate useful information while it entertains your audience. Keep it short, relevant, and memorable. 

• A brief fable that teaches a moral lesson
• A brief story from your past that illustrates a point you’re trying to make
• A short, funny story that leads to a surprising revelation

Now that you’re more familiar with the 15 best writing strategies, how will this change the way you write from now on? What strategies will you implement in your next project? 

The best part about using these strategies is their potential for making the writing itself more enjoyable and fulfilling for you — as well as more engaging for your reader. 

May your skill and influence grow as you put these strategies to work. 

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Chapter 5: The Writing Process—Editing

Sydney Epps

Chapter Learning Objectives

• Revise and edit documents and messages that are organized, complete, and tailored to specific audiences.

Whatever you do, don’t quit now! Self-correction is an essential part of the writing process, one that students or professionals skip at their peril. Say you flew through drafting a quick email. Glancing back to ensure that it’s correct in terms of its grammar, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics helps you avoid confusing your reader or embarrassing yourself. Communication errors within emails are like stains on your shirt or rips in your uniform: they give the impression that you are incompetent or apathetic about your messaging; professors and employers believe this shows a lack of attention to detail. In fact, they may even believe that poor messaging is a malware or phishing attack (Parsons, Butavicius, Pattinson, Calic, Mccormac, & Jerram, 2016).

Always keep in mind that people generalize to equate the quality of your writing with the quality of your work. Because readers tend to be judgmental, they may even draw bigger conclusions about your level of education, work ethic, and overall professionalism from even a small writing sample. When assessing résumés and cover letters—where your words are the first impression employers have of you—employers are judgmental about your writing because their customers will do so. Employers do not want their employees to represent their company in a way that makes it look like their organization produces shoddy and amateur work.

The final stage of the writing process involves managing your readers’ impressions by editing your draft from beginning to end. Initially, this involves returning to your goals at the start of the writing process and assessing where your document is in relation to the strategy set to achieve it. When you get a sense of how far your document is from achieving that primary purpose, you realize what needs to be done to close that gap—what you need to add, rewrite, delete, and improve. Your next move is a two-step editing process of substantial revisions and proof-editing. The order of these is crucial to avoid wasting time. You wouldn’t proofread for minor grammatical errors before substantial revisions because you may end up deleting paragraphs you meticulously proofread with a fine-tooth comb. Divide the editing process in the following order:

Figure 5: The four-stage writing process and stage 4 breakdown

5.1: Substantial Revisions

5.2: proofreading for grammar, 5.3: proofreading for punctuation, 5.4: proofreading for spelling, 5.5: proofreading for mechanics.

Parsons, K., Butavicius, M., Pattinson, M., Calic, D., Mccormac, A., & Jerram, C. (2016). Do users focus on the correct cues to differentiate between phishing and genuine emails?. arXiv preprint arXiv:1605.04717.

Section 5.1 Learning Objectives

Before you begin your editing process with a bird’s-eye view of the whole document, it might be a good idea to step away from it altogether. Distancing yourself from the work you just drafted helps you approach it again with fresh eyes. This requires effective time management so that you have a solid draft ready well ahead of a deadline. Leaving enough time to shift attention to other work projects or your personal life, however, helps you forget a little what you were doing with the document in question. Ask yourself, Will that target reader understand what you’ve written in the order you’ve presented it? To complete their understanding of your topic, what do they need to see that isn’t in your draft yet? What parts are redundant, confuse the reader, or otherwise get in the way of their understanding and can just be deleted?

Alienating yourself from your own work helps give you the critical distance necessary to be more ruthless toward it than you are at the drafting stage. You cling too personally to the words you come up with at the drafting stage, whereas you would be more critical of the same words if they were written by someone else. Creating that critical distance helps you:

• Re-arrange the order that you originally plotted out at the outlining step, if need be
• Recognize gaps that must be filled with yet more draft material
• Chop out parts that don’t contribute to the purpose you set out to achieve, difficult as it may be to delete words that you labored into being

Before returning to the topic of trimming, however, let’s consider what you’re looking for when you evaluate your draft.

5.1.1: Evaluating Your Draft

5.1.2: reorganizing your draft.

• 5.1.3: Adding to Your Draft

5.1.4: Trimming Your Draft

When considering how your draft meets the objectives you set out to achieve at the outset, use a few different lenses to assess that achievement. Each lens corresponds to a step in the drafting process, as shown in the table below.

Table 5.1.1: Evaluation Lenses and Corresponding Steps in the Drafting Process

Approaching the text critically as if you were the reader you’re catering to—not as the words’ sentimental and protective parent—means keeping the most effective and clear concepts and assuring they flow together into a cohesive narrative.

When evaluating for content, consider what your audience needs to see for understanding the topic. Ask yourself if your coverage is thorough or if you’ve left gaps that would confuse your target audience. Do any concepts need further explanation? Less? With constraints on the length and scope of your document in mind, consider if there are digressions present that would send your reader down off-topic dead ends. Have you given your audience more than what they need? Will your document overwhelm them? Finally, have you fact-checked all of your information to ensure that it is true and accurately cited?

When evaluating for organization, consider the flow of content to determine if the document leads the reader through to the intended understanding of the topic. Is it clear that you’re taking the direct approach by getting right to the point when you need to do so, or is it obvious that you’re taking the indirect approach as necessary? Would it be clear to your reader what organizing principle you’ve followed? When you outlined your draft, you did so from a preliminary understanding of your topic. As you have drafted your message, do you see that something you first thought made sense near the end of your draft makes more sense at the beginning? Shifting paragraphs around for flow is a part of the editing process that will assure related concepts are close.

When evaluating for style, again consider your audience’s needs, expectations, and abilities. Did you draft in an informal style but now realize that a slightly more formal style is more appropriate or vice versa? If you produced a 6 Cs style rubric for Exercise #1 at the end of §4.5.3, apply it now to your draft to determine if it meets audience expectations in terms of its clarity, conciseness, coherence, correctness, courtesy, and confidence. Now would also be a great time to assess whether your style is consistent or whether you started off formal but then lapsed into informality or vice versa.

When evaluating for readability, consider your audience’s needs in terms of the many features that frame and divide the text so that your reader doesn’t get lost, confused, overwhelmed, repulsed, or bored. Check for whether you can do the following:

• Clarify titles
• Add headings or subheadings to break up large chunks of text
• Use lists to enable readers to skim over several items
• Add visuals to complement your written descriptions

The conclusions you draw from these evaluations will help inform and motivate you toward the substantial revisions explained below.

When you first move into a new apartment or house, you have a general idea of where all your furniture should go based on where it was in your previous place. After a few days, however, you may realize that the old arrangement doesn’t make as much sense in the new layout. A new arrangement would be much more practical. The same is true of your document’s organization once you’ve completed a working draft. You may realize that your original outline plan doesn’t flow as well as you thought it would now that you’ve learned more about the topic in the process of writing on it.

Moving pieces around is as easy as highlighting, copying (Ctrl c), cutting (Ctrl x), and pasting (Ctrl v) into new positions. When moving a whole paragraph or more, however, ensure coherence by rewriting the transitional element in the concluding sentence of the paragraph above the relocated paragraph so that it properly bridges to the newly located topic sentence below it. Likewise, the relocated paragraph’s (or paragraphs’) concluding sentence must transition properly to the new topic sentence below it. Additionally, any elements within the relocated text that assume knowledge of what came just before such as abbreviations (e.g., ADA) that the reader hasn’t seen fully spelled out yet must be fully spelled out here and can be abbreviated later in the text.

5.1.3:Adding to Your Draft

In furnishing your new apartment or house, especially if it’s larger than what you had before, you’ll find that merely transplanting your old furniture isn’t enough. The new space now has gaps that need to be filled—a chair here, a couch there, perhaps a rug to tie the whole room together. Likewise, you’ll find when writing a document that gaps need to be filled with more detail. Knowing your organizing principles well is helpful here. If you’re explaining a procedure in a chronological sequence of steps, for instance, you may find that one of the steps you describe involves a whole other sequence of steps that you’re sure your audience won’t know. In this case, embedding the additional sequence using a sub-list numbered with roman numerals (if you used Arabic numerals in the main list) completes the explanation. Of course, keep in mind any stated maximum word or page requirements in case your document exceeds the acceptable range. If it does, then you must be ruthless about chopping anything unnecessary out of your draft.

As #2 in the 6 Cs of good writing, conciseness means using the fewest words possible to achieve the goal of communication, which is for your reader to understand your intended meaning. Many college students who stretched out their words to reach 1,000-word essays are relieved to find that college and professional audiences prefer writing that is as terse as a text. Indeed, because typing with thumbs is inefficient compared with 10 fingers on a keyboard and no one wants to read more than they must on a little screen, texting helps teach conciseness. Although professional writing requires a higher quality of writing than friends require of texts, the audience expectations are the same. The more succinct your writing is without compromising clarity, the more your reader will appreciate your writing. Given the choice between an article of 500 words and one of 250 that says the same thing, any reader would prefer the 250-word version. We all have better things to do in our jobs than read long-winded blather. Anything that doesn’t contribute to the purpose of your message or document as you conceived it back in Step 1.1 of the writing process must go.

The first trick to paring down your writing is to really want to make every word count and to see excess words as grotesque indulgence. So, pretend that words are expensive. If you had to pay a cent of your own money for every character you wrote in a document that you had to print 1,000 copies of, you would surely adopt a frugal writing style. You would then see that adding unnecessary words is doubly wasteful because time is money. Time spent writing or reading tiresome pap is time you and your reader could spend making money doing other things. Terse, to-the-point writing is both easier to write and easier to read than insufferable rambling. After putting yourself in a frugal frame of mind that detests an excessively wordy style, follow the practical advice in the subsections below to trim your writing effectively.

1. Mass-delete Whatever Doesn’t Belong

The first practical step toward trimming your document is a large-scale purge of whatever doesn’t contribute to the purpose you set out to achieve. The order is important because you don’t want to do any fine-tooth-comb proof-editing on anything that you’re just going to delete anyway. This is probably the most difficult action to follow through on because it means deleting large swaths of writing that may have taken some time and effort to compose. You may even have enjoyed writing them because they’re on quite interesting sub-topics. If they sidetrack readers, whose understanding of the topic would be unaffected (at best) or (worst) overwhelmed by their inclusion, those sentences, paragraphs, and even whole sections simply must go. Perhaps save them in an “outtakes” document if you think you can use them elsewhere. Otherwise, like those who declutter their apartment after reading Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (2014), the release that follows such a purge can feel something like enlightenment. Highlight, delete, and don’t look back.

2. Delete Long Lead-ins

The next-biggest savings come from deleting lead-ins that you wrote to gear up toward your main point. In ordinary speech, we use lead-ins as something like throat-clearing exercises. In writing, however, these are useless at best because they state the obvious. At worst, lead-ins immediately repulse the reader by signaling that the rest of the message will contain some time-wasting verbiage. If you see the following crossed-out expressions or anything like them in your writing, just delete them:

• I’m Jerry Mulligan and I’m writing this email to ask you to please consider my application for a co-op position at your firm.
• You may be interested to know that you can now find the updated form in the company shared drive.
• To conclude this memo, we recommend a cautious approach to using emojis when texting clients, and only after they’ve done so first themselves.

In the first example, the recipient sees the name of the sender before even opening their email. It’s therefore redundant for the sender to introduce themselves by name and say that they wrote this email. Likewise, in the third example, the reader can see that this is the conclusion if it’s the last paragraph, especially if it comes below the heading “Conclusion.” In each case, the sentence really begins after these lead-in expressions, and the reader misses nothing in their absence. Delete them.

3. Pare Down Unnecessarily Wordy Phrases

We habitually sprinkle long stock phrases into everyday speech because they sound fancy merely because they’re long and sometimes old-fashioned, as if length and long-time use grants respectability (it doesn’t). These phrases look ridiculously cumbersome when seen next to their more concise equivalent words and phrases, as you can see in Table 5.1.4.3 below. Unless you have good reason to do otherwise, always replace the former with the latter in your writing.

Table 5.1.4.3: Replace Unnecessarily Wordy Phrases with 1–2 Word Equivalents

Again, the reader misses nothing if you use the words and phrases in the second column above instead of those in the first. Also, concise writing is more accessible to readers who are learning English as an additional language.

4. Delete Redundant Words

Like the wordy expressions in Table 5.1.4.3 above, our speech is also riddled with redundant words tacked on unnecessarily in stock expressions. These prefabricated phrases strung mindlessly together aren’t so bad when spoken because talk is cheap. In writing, however, which should be considered expensive, they make the author look like an irresponsible heavy spender. Be on the lookout for the expressions below so that you are in command of your language. Simply delete the crossed-out words if they appear in combination with the other words:

• absolutely essential (You can’t get any more essential than essential)
• future plans (Are you going to make plans about the past? Plans are always future)
• small in size (The context will determine that you mean small in size, quantity, etc.)
• refer back to
• in order to (Only use “in order” if it helps distinguish an infinitive phrase, which begins with “to,” from the preposition “to” appearing close to it)
• each and every or each and every (or just “all,” as we saw in Table 5.1.4.3 above)
• repeat again (Is this déjà vu?)

5. Delete Filler Expressions and Words

If you audio-record your conversations and make a transcript of just the words themselves, you’ll find an abundance of filler words and expressions that you could do without and your sentences would still mean the same thing. A few common ones that appear at the beginning of sentences are “There is,” “There are,” and “It is,” which must be followed by a relative clause starting with the relative pronoun that or who . Consider the following, for example:

In the first and third cases, you can simply delete “There are” and “It is,” as well as the relative pronouns “who” and “that,” respectively, leaving the sentence perfectly fine without them. In the second case, deleting “There is” requires slightly reorganizing the word order but otherwise requires no additional words to say the very same thing. In each case, you save two or three words that simply don’t need to be there.

Other common filler words include the articles a , an , and the , especially in combination with the preposition of . You can eliminate many instances of of the simply by deleting them and flipping the order of the nouns on either side of them.

Obviously, you can’t do this in all cases (e.g., changing “first of the month” to “month first” makes no sense). When proofreading, however, just be on the lookout for instances where you can .

The definite article preceding plural nouns is also an easy target. Try deleting the article to see if the sentence still makes sense without it.

Though the above excess words seem insignificant on their own, they bulk up the total word count unnecessarily when used in combination throughout a large document. They are like dog food fillers such as “powdered cellulose” (a.k.a. sawdust). They provide no nutritive value, but manufacturers add them to charge you more for the mere volume they add to the product. Please don’t cut your writing with filler.

6. Delete Needless Adverbs

Streamline your writing by purging the filler adverbs that you pepper your conversational speech with. In writing, these add little meaning. Recall that adverbs are words that explain verbs (like adjectives do nouns) and typically, but not always, end in -ly . Some of the most common intensifying adverbs include the following:

Perhaps the worst offender in recent years has been literally , which people overuse and often misuse when they mean “figuratively” or even “extremely,” especially when exaggerating. Saying, “I’ve literally told you a million times not to exaggerate” misuses literally (albeit ironically in this case) because telling someone not to exaggerate a million times would literally take about 20 days if you did nothing but repeat the phrase constantly all day every day without sleeping. That’s not going to happen. If you say, “I’m literally crazy for your speaking style,” you just mean “I’m thrilled by your speaking style.” Using “literally” in this case is just babbling nonsense.

If you find yourself slipping in any of the above adverbs in your writing, question whether they need to be there. (In the case of the previous sentence, leaving out “really” before “need” doesn’t diminish the impact of the statement much.) Consider the following sentence:

7. Favor Short, Plain Words and Use Jargon Selectively

If you pretend that every character in each word you write costs money from your own pocket, you would do what readers prefer: use shorter words. The beauty of plain words is that they are more understandable and draw less attention to themselves than big, fancy words while still getting the point across. This is especially true when your audience includes ESL readers. Choosing shorter words is easy because they are often the first that come to mind, so writing in plain language saves you time in having to look up and use bigger words unnecessarily. It also involves vigilance in opting for shorter words if longer jargon words come to mind first.

Obviously, you would use jargon for precision when appropriate for your audience’s needs and your own. You would use the word “photosynthesis,” for instance, if (1) you needed to refer to the process by which plants convert solar energy into sugars and (2) you know your audience knows what the word means. In this case, using the big, fancy jargon word achieves a net savings in the number of characters because it’s the most precise term for a process that otherwise needs several words. Using jargon words merely to extend the number of characters, however, is a desperate-looking move that your instructors and professional audiences will see through as a time-wasting smokescreen for a lack of quality ideas.

Table 5.1.4.7 below lists several polysyllabic words (those having more than one syllable) that writers often use when a shorter, more plain and familiar word will do just as well. There’s a time and place for fancier words, such as when formality is required, but in routine writing situations where there’s no need for them, always opt for the simple, one- or two-syllable word.

Table 5.1.4.7: Favor Plain, Simple Words over Polysyllabic Words

Source: Brockway (2015)

The longer words in the above table tend to come from the Greek and Latin side of the English language’s parentage, whereas the shorter words come from the Anglo-Saxon (Germanic) side. When toddlers begin speaking English, they use Anglo-Saxon-derived words because they’re easier to master and therefore recognize them as plain, simple words throughout their adult lives.

Avoid using longer words when they are grammatically incorrect. For instance, using reflexive pronouns such as “myself” just because it sounds fancy instead looks foolish when the subject pronoun “I” or object pronoun “me” are correct.

The same goes for misusing the other reflexive pronouns “yourself” instead of “you,” “himself” or “herself” instead of “him” or “her,” etc.

Sometimes, you see short words rarely used in conversation being used in writing to appear fancy, but they just look pretentious, such as “said” preceding a noun.

Usually, the context helps determine that the noun following “said” is the one mentioned earlier, making “said” an unnecessary, pompous add-on. Delete it or use the demonstrative pronouns “this” or “that” if necessary to avoid confusion.

Finally, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a simple style is the same as being simplistic. Good writing can communicate complex ideas in simple words just like bad writing can communicate simple ideas with overly complex words. The job of the writer in professional situations is to make smart things sound simple. Be wary of writing that makes simple things sound complex. You probably don’t want what it’s selling.

8. Simplify Verbs

Yet another way that people overcomplicate their writing involves expressing the action in as many words as possible, such as by using the passive voice, continuous tenses, and nominalizations. We’ve already seen how the passive voice rearranges the standard subject-verb-object word order so that, by going object-verb-subject, an auxiliary verb (form of the verb to be ) and the preposition by must be added to say what an active-voice sentence says without them. Consider the following sentences, for instance:

Here, the active-voice construction on the right uses two fewer words to say the same thing. Though we saw in §4.3.4 that there certainly are legitimate uses of the passive voice, overusing the passive voice sounds unnatural and appears as an attempt to extend the word count or sound more fancy and objective. Because the passive voice is either more wordy or more vague than the active voice, however, readers prefer the latter most of the time and so should you.

Another common annoyance to busy readers is using continuous verb forms instead of simple ones. The continuous verb form uses the participle form of the main verb, which means adding an -ing ending to it, and adds an auxiliary verb (form of the verb to be , which differs according to the person and number) to determine the tense (past, past perfect, present, future, future perfect, etc.). In the table below, you can see how cumbersome continuous forms are compared with simple ones.

Table 5.1.4.8: Favor Simple Verb Forms Instead of Continuous Forms

There are certainly legitimate reasons for using continuous verb forms to describe actions stretching out over time. In the case of the present tense, saying, “I am considering my options” is more appropriate compared with “I consider my options” because you really are in the process of considering your options. In other tenses, however, people who use word-count-extending strategies favor continuous verb forms because they think those forms sound fancier. Overused or misused, however, such verb forms just annoy the reader by overcomplicating the language.

Yet another strategy for extending the word count with verbs is to turn the main action they describe into nouns, a process called nominalization . This involves taking a verb and adding a suffix such as -ant, -ent, -ion, -tion, -sion, -ence, -ance, or -ing, as well as adding forms of other verbs, such as to make or to give . Nominalization may also require determiners such as articles (the, a, or an) before the action nouns. Consider the following comparisons of nominalized-verb sentences with simplified verb forms:

You can tell that the above sentences where the simple verb drives the action are punchier and have greater impact than those that turn the action into a noun and thus require more words to say the same thing. Indeed, each of the verb-complicating, word-count-extending strategies throughout this subsection is bad enough on its own. In combination, however, writing riddled with nominalization, continuous verb forms, and passive-voice verb constructions muddies writing with an insufferable multitude of unnecessary words.

The final trick to making your writing more concise is the Editor feature in your word processor. In Microsoft Word, for instance, you can set up the Spelling & Grammar checker to scan for all the problems above by following the procedure below:

• Go to File (Alt + f) and, in the File menu, click on Options (at the bottom; Alt + t) to open the Word Options control panel.
• Click on Proofing in the Word Options control panel.
• Check all the boxes in the “When correcting spelling and grammar in Word” section of the Word Options control panel.
• Click on the Settings … button beside “Writing Style” under the check boxes to open the Grammar Settings control panel.

• Go to the Review menu tab in the tool ribbon at the top of the Word screen and select Spelling & Grammar (Alt + r, s) to activate the Editor that will, besides checking for spelling and grammar errors, also check for all of the stylistic errors you checked boxes for in the Grammar Settings control panel.

When you finish running your grammar, style, and spellchecker through your document, a dialog box will appear showing readability statistics. Pay close attention to stats such as the average number of words per sentence and letters per word. If the former exceeds thirty and the latter ten, your writing might pose significant challenges to some readers, especially ESL. Do them a solid favor by breaking up your sentences and simplifying your word choices.

Rather than suck the life out of language by adding useless verbiage, make your writing like a paperclip. A paperclip is beautiful in its elegance. It’s so simple in its construction and yet does its job of holding paper together perfectly without any extra parts or mechanisms like staples that need to fasten pages together and unfasten them. A paperclip does it with just a couple of inches of thin, machine-bent wire. We should all aspire to make our language as elegant as a paperclip so that we can live a life free of time-wasting writing.

Key Takeaway

2. What are some ways you can detail the differences between formal and informal writing? Make a list of three notable ways you can determine if an article or text has been written for an audience of scholars or a group of friends. What forms of communication tend to be less formal?

Brockway, L. H. (2015, November 3). 24 complex words—and their simpler alternative. Retrieved from https://www.prdaily.com/24-complex-words-and-their-simpler-alternatives /

Section 5.2 Learning Objectives

2. Identify and correct grammatical errors such as subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent disagreement, as well as faulty parallelism.

3. Identify and correct syntax errors such as misplaced modifiers.

4. Plan, write, revise, and edit short documents and messages that are organized, complete, and tailored to specific audiences.

Grammar organizes the relationships between words in a sentence, especially between the doer and action, so that the reader can understand in detail who’s doing what. When you botch those connections with grammar errors, however, you risk confusing the reader. Severe errors force the reader to interpret what you meant. If the reader then acts on an interpretation different from the meaning you intended, major consequences can ensue, including expensive damage control. You can avoid being a liability and embarrassing yourself by following some simple rules for how to structure your sentences grammatically. By following these rules habitually, especially when you apply them at the proofreading stage, not only will your writing be clearer to the reader and better organized, but your thought process may become more organized as well.

5.2.1: Sentence Errors

5.2.2: grammar errors.

Readers who find comma splices, fragments, and run-on sentences lose confidence in the writer’s command of language and thus the quality of their work. Such giveaways suggest that the writer doesn’t know much about sentence structure and punctuation. This is especially bad coming from native English speakers in their 20s or older because it says that they still don’t understand the basics of their own written language even after decades of using it. It’s important to know what to look for, then, when proofreading your draft for sentence errors.

• 5.2.1.1: Comma Splices
• 5.2.1.2: Run-on Sentences
• 5.2.1.3: Sentence Fragments

1. Comma Splices

A comma splice is simply two independent clauses separated by only a comma. Perhaps the error comes from writers thinking that, because the two clauses say closely related things, they need something a little “lighter” than a period to separate them. While separating them with a comma is certainly possible, doing so with a comma alone shows that the writer doesn’t fully understand what a sentence is and what commas do.

Figure 5.2.1.1: A comma splice is a comma separating two independent clauses

Spotting a comma splice requires being able to identify an independent clause—that is, the combination of a subject and predicate (noun + verb) that can stand on its own as a sentence. In the Figure 5.2.1.1 example above, the first independent clause’s subject is “The sale” and its predicate is “begins on Saturday” (sale + begins), so it can stand on its own as a sentence if it ended with a period. The second is an imperative clause with the main verb being “let,” so it too can stand on its own as a sentence. When proofreading, be on the lookout for commas that have independent clauses on either side—that is, clauses that can stand on their own as sentences.

Fixing a comma splice is as easy as swapping out the comma for the correct punctuation or adding a conjunction, depending on the relationship you want to express between the two clauses. Altogether, you have four options in correcting a comma splice—two that replace the comma with other punctuation and two that leave it as-is but add a conjunction:

• Replace the comma with a period to turn the two independent clauses into two sentences if each is a distinct enough complete thought. Don’t forget to capitalize the letter that followed the comma. Correcting the comma splice in the Figure 5.2.1.1 example would look as follows:

The sale begins on Saturday. L et’s get there at 9 a.m.

• Replace the comma with a semicolon to form a compound sentence if the two independent clauses are related enough to be in the same sentence:

The sale begins on Saturday ; let’s get there at 9 a.m.

If the writer wanted something a little lighter than a period to separate the two clauses, then a semicolon fits the bill.

• Add a coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, so; see Table 4.3.2a for all seven of them) to form a compound sentence if it clarifies the relationship between the independent clauses:

The sale begins on Saturday, so let’s get there at 9 a.m.

Note that if you see three or more independent clauses with commas between them and an and or or before the last one, then it’s a perfectly correct (albeit probably too long) compound sentence that combines whole clauses rather than just nouns or verbs. See the final example given in Comma Rule 4 below for a sentence organized into a list of clauses.

• Add a subordinating conjunction (e.g., when, if, though, etc.; see Table 4.3.2a for more) to form a complex sentence (see Table 4.3.2b for more on complex sentences):

When the sale begins on Saturday, let’s get there at 9 a.m.

Though each of the above comma-splice fixes is grammatically correct, the last two are best because adding a conjunction clarifies the relationship between the ideas expressed in the two clauses.

A common comma-splice error involves “however” following a comma that separates two independent clauses. Consider the following sentences that are grammatically equivalent:

The company raised its rates , however, we were granted an exemption.

= The company raised its rates , however we were granted an exemption.

= The company raised its rates , we were granted an exemption.

Seeing that you have independent clauses on either side of the comma preceding “however” is easier if you imagine the sentence without both “however” and the comma following it, as in the third example sentence above. Fixing the error is as easy as replacing the comma preceding “however” with a semicolon and ensuring that a comma follows “however,” which is a conjunctive adverb (see Comma Rule 2 below):

The company raised its rates ; however, we were granted an exemption.

This is somewhat tricky because “however” can be surrounded by commas if it’s used as an interjection between the subject and predicate (see Comma Rule 3 below) or between clauses in a complex sentence:

This particular company , however, had been delaying raising its rates for years.

With the company raising its rates , however, we had to apply for an exemption.

Because you see the first clause beginning with “With” in the second example, you know that it’s a dependent clause that will end with a comma followed by the main clause. It’s thus possible to add “however” where the comma separates the subordinate from the main clause.

When proofreading, be on the lookout for “however” surrounded by commas. If the clauses on either side can stand on their own as sentences, fix the comma splice easily by replacing the first comma with a semicolon. If one of the clauses before or after is a subordinate clause and the other a main clause, however, then you’re safe (as in this sentence). For more on comma splices, see the following resources:

• Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices (Purdue OWL)
• Fixing Comma Splices (Plotnick, 2003)

2. Run-on Sentences

Whereas a comma splice places the wrong punctuation between independent clauses, a run-on (a.k.a. fused) sentence simply omits punctuation between them. Perhaps this comes from the second clause following the first so closely in the writer’s free-flowing stream of consciousness that they don’t think any punctuation is necessary between them. While it may be clear to the writer where one idea-clause ends and the other begins, that division isn’t so clear to the reader. The absence of punctuation will cause them to trip up, and they’re forced to mentally insert the proper punctuation to make sense of it, which is frustrating.

Spotting a run-on is easy if it’s just commas missing before coordinating conjunctions. If you string together the last couple of sentences concluding the above paragraph, for instance, and use conjunctions to separate the four clauses without accompanying commas, you’ll get a cumbersome run-on:

That division isn’t so clear to the reader and the absence of punctuation will cause them to trip up and they’re forced to mentally insert the proper punctuation to make sense of it and that’s frustrating.

“Run-on” is a good description for sentences like this because they seem like they can just go on forever like a toddler tacking on clause after clause using coordinating conjunctions (… and … and … and …). Though the above sentence would be perfectly correct if commas preceded “and” and “so,” adding further clauses would just exhaust the reader’s patience, commas or no commas. A run-on is not necessarily the same as a long sentence. Such a long sentence can become convoluted, however, especially for audiences who may struggle with English, such as ESL learners.

Sometimes spotting a run-on is just a matter of tripping over its nonsense. Say you’re reading your draft and then come across the following sentence:

We’ll have to drive the station is too far away to get there on foot.

You’re doing just fine reading this sentence up until the word “is,” since, the way things were going, you probably expected a vehicle to follow the article “the.” Assuming “drive” is being used as a transitive verb (Simmons, 2007) that takes an object, “station wagon” would make sense. When you see “is” instead of “wagon,” however, you might go back and see if the writer forgot to put “to” before “station” to make “drive to the station.” That doesn’t make sense either, however, given what follows. Finally, you realize that you’re really dealing with two distinct independent clauses starting with a short one and that some punctuation is missing after “drive.” The sentence is like a chain with a broken link.

Once you’ve found that missing link, fixing a run-on is just a simple matter of adding the correct punctuation and perhaps a conjunction, depending on the relationship between the clauses. Indeed, the options for fixing a run-on are identical to those for fixing a comma splice. Following the same menu of options as those presented above, you would be correct doing any of the following:

• Add a period between the clauses (after “drive”) and capitalize “the” to form two sentences:

We’ll have to drive . T he station is too far away to get there on foot.

• Add a semicolon between the clauses to form a compound sentence:

We’ll have to drive ; the station is too far away to get there on foot.

This is the easiest, quickest fix of them all.

• Add a comma and coordinating conjunction to form a compound sentence:

We’ll have to drive , for the station is too far away to get there on foot.

• Add a subordinating conjunction to form a complex sentence:

We’ll have to drive because the station is too far away to get there on foot.

Again, though each of the above run-on fixes is grammatically correct, only the last one best clarifies the relationship between the ideas expressed in the two clauses. For more on run-on sentences, see the following resources:

• Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices (Purdue OWL, n.d.)
• Grammar: Run-on Sentences and Sentence Fragments (Walden University, 2016)

3. Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment is one that’s incomplete usually because either the main-clause subject, predicate, or both are missing. The most common sentence fragment is the latter, where a subordinate clause poses as a sentence on its own, usually with its main clause being the preceding or following sentence. If the final example in §5.2.1.2 above were a fragment, it would look like the following:

We’ll have to drive . Because the station is too far away to get there on foot.

Recall that a complex sentence combines a main (a.k.a. independent) clause with a subordinate (a.k.a. dependent) clause, and the cue for the latter is that it begins with a subordinating conjunction (see Table 4.3.2a for several examples). In the above case, the coordinating conjunction “because” makes the clause subordinate, which must join with a main clause in the same sentence to be complete.

The fix is simply to join the fragment subordinate clause with its main clause nearby so that they’re in the same sentence. You can do this in one of two ways, either of which is perfectly correct:

• Delete the period between the sentences and make the subordinating conjunction lowercase if the subordinate clause follows the main clause:

We’ll have to driv e b ecause the station is too far away to get there on foot.

• Move the subordinate clause so that it precedes the main clause, separate the two with a comma, and make the first letter of the main clause lowercase:

B ecause the station is too far away to get there on foot , w e’ll have to drive.

The same applies to sentences that begin with any of the seven coordinating conjunctions. These are technically fragments but can be easily fixed by joining them with the previous sentence to make a compound. You could also change the conjunction to something else, such as a conjunctive adverb like “However” for “but” or “Also” for “and” followed by a comma:

You may also encounter fragments that are just noun phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases, and so on. Of course, we speak often in fragments rather than full sentences, so if we’re writing informally, such fragments are perfectly acceptable. Even in some formal documents, such as résumés, fragments are expected in certain locations such as the Objective statement (an infinitive phrase) and profile paragraph (noun phrases) and in the Qualifications Summary.

If we’re writing formally, however, these fragmentary phrases are variations on the error of leaving sentences incomplete. The easy fix is always to re-unite them with a proper sentence or to make them into one by adding parts.

The beauty of the English language is that there’s an endless number of ways to say something and still be grammatically correct as long as you know what makes a proper sentence. If you don’t, review §4.3.1 and §4.3.2 till you can spot the main subject noun and verb in any sentence, as well as tell if they’re missing. For more on fragments, see the following resources:

• Sentence Fragments (Purdue OWL, n.d.)

For exercises in spotting and fixing comma splices, run-ons, and fragments, see the digital activities at the bottom of the Guide to Grammar and Writing pages linked above (Purdue OWL, n.d.), as well as Exercise: Run-ons, Comma Splices, and Fused Sentences (Purdue OWL, n.d.).

Let’s focus on some of the most common grammar errors in college and professional writing:

• 5.2.2.1: Subject-verb Disagreement
• 5.2.2.2: Pronoun-antecedent Disagreement
• 5.2.2.3: Faulty Parallelism
• 5.2.2.4: Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

1. Subject-verb Disagreement

Perhaps the most common grammatical error is subject-verb disagreement, which is when you pair a singular subject noun with a plural verb (usually ending without an s) instead of a singular one (usually ending with an s) or vice versa. Spotting such disagreements of number requires being able to identify the subject noun and main verb of every sentence and hence knowledge of sentence structure. The search for the main subject noun and verb is complicated by the fact that many other nouns and verbs in various phrase types can crowd into a sentence. The following subject-verb agreement (abbreviated “Subj-v Agr.”) rules help you know what to look for.

Quick Rules

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common subject-verb disagreement errors associated with each one.

Subj-v Agr Rule 1.1:

Singular subjects take singular verbs.

The first of many cuts is going to be the deepest.

Subj-v Agr Rule 1.2:

The indefinite pronouns each, either, and neither , and those ending with -body or -one take a singular verb.

If each of you chooses wisely, someone is going to win the prize, but everybody wins because neither really loses .

Subj-v Agr Rule 1.3:

Collective nouns and some irregular nouns with plural endings are singular and take a singular verb.

The band is n’t going on stage until the news about the stage lighting is more positive.

Subj-v Agr Rule 2:

Plural noun, compound noun, and plural indefinite pronoun subjects take plural verbs.

The rights of the majority usually trump those of minority groups, except when money and politics conspire , and both usually do .

Subj-v Agr Rule 3:

Compound subjects joined by or or nor take verbs that agree in number with the nouns closest to them.

Neither your lawyers nor the justice system is going to be able to adequately punish this type of crime.

Subj-v Agr Rule 4:

The verb in clauses beginning with there or here agrees with the subject noun following the verb.

There are two types of people in the world, and here comes one of them now.

Extended Explanations

Subj-v agr. rule 1.1: singular subjects take singular verbs..

When the subject of the sentence—the doer of the action—is a singular subject (i.e., one doer), the verb (the action it performs) is always singular. Watch out, though: this rule holds even if phrases modifying the subject or intervening parenthetical elements are plural. You just have to be able to tell that those phrases and parenthetical elements aren’t the main subject and therefore don’t count when determining the number of the verb.

Our investment is paying off nicely.

Why it’s correct: The singular subject “investment” takes the singular verb “is,” which is the third-person singular form of the verb to be .

The source of all our network errors disappears whenever you do a system restart.

Why it’s correct: The singular subject “source” takes the singular main verb “disappears”; the plural noun “errors” immediately before the verb is just the last word in a prepositional phrase (“of . . .”) modifying the subject.

Stalling for time to think of better responses does n’t work in a job interview.

Why it’s correct: The singular subject “stalling,” a gerund (action noun), takes the singular main verb “does”; the plural noun “responses” immediately before the verb is just the last word in a prepositional phrase (“of . . .”) embedded in an infinitive phrase (“to think . . .”) embedded in another prepositional phrase (“for . . .”).

The singer-songwriter , along with new additions to her five-piece backup band, arrives at the press conference at 1:30 p.m.

Why it’s correct: Despite the parenthetical addition of other actors, the grammatical subject (“singer-songwriter”) is still singular and takes a singular verb.

How This Helps the Reader

Following this rule helps the reader connect the doer of the action with the main action itself, especially when a variety of phrases, including nouns of different number, intervene between the subject noun and main verb.

What to Look for When Proofreading

Look for subject nouns (the main doers of the action) and the main verbs that the subject noun takes, then ensure that both are singular. Look out especially for verbs that are wrongly plural in form because the nouns immediately preceding them are plural despite the fact that they are only part of phrases modifying the main subject noun.

The best vodka in the opinion of all the experts at international competitions are surprisingly the bottom-shelf Alberta Pure.

The best vodka in the opinion of all the experts at international competitions is surprisingly the bottom-shelf Alberta Pure.

The lucky winner , as well as three of their best friends, are going on an all-expenses-paid trip to beautiful Cornwall, Ontario!

The lucky winner , as well as three of their best friends, is going on an all-expenses-paid trip to beautiful Cornwall, Ontario!

In the first incorrect example sentence above, the proximity of the plural nouns “experts” and “competitions” to the main verb (form of to be ) probably made the writer think that the verb had to be plural, too. The true subject noun of the sentence, however, is “vodka,” which is singular and therefore takes the singular verb “is” no matter what comes between them. In the second incorrect sentence, the grammatical subject is the singular “winner,” so the main verb should be the singular “is,” not the plural “are.” A parenthetical interjection between the subject and the verb, even if it appears to pluralize the subject with “as well as,” “along with,” “plus,” or the like, technically doesn’t make a compound subject (see Subj-v Agr. Rule 2 below for more on compounds).

Subj-v Agr. Rule 1.2: The indefinite pronouns each, either, neither, and those ending with -body or -one take a singular verb.

When the subject noun of the sentence is the indefinite pronoun either, neither, each, anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody, anyone, everyone, someone, no one , or none (see Table 4.4.2a above on pronouns), it is singular and takes a singular verb.

Each has enough personal finance know-how to handle her own taxes.

Why it’s correct: The subject pronoun “Each” can be thought of as the singular “Each one” and therefore takes a singular verb. In this case the verb is “has” rather than the plural “have” that would be appropriate if the subject were “All of them.”

Either is fine.

Why it’s correct: The subject pronoun “Either” can be thought of as the singular “Either one,” despite implying a pair of options, and therefore takes a singular verb—in this case “is.”

“Perhaps none is more vulnerable than James, a soft-spoken 19-year-old who is quick to flash a smile that would melt ice” (Chianello, 2014, ¶24) .

Why it’s correct: The subject pronoun “none” in this case can be thought of as the singular “no one” because the topic of the sentence concerns a single person. The pronoun therefore takes a singular verb—in this case “is” rather than the plural “are.”

Exception: None can sometimes be a plural indefinite pronoun depending on what comes later in the sentence.

“ None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free” (Goethe, 1809, p. 397) .

Why it’s correct: The subject pronoun “none” can be thought of as “no people,” consistent in number with the later pronoun “those,” and thus a plural pronoun that takes a plural verb—in this case “are,” not “is.”

Following this rule helps the reader see that the “one” or “body” suffix in each of these indefinite pronouns is singular, even if the word applies to many people, and therefore takes a singular verb form.

Look for any indefinite pronouns ending with -one or -body taking a plural main verb and change the verb to the singular form.

Everybody here share our opinion on quantitative easing.

The fix:   Everybody here shares our opinion on quantitative easing.

The fix:   All here share our opinion on quantitative easing.

Each of you send enough carbon into the atmosphere to poison a river.

The fix: Each of you sends enough carbon into the atmosphere to poison a river.

The fix:   All of you send enough carbon into the atmosphere to poison a river.

Here, the “every” part of the word everybody in the first incorrect sentence and the fact that the second addresses a group suggests to the confused writer that a plurality of actors is at play, thus requiring the plural verbs “share” and “send.” Wrong! The “body” part of the word is the operative one; being singular, it takes a singular verb—“shares” in this case—and “Each” is short for “Each one.” Another fix in each case is to make the subject the plural “All” and keep the verbs plural.

Subj-v Agr. Rule 1.3: Collective nouns and some irregular nouns with plural endings are singular and take a singular verb.

Collective nouns such as “group” are grammatically singular and thus take a singular verb despite meaning several people or things. The following are common collective nouns:

The same is true of any company name that ends in s or has a compound name (e.g., Food Basics, Long & McQuade), as well as any compound of inanimate objects treated as a singular entity (e.g., meat and potatoes is considered one dish; see Subj-v Agr. Rule 2 below for more on compounds). Likewise, some special-case words that look like plurals because they end with s instead take singular pronouns and verbs, especially names for games and disciplines or areas of study, as well as dollar amounts, distances, and amounts of time:

Note that most of these words will be plural if used other than meaning disciplines, fields of study, games, or number of units. For instance, when you’re playing darts, you would use the plural verb in “Three darts remain ” to refer to three individual darts in your hand but use a singular verb when saying “Darts is a way of life” because you’re now using “darts” in the sense of the game rather than the object.

The committee demands action on the latest media blunder.

Why it’s correct: The collective noun “committee” is singular, despite being comprised of several people, and therefore takes the singular verb “demands,” not the plural “demand.”

A demolition crew of three sledgehammer-wielding heavies is leveling the house as we speak.

Why it’s correct: The collective noun “crew” is singular despite being followed by a prepositional phrase detailing how many people are in the crew. Despite also the plural noun “heavies” preceding the main verb, the singular “is” is the correct verb rather than the plural “are.”

Food Basics has a deal on for ice cream right now, and Dolce & Gabbana has some fresh new styles coming this season.

Why it’s correct: Though the subject nouns seem plural because one ends with s and the other compounds two names, being a single corporate entity in each case makes them singular and take the singular verb “has” rather than the plural “have.”

Oh look, green eggs and ham is on the menu.

Why it’s correct: Though the subject noun seems plural because it is a compound of a plural and singular noun, it is considered one singular dish and therefore takes the singular verb “is” rather than the plural “are.”

The news is so depressing today.

Why it’s correct: Though the subject noun seems plural because it ends with s , “news” is a singular noun taking the singular verb “is,” not the plural “are.”

Ethics isn’t an optional field of study for business professionals.

Why it’s correct: Though the subject noun seems plural because it ends with s and the singular “ethic” is also a legitimate word, it acts in this case as a singular entity because it is a field of study and therefore takes the singular verb “is.”

Five dollars donated to the right charities is all that’s needed to save a life.

Why it’s correct: Though the subject noun seems plural because it contains more than one dollar, it acts as a singular entity and thus takes the singular verb “is” regardless of the noun “charities” that comes before it in a prepositional phrase.

Ten kilometers is too far to walk because those ten kilometers are going to make us late.

Why it’s correct: The first “Ten kilometers” is a grammatically singular subject because the distance as a whole is meant. The second instance refers to each individual kilometer together with the others, however, so it is grammatically plural, taking the plural pronoun “those” and verb “are.”

Following this rule helps the reader connect the singular grammatical subject performing a single action in concert as one entity with the main verb, especially when phrases of different number come between them.

Look for count nouns, as well as special-case nouns that look plural but are actually singular, such as games and areas of study, like those identified above. Ensure that the main verb following them is singular rather than plural.

A pack of lies averaging around twenty per day are winning over a confused and angry swath of the electorate.

The fix: A pack of lies averaging around twenty per day is winning over a confused and angry swath of the electorate.

The acoustics in here are so bad that it makes me want to study acoustics , which are all about how sounds behave in certain environments.

The fix: The acoustics in here are so bad that it makes me want to study acoustics , which is all about how sounds behave in certain environments.

In the first incorrect sentence above, the collective noun “pack” is grammatically singular and must therefore take the singular verb “is,” not the plural verb “are”, despite it being comprised of a plurality of things (“lies”) identified in the prepositional phrase following it. In the second incorrect sentence, we see two different types of the word “acoustics.” One type means “sound quality,” acts as a plural grammatical subject, and therefore takes the plural verb “are.” The other, meaning the study of how sounds interact with the environment, takes the singular verb “is,” not the plural verb “are.”

Subj-v Agr. Rule 2: Plural noun, compound noun, and plural indefinite pronoun subjects take plural verbs.

When the subject of the sentence is plural or contains two or more nouns or pronouns joined by and to make a compound subject, the verb describing the action they perform together is always plural regardless of whether the nouns are singular or plural. The verb is plural even if the compounded subject noun closest to the verb is singular. Other word types that take plural pronouns and verbs include:

• The indefinite pronouns both , few , many , several , and others
• Some items that seem singular because they are assembled into one unit, such as binoculars , glasses , jeans , pants , scissors , shears , and shorts
• Sport teams with singular names, such as the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning
• Bands of musicians with singular-sounding names such as the Tragically Hip and Arcade Fire

Self-driving cars are going to revolutionize more than just the auto industry.

Why it’s correct: The plural subject noun “cars” takes the plural main verb “are.”

Goodness, we have our work cut out for us.

Why it’s correct: The plural subject pronoun “we” takes the plural main verb “have”

All the network systems and the mainframe we’ve been updating are going to have to be liquidated now.

Why it’s correct: The compound subject with the plural noun “systems” and singular noun “mainframe” takes the plural main verb “are.” All the other verbs are part of embedded phrases that don’t affect the verb number.

A few of them say they can’t go, but several are still going.

Why it’s correct: The plural indefinite pronouns “few” and “several” take the plural verbs “say” and “are,” respectively.

These pants do n’t fit, these scissors do n’t cut, and these shears are kaput.

Why it’s correct: Though each of these subject nouns sells as one item, they are considered pairs grammatically and therefore take plural verbs such as “don’t” instead of the singular “doesn’t.”

The Tragically Hip are playing their final concert in Kingston, where they played their first show 32 years earlier.

Why it’s correct: As a five-piece band of musicians, the Tragically Hip are a grammatically plural noun despite having a singular-sounding name and therefore take the plural verb “are.”

Following this rule helps the reader connect the doer of the action with the main action itself, especially when a variety of phrases, including nouns of different numbers, intervene between the subject noun and main verb.

Look for subject nouns (the main doers of the action) and the main verbs that the subject noun takes, then ensure that both are plural. Look out especially for compound subjects with a singular noun close to the verb tricking you into making the main verb singular.

Most major auto manufacturers and, of course, Tesla is leading the way toward self-driving cars via a switch to all-electric drivetrains.

The fix: Most major auto manufacturers and , of course, Tesla are leading the way toward self-driving cars via a switch to all-electric drivetrains .

I can respect their musicianship, but Rush just annoys me, or maybe it’s just Geddy Lee’s voice.

The fix: I can respect their musicianship, but Rush just annoy me, or maybe it’s just Geddy Lee’s voice.

In the first incorrect example above, the proximity of the singular noun “Tesla” to the main verb probably made the confused writer think that the verb had to be the singular “is,” too. The subject is in fact a compound, however: “manufacturers and . . . Tesla.” Changing the main verb to a plural form easily fixes the subject-verb disagreement of number.

In the second incorrect example, the band Rush seems like it should be a singular noun and take the singular verb “annoys” because the word rush is singular; as a trio of musicians, however, the band is grammatically plural and takes the plural verb “annoy.” Notice, when we use the noun “band” in front of “Rush” so that “band” is grammatically the subject noun, however, we use a singular verb following Subj-v Agr. Rule 1.3 above.

Subj-v Agr. Rule 3: Compound subjects joined by or or nor take verbs that agree in number with the nouns closest to them.

When the subject of the sentence is a compound joined by the coordinating conjunction or or nor , the number (singular or plural) of the verb is determined by the subject noun that comes immediately before it.

Either the players or the coach is going to take the fall for the loss.

Why it’s correct: Though this is a compound subject comprised of the plural “players” and singular “coach,” the main verb is the singular “is” because “or” joins the two subject nouns and the one closest to the verb, “coach,” is singular.

When neither the project lead nor dozens of engineers dare to doubt the safety of the launch, you have all the makings of a Challenger-like disaster.

Why it’s correct: The plural subject pronoun “dozens,” as the second part of the compound subject including the singular “lead,” takes the plural main verb “dare” because it is closer.

Following this rule helps the reader see the two compounded subject nouns as separate actors performing the verb action independently of one another rather than together.

Look for plural verbs that disagree in number with singular subject nouns closest to them when the subject nouns are joined by or or nor .

A rock or a hard place are your only choice in this situation.

The fix: A rock or a hard place is your only choice in this situation.

In the incorrect example above, the compounding of the two singular nouns likely made the confused writer think that the verb should be plural as it is when and compounds subject nouns. When or or nor compounds subjects, however, the verb must agree with whatever subject noun comes immediately before it.

Subj-v Agr. Rule 4: The verb in clauses beginning with there or here agrees with the subject noun following the verb.

When a sentence or clause begins with the pronoun there or here , the subject noun follows the verb and therefore determines whether the verb should be singular or plural. In other words, what comes before the verb usually determines whether the verb is singular or plural, but in this case, what comes after the verb does that. In such expletive constructions, as they’re called, here or there are not actually subjects.

There appears to be a mighty storm approaching on the horizon.

Why it’s correct: The singular subject noun “storm” following the verb takes the singular verb “appears.”

Here is a pencil and here are some forms you need to fill out.

Why it’s correct: The singular subject noun “pencil” following the main verb takes the singular verb “is” in the first clause. The plural subject noun “forms” in the second clause takes the plural verb “are.”

There happen to be six conditions on which the growth of our business depends.

Why it’s correct: The plural subject noun “conditions” following the verb takes the plural verb “happen” rather than the singular “happens.”

There is nothing to the allegations of wrongdoing.

Why it’s correct: The singular subject noun “nothing” following the verb takes the singular verb “is” regardless of the plural noun “allegations” in the prepositional phrase modifying the subject noun.

There are too many applications to sort through in the given timeframe.

Why it’s correct: The plural subject noun “applications” following the verb takes the plural verb “are.”

In sentences beginning with the pronoun there , following this rule cues the reader toward the number of the subject noun before it appears.

Look for sentences or clauses beginning with there and ensure that the verb agrees with the noun that follows it. The verb isn’t necessarily singular just because there comes before the verb (where the subject is usually located) and seems like a singular pronoun.

I can’t believe there just happens to be two tickets to the show you wanted to see in my pocket here.

The fix: I can’t believe there just happen to be two tickets to the show you wanted to see in my pocket here.

Here is a bar graph and pie chart you can extrapolate results from.

The fix: Here are a bar graph and pie chart you can extrapolate results from.

In the first incorrect sentence above, the pronoun “there” is not the subject noun of the relative clause following “that”; the plural noun “tickets” is the subject and therefore takes the plural verb “happen” rather than the singular “happens.” In the second incorrect sentence, the grammatical subject is the compound noun “bar graph and pie chart” following “Here,” so the main verb must be the plural “are,” not the singular “is.”

For more on subject-verb agreement and how to correct disagreement, see the following resources:

• Making Subjects and Verbs Agree (Paiz, Berry, & Brizee, 2018)
• Self Teaching Unit: Subject-Verb Agreement (Benner, 2000), including exercises

2. Pronoun Errors

For more on pronoun-antecedent disagreements of number (e.g., Everybody has an opinion on this, but they are all wrong ), ambiguous pronouns (e.g., The plane crashed in the field, but somehow it ended up unscathed—was the plane or field left unscathed? ), and pronoun case errors (e.g., Rob and me are going to the bank—would you say “me is going to the bank”? ), see the following resource:

• Common Pronoun Errors (Brigham Young University-Idaho, 2019)

3. Faulty Parallelism

For more on parallelism, see the following resource:

• Parallel Structure (Purdue OWL, n.d.)

4. Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

For more on dangling modifiers, see the following resource:

• The Dangling Modifier and The Misplaced Modifier (Simmons, 2011)

2. Take any writing assignment you’ve previously submitted for another course, ideally one that you did some time ago, perhaps even in high school. Scan for the sentence and grammar errors covered in this section now that you know what to look for. How often do such errors appear? Correct them following the suggestions given above.

Benner, M. L. (2000). Self teaching unit: Subject-verb agreement. Retrieved from https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/moduleSVAGR.htm

Brigham Young University-Idaho Resource Center. (2019). Common Pronoun Errors. Brigham Young University-Idaho. Retrieved from https://content.byui.edu/file/b8b83119-9acc-4a7b-bc84-efacf9043998/1/Grammar-2-5-1.html

Chianello, J. (2014, November 29). Giving youth futures. The Ottawa Citizen . Retrieved from http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/giving-youth-futures

Driscoll, D. L. (2018a, March 28). Parallel structure. Purdue OWL . Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/parallel_structure.html#:~:text=Parallel%20structure%20means%20using%20the,and%22%20or%20%22or.%22

Goethe, J. W. v. (1809, trans. 1982). Die wahlverwandtschaften, Hamburger ausgabe [Elective affinities, Hamburg edition] . Munich: DTV Verlag. Retrieved from https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe

Paiz, J. M., Berry, C., & Brizee, A. (2018, February 21). Making subjects and verbs agree. Purdue OWL . Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/subject_verb_agreement.html

Plotnick, J. (2003, August 13). Fixing comma splices. University of Toronto . Retrieved from http://www.uc.utoronto.ca/comma-splices

Shankbone 33. (2011, September 28). Day 12 Occupy Wall Street September 28 2011 Shankbone 33. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16761555

Simmons, R. L. (2007, November 24). The transitive verb. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/transitiveverb.htm

Simmons, R. L. (2011, September 4). The dangling modifier and The misplaced modifier. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/danglingmodifier.htm and http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/misplacedmodifier.htm

Walden University. (2016, April 2). Grammar: Run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Writing Centre . Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/runonsentences

Test Your Understanding

Section 5.3 learning objectives.

2. Plan, write, revise, and edit short documents and messages that are organized, complete, and tailored to specific audiences.

As the little marks added between words, punctuation is like a system of traffic signs: it guides the reader toward the intended meaning of the words just as road signs guide drivers to their destination. They tell the reader when to go, when to pause, when to stop, when to go again, when to pay close attention, and when to turn (Truss, 2003, p. 7) . They’re also crucial for avoiding accidents. A paragraph without punctuation—no periods, commas, apostrophes, etc.—quickly spins out into utter nonsense and kills the reader’s understanding of the writer’s meaning.

Punctuation that’s merely missing or unnecessary here and there can confuse a reader and even lead to expensive lawsuits if such errors plague contentious documents like contracts. To anyone who knows how to use them, seeing punctuation mistakes in someone else’s writing makes that other person look sloppy and amateurish. Punctuation errors by adult native English speakers look especially bad because they reflect poorly on their education and attention to detail, especially if they’re habitual mistakes. The critical reader looks down on anyone who hasn’t figured out how to use their own language in their 20+ years of immersion in it. Not knowing the difference between a colon and semicolon, for instance, is like not knowing the difference between a cucumber and a zucchini; sure they look alike from a distance, but they’re completely different species and serve different culinary functions. If you don’t know these differences by the time you’re an adult, however, it doesn’t take much to learn.

In this section, we focus on how to spot and correct common punctuation errors, starting with commas because most problems with people’s writing in general are related to missing and misused commas. The goal is to help you avoid making mistakes that can potentially embarrass you in the eyes of people who should be taking you seriously.

Complete List of Punctuation Covered in This Chapter Section

• 5.3.1: Commas ( , )
• 5.3.2: Apostrophes ( ’ )
• 5.3.3: Colons ( : )
• 5.3.4: Semicolons ( ; )
• 5.3.5: Parentheses ( )
• 5.3.6: Brackets [ ]
• 5.3.7: Quotation Marks ( “ ” )
• 5.3.8: Hyphens ( – )
• 5.3.9: Long Dashes ( — )
• 5.3.10: Question Marks ( ? )
• 5.3.11: Exclamation Marks ( ! )
• 5.3.12: Periods ( . )

5.3.1: Commas

Most punctuation problems are comma-related because of the important role commas play in providing readers with guidance on how a sentence is organized and is to be read to understand the writer’s intended meaning. As we saw in §4.3.2, commas signal to the reader where one clause ends and another begins in compound and complex sentences, but they serve several other roles as well. We use commas in four general ways, each with several variations and special cases. To these we can add rules about where not to add commas, since many writers confuse their readers by putting commas where they shouldn’t go. Most style guides advocate for using as few commas as possible, though you certainly must use them wherever needed to avoid ambiguities that lead readers astray. Closely follow the sixteen rules below to guide your reader toward your intended meaning and avoid confusing them with comma misplacement.

Quick Rules: Commas

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common comma errors associated with each one.

Comma Rule 1.1: Put a comma before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences.

Put a comma before the coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses in a compound sentence. A compound sentence contains two or more clauses that can stand on their own as sentences (see Table 4.3.2b for more on compound sentences) with a different subject in each clause.

We were having the time of our lives , and our lucky streak was far from over.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “and” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “We” and another beginning with the subject “our lucky streak.”

The first round of layoffs was welcomed by all , but the second devastated morale.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “but” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “The first round” and another beginning with the subject “the second.”

The management blamed external factors , yet none of the company’s blunders would have happened under good leadership.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “yet” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “The management” and another beginning with the subject “none.”

You can take advantage of this golden opportunity , or a thousand other investors will take advantage of it instead as soon as they know about it.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “or” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “You” and another beginning with the subject “a thousand.”

He didn’t see the necessity of lean principles , nor would they have made sense in a business model based on inefficiency.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “nor” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “He” and another beginning with the subject “they.”

Market forces left them behind , for the law of supply and demand isn’t necessarily a force for social justice.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “for” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “Market forces” and another beginning with the subject “the law.”

The competition started to heat up , so we did everything we could to protect our assets.

Why it’s correct: A comma precedes the coordinating conjunction “so” joining the independent clause beginning with the subject “The competition” and another beginning with the subject “we.”

Exception: If the two independent clauses are short (five words or fewer), the comma may be unnecessary.

You bring the wine and we’ll make dinner.

Why it’s correct: A comma is unnecessary before the coordinating conjunction “and” joining the two short, four-word independent clauses beginning with the subjects “You” and “we.”

The comma tells the reader to pause a little after one independent clause ends and before the coordinating conjunction signals that another (with a new subject) is joining it to make a compound sentence. In each of the example sentences above, the independent clause on either side of the comma-conjunction combination could stand on its own as a sentence. In the first example above, for instance, we could replace the comma and conjunction with a period, then capitalize the o in “our,” and both would be grammatically correct sentences. We combine them with a comma and the conjunction and , however, to clarify the relationship between the two ideas. The comma signals that these are coordinated clauses rather than noun or verb phrases.

If the subject were the same in both clauses, however, both the comma and subject of the second clause would be unnecessary. In that case, the sentence would just be a one-subject clause with a compound predicate—that is, two coordinated verbs (see Comma Rule 4.4 below). Consider the following examples:

We were having the time of our lives and would continue to enjoy that lucky streak.

Why it’s correct: The subject “we” is the same in the independent clauses “We were having the time of our lives” and “we would continue to enjoy that lucky streak,” so the comma and second “we” are omitted to make a compound predicate joining the verbs “were having” and “would continue” with the coordinating conjunction “and.”

They won the battle but lost the war.

Why it’s correct: The subject “They” is the same in the independent clauses “They won the battle” and “they lost the war,” so the comma and second “they” are omitted to make a compound predicate joining the verbs “won” and “lost” with the coordinating conjunction “but.”

Look for run-on sentences (see §5.2.1.2 above), which are sentences that omit a comma before the coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses. Keep an eye out for the seven coordinating conjunctions for , and , nor , but , or , yet , and so (see Table 4.3.2a and use the mnemonic acronym fanboys to remember them). Simply add a comma before the conjunction if the independent clause on either side of the conjunction could stand on its own as a sentence because it has a subject and predicate (see §4.3.1 for more on sentence structure).

We were losing money with each acquisition but our long-term plan was total market dominance.

We were losing money with each acquisition but , our long-term plan was total market dominance.

We were losing money with each acquisition , but our long-term plan was total market dominance.

In the example above, the coordinating conjunction “but” joins the two independent clauses beginning with the subjects “We” and “Our long-term plan.” Omitting the comma in the first example makes the sentence a run-on. Misplacing the comma after the conjunction in the second miscues the reader to pause after, rather than before, the conjunction. The easy fix is just to add the comma or move it so it goes before the conjunction.

Return to the Complete List of Punctuation Covered in This Chapter Section

Comma Rule 1.2: Don’t put a comma between independent clauses in a compound sentence if not followed by a coordinating conjunction.

Don’t put a comma between two independent clauses if it’s not followed by a coordinating conjunction because this is a comma splice sentence error (see §5.2.1.1 above). We have two distinct ways of forming a compound sentence (see §4.3.2) and a comma splice confuses the two. One way of making a compound sentence is to join independent clauses by placing a comma and one of the seven “fanboys” coordinating conjunctions between them (see Table 4.3.2a for the coordinating conjunctions). Simply omitting the coordinating conjunction after the comma makes a comma splice. The other way of making a compound sentence is to end the first clause with a semicolon when it doesn’t make sense to use any of the coordinating conjunctions to establish a certain relationship between the clauses (see Table §4.3.2b on sentence varieties for more on compound sentences and Semicolon Rule 1 below). Using a comma instead of a semicolon in such compound sentences makes a comma splice.

Look for commas separating two independent clauses (clauses that can stand on their own as sentences because they each have a subject and predicate) without any of the seven coordinating conjunctions ( f or, a nd, n or, b ut, o r, y et, or s o ) following the comma.

The first proposal was from the Davidson group, the second came from a company we hadn’t seen before.

The first proposal was from the Davidson group; the second came from a company we hadn’t seen before.

The first proposal was from the Davidson group; but the second came from a company we hadn’t seen before.

Though the first proposal was from the Davidson group, the second came from a company we hadn’t seen before.

In the incorrect example above, the comma separates two independent clauses that can stand on their own as sentences if you replaced the comma with a period and capitalized the t in “the second.” You have three options for fixing the comma splice corresponding to the three examples above:

• Replace the comma with a semicolon to make a compound sentence.
• Add a coordinating conjunction, such as but, to make a compound sentence that clarifies the relationship between the clauses.
• Add a subordinating conjunction, such as Though , at the beginning of the first clause to make it a dependent (a.k.a. a subordinate) clause. This makes the sentence a complex one (see §4.3.2 for more on subordinating conjunctions and complex sentences).

Comma Rule 2.1: Put a comma after introductory subordinate clauses, phrases, or words preceding main clauses.

Put a comma before the main clause (a.k.a. independent clause) when it is preceded by an introductory word, phrase (e.g., a prepositional or participial phrase), or subordinate clause (a.k.a. dependent clause) in a complex sentence.

If we follow our project plan’s critical path down to the minute, we will finish on time and on budget.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the subordinate clause beginning with the subordinating conjunction “If” from the main clause (beginning with the subject “we”) that follows it.

When my ship comes in, I’ll be repaying every favor anyone ever did for me.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the subordinate clause, beginning with the subordinating conjunction “When,” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “I.”

To make ourselves better understood, we’ve left post-it notes all around the room.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the introductory infinitive phrase, beginning with the infinitive verb “To make,” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “we.”

After the flood, the Poulins took out some expensive disaster insurance.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the introductory prepositional phrase, beginning with the preposition “after,” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “the Poulins.”

Greeting me at the door, she said that I was a half hour early and would have to wait to see the director.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the introductory participial phrase, beginning with the present participle (Simmons, 2001a) “Greeting,” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “she.”

The downturn of 2008 now forgotten, the investors threw other people’s money around like it was 2007 again.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the introductory absolute phrase, ending with the past participle (Simmons, 2001a) “forgotten,” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “the investors.”

Delighted, she accepted their offer even with the conditions.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the single-word introductory past-participle appositive (Simmons, 2001b) “Delighted” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “she.”

Therefore, you are encouraged to submit your timesheet the Friday before payday.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the introductory conjunctive adverb (Simmons, 2007b) “Therefore” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “you.”

However, there’s not much we can do if the patient refuses our help.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the introductory conjunctive adverb “However” from the main clause that follows it, beginning with the subject “you.”

Yes, please go ahead and submit your payment.

Why it’s correct: The comma separates the single-word introductory interjection “Yes” from the main imperative clause that follows it, the core of which is the verb “go.”

Hello, Claude:

Why it’s correct: The comma marks the pause between the greeting word and name address in a respectful, semiformal salutation opening email.

Exception: The comma is unnecessary if the introductory dependent clause or prepositional phrase is short (fewer than four words) and its omission doesn’t cause confusion.

At this point we’re not accepting any applications.

Why it’s correct: Omitting the comma after the short, three-word prepositional phrase doesn’t cause confusion.

The comma tells the reader to pause a little prior to the main clause as if to say, “Okay, here’s where the sentence really begins with the main-clause subject and predicate.” The main clause is the main point, whereas the subordinate clause that precedes it is relatively minor, providing context.

Recall from the lesson on sentence varieties (§4.3.2) that a complex sentence is one where a subordinating conjunction begins an independent or subordinate clause, which cannot stand on its own as a sentence. A subordinate clause (a.k.a. dependent clause) becomes part of a proper sentence only when it joins a main (a.k.a. independent) clause. When that subordinate clause precedes the main clause, a comma separates them. The same is true when that main clause is preceded by a phrase (e.g., prepositional, infinitive, participial, gerund, etc.) or even just a word such as an appositive participle (as in the “Delighted” example above) or conjunctive adverb, as in the “Therefore” example above.

Look for words, phrases, or clauses preceding the main clause without a comma separating them. For this, you must know how to spot the main clause when it comes later in the sentence; in other words, you need to be able to spot the main grammatical subject (the doer of the action) and predicate (the action itself; review §4.3.1’s introduction to sentence structure). If the main subject is preceded by words, phrases, or clauses but not a comma, then you need to add one before the main clause.

Because first impressions are lasting ones you must always come out swinging at the beginning of your presentation.

Because first impressions are lasting ones, you must always come out swinging at the beginning of your presentation.

In the example above, “you” is the main grammatical subject that begins the main clause, whose main verb is “come.” The subordinate clause begins with the subordinating conjunction “Because” and ends at “ones,” so the comma must follow “ones” to separate it from the beginning of the main clause.

Comma Rule 2.2: Don’t put a comma after main clauses followed by subordinate clauses or phrases unless the latter strikes a contrast with the former.

Don’t put a comma after a main clause (a.k.a. independent clause) if it is followed by a subordinate (a.k.a. dependent) clause or phrase in a complex sentence. If the subordinate clause begins with a contrasting subordinating conjunction such as “although,” a comma must separate the two clauses.

You can’t apply for permits from the city because you haven’t even secured funding yet.

Why it’s correct: A comma is unnecessary because the subordinate clause, beginning with the subordinating conjunction “because,” follows the main clause rather than precedes it, so you can read it without a pause.

We will finish on time and on budget if we follow the critical path of our plan to the minute.

Why it’s correct: A comma is unnecessary because the subordinate clause, beginning with the subordinating conjunction “if,” follows the main clause rather than precedes it, so you can read it without a pause.

I’ll be repaying every favor anyone ever did for me when my ship comes in.

Why it’s correct: A comma is unnecessary because the subordinate clause, beginning with the subordinating conjunction “when,” follows the main clause rather than precedes it, so you can read it without a pause.

The Poulins took out some expensive disaster insurance after the flood.

Why it’s correct: A comma is unnecessary because the prepositional phrase, beginning with the preposition “after,” follows the main clause rather than precedes it, so you can read it without a pause.

We’re not accepting any applications at this time , though we might make an exception for a truly remarkable applicant.

Why it’s correct: A comma is necessary because the subordinate clause, beginning with the subordinating conjunction “though,” strikes a contrast with the main clause that precedes it, making a pause appropriate.

We could easily hire a new full-time assistant in the fourth quarter , unless our profit margin drops below 5% in the third.

Why it’s correct: A comma is necessary because the subordinate clause, beginning with the subordinating conjunction “unless,” strikes a contrast with the main clause that precedes it, making a pause appropriate.

The absence of the comma tells the reader to keep reading smoothly without pause between the main and subordinate clauses. In the case of the contrasting subordinate clause, however, the comma signals a pause as if to say that the subordinate clause is a kind of afterthought or qualification added to the main clause.

Look for commas unnecessarily added before subordinating conjunctions (see Table 4.3.2a for a list of subordinating conjunctions) in complex sentences where the subordinate clause follows the main clause and doesn’t strike a contrast with it.

The technician is switching to plan B , because the manifold blew a gasket.

The technician is switching to plan B because the manifold blew a gasket.

The Goliath Games label was founded in 2003 , to create the most innovative and progressive interactive entertainment.

The Goliath Games label was founded in 2003 to create the most innovative and progressive interactive entertainment.

In the examples above, the comma is simply unnecessary and should be deleted. It would be necessary, however, if the first sentence began with the subordinate clause beginning with “Because . . . ” or after the infinitive phrase if the second sentence began with “To create . . . .” In those cases, the comma would follow “gasket” and “2003,” respectively, and you would change the first letter in the main clauses to lowercase.

Comma Rule 3.1: Put commas around parenthetical words, phrases, or clauses.

Put commas before and after parenthetical or non-essential words, phrases, or clauses that would leave the sentence grammatically correct if you omitted them. Placed in the middle of a sentence between the subject and predicate or at the end of the sentence, however, those elements lend further detail to the words or phrases that come just before them. Commas in this way function as a lighter form of parentheses.

The promotion went to Mr. Speck , who neither wanted nor deserved it, to make it look like something was being done about the glass ceiling.

Why it’s correct: Like parentheses, the commas mark off the relative clause beginning with the relative pronoun “who” in the middle of the sentence, lending more information to the word coming just before (“Mr. Speck”).

Global Solutions went on a hiring spree , which was well-timed given the change in telecoms legislation that was about to come down.

Why it’s correct: The comma marks the switch to a restrictive relative clause beginning with the relative pronoun “which” after the main clause, lending more information to its final word, “hiring spree.” The restrictive relative clause is non-essential in the sense that the main clause still means the same thing if the restrictive clause were omitted.

We’ll get back to you as soon as possible , needless to say .

Why it’s correct: The comma marks the switch to an interjection tacked onto the end of the sentence.

The second customer , on the other hand, absolutely loved the new color.

Why it’s correct: The comma marks off a parenthetical prepositional phrase separating the subject from the predicate in the middle of the sentence.

The time for expressing interest in the buy-out option , however, had long since passed.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the conjunctive adverb “however” interjected between the subject and the predicate in the middle of the sentence.

We’ve heard that , in fact, the delegation won’t be coming after all.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off a parenthetical prepositional phrase interjected between the subject and the predicate in the middle of the sentence.

Always treat the customer with respect, unless of course certain behaviors , such as belligerent drunkenness, compel you to take a firm stand against them.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off a parenthetical phrase offering an example interjected between the subject and the predicate in the middle of the dependent clause.

The nicest thing about you , Josh, is that you get the best work out of your employees by only praising achievements rather than criticizing mistakes.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off a parenthetical appositive address clarifying who “you” is between the subject and the predicate in the middle of the sentence.

I sent the application to Grace Garrison , the departmental secretary, last Tuesday.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off a parenthetical appositive noun phrase identifying the role of the person named.

Exceptions: When the appositive is so close to the noun it modifies that the sentence wouldn’t make sense without it, omit the commas. Also omit commas:

• Before such as when exemplifying non-parenthetically
• Around restrictive relative clauses (i.e., those beginning with that ; see Comma Rule 3.6)
• If too many commas would clutter the sentence, in which case you would drop any comma that wouldn’t cause confusion if omitted

Departmental secretary Grace Garrison received the application Tuesday.

Why it’s correct: You can omit commas around the appositive following “Departmental secretary” because “Departmental secretary received the application” wouldn’t make sense unless “The” preceded it.

They offer competitive fringe benefits such as health and dental coverage, three weeks’ paid vacation per year, and sick leave.

Why it’s correct: A comma would be excessive before the “such as” phrase introducing the list of examples unless it appeared as a parenthetical aside in the middle of the sentence.

We don’t have to go, and of course they don’t have to take us.

Why it’s correct: Adding commas around “of course,” though technically correct, would be excessive and look cluttered, so the parenthetical commas drop in priority to the comma separating compounded independent clauses.

As light alternatives to parentheses, these parenthetical commas tell the reader to pause a little when a non-essential (a.k.a. parenthetical) point is interjected or tacked on to explain the word or phrase preceding it. Common parenthetical phrases include:

Interestingly, this rule also helped the Atlantic Canada telephone company Bell Aliant cancel a contract with Rogers Communications over the use of telephone poles prior to Rogers’s intended five-year term, costing Rogers a million dollars and resulting in a bitter court battle in 2006. The dispute concerned the following sentence in the middle of the 14-page contract:

This agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five (5) years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five (5) year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.

Without the comma after “terms,” you could read the contract as Rogers intended, which was to say that it could be terminated with a year’s notice any time after the first five years. By adding the second comma to make the “and thereafter” phrase parenthetical and therefore non-essential, however, Rogers in effect made the “unless . . .” clause apply to the first five-year term as well as to any subsequent term. That one misplaced comma thus gave Bell Aliant the right to cancel at any time.

Citing this parenthetical comma rule, the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled in favor of Bell Aliant at Rogers’s expense (Austen, 2006) . The CRTC later reversed its ruling when Rogers invoked the less ambiguous French version of the contract to force Aliant to return to its contractual obligations. Still, Rogers ultimately paid heavily for un-recouped losses during the contract’s cancellation and in legal fees throughout the contract dispute, which dragged out till 2009 (Bowal & Layton, 2014) . You can bet Rogers pays people to ensure its contracts are punctuated unambiguously now.

Look for words, phrases, or clauses that could be deleted from a sentence without making it grammatically incomplete. Add commas if none mark off the parenthetical word, phrase, or clause or if the first is there but not the second (or vice versa) in the case of parenthetical elements ending a sentence.

Emphasizing your spoken points with gesticulation which may sound like a dirty word can certainly help your audience understand them better.

Emphasizing your spoken points with gesticulation , which may sound like a dirty word, can certainly help your audience understand them better.

Here, the non-essential parenthetical relative clause beginning with the non-restrictive relative pronoun “which” and ending with “word,” could be deleted from the sentence and leave it grammatically complete. However, as an interjection, it clarifies the word that precedes it (“gesticulation”), and therefore has a place in the sentence, albeit one set apart from the rest.

Let’s start cooking Grandpa!

Let’s start cooking , Grandpa!

Here, the comma is crucial in signaling that Grandpa is being addressed. Without the comma, the sentence recommends preparing Grandpa to be cooked and presumably eaten, which is hopefully not the intended meaning.

Comma Rule 3.2: Put a comma before contrasting coordinate elements, end-of-sentence shifts, and omitted repetitions.

Put commas before end-of-sentence:

• Questions that seek confirmation of the main-clause point by asking the opposite
• Phrases that begin with not and state what the main-clause point seeks to correct
• Coordinate elements that contrast or further extend the main-clause point

This presentation seems like it’s gone on for days , doesn’t it?

Why it’s correct: The comma marks off the question added to the end of the sentence to ask whether the opposite of the main-clause point is true as a way of seeking agreement with it.

Please send the document to Accounts Receivable , not Payable .

Why it’s correct: The comma marks off the contrasting element added to the end, abbreviating the clause “do not send the document to Accounts Payable,” which has the exact structure of the main clause but shows only the words that differ from the main-clause wording rather than repeating most of it to make a compound sentence.

The potential we envision for AI is that it will at best bring a world of convenience and leisure , at worst total annihilation.

Why it’s correct: The comma marks off the clause that states the complementary contrast to the first statement by omitting the repeated relative clause root “it will . . . bring.”

The president’s statement to the media seemed incoherent , even demented.

Why it’s correct: The comma marks off the clause that extends the main clause statement assuming the same root structure.

The comma cues the reader to pause before the sentence shifts to contrasting elements, as well as to indicate that some phrasing from the first part of the sentence is being assumed rather than repeated in the second.

Look for run-on-like gaps where no punctuation separates the main clause from questions or contrasting phrases tacked on to the end of a sentence, and add the comma.

This is a great time to be alive isn’t it?

This is a great time to be alive , isn’t it?

Here, the main clause ends with “alive,” and the follow-up recasting of the statement as an interrogative sentence (“isn’t this the best time to be alive?”) abbreviated as “isn’t it?” forms a run-on without any punctuation separating it from the main clause. The comma added between the clauses represents the words that were omitted to avoid repetition.

Comma Rule 3.3: Put a comma before sentence-ending free-modifier phrases that describe elements at the beginning or middle of sentences.

Put commas before phrases that appear at the end of a sentence but modify (describe) actions or things at the sentence’s beginning or middle. As long as such phrases don’t cause confusion with their ambiguity, they are free to either follow the noun they modify or appear at the end.

The MC desperately cued for applause , clapping aggressively .

Why it’s correct: The comma marks off the sentence-ending participial phrase starting with the present participle “clapping,” which describes the action “cued” in the middle of the sentence.

The comma signals to the reader that the phrase ending the sentence refers to something that came earlier in the sentence. Without a comma, the phrase would describe what came immediately before it.

Look for phrases (especially participial phrases—words ending in -ing) at the end of sentences without commas preceding them but not making sense. If they indeed have commas preceding them but the participle could refer to more than one thing in the main clause, resolve the ambiguity by moving the phrase closer to the thing it modifies.

The bellhop held out his hand for a gratuity smiling obsequiously.

The bellhop held out his hand for a gratuity , smiling obsequiously.

Here, the omitted comma makes it seem like the gratuity is smiling obsequiously, which doesn’t make sense. Adding the comma before “smiling” makes it clear that the bellhop mentioned earlier in the sentence is the one smiling.

The MC invited the plenary speaker to the stage , bowing graciously.

Bowing graciously , the MC invited the plenary speaker to the stage.

The participial phrase is ambiguous when placed at the end of the sentence because it’s unclear whether the MC or plenary speaker is bowing graciously. Moving the participial phrase to the beginning so that it is in appositive relation to the noun it modifies clarifies the sentence to say that the MC is bowing.

Comma Rule 3.4: Put commas around higher levels of organization in dates, places, addresses, names, and numbers.

Put commas around the:

• Year when preceded by a month and date
• Date when preceded by a day of the week
• Larger geographical region (e.g., province, state, country, etc.) when preceded by a smaller one (e.g., city or town) in a sentence or long address line
• Title or credential (e.g., ND, MD, PhD) following a name
• Groups of thousands in large numbers

The release date of April 14 , 2019, will be honored if there are no delays.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the year as parenthetical in the three-part date to ensure that there is no ambiguity about which April 14 (2018? 2020?) is intended.

We agreed to continue our meeting on Thursday , January 28, to cover the agenda items we didn’t get to on Monday.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the calendar date as parenthetical after the day of the week to ensure that there is no ambiguity about which Thursday is intended.

Gord Downie was born in Amherstview , Ontario, to a traveling salesman father and stay-at-home mother.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the province as parenthetical after the smaller town to ensure that there is no ambiguity about which town is intended, assuming other towns in other provinces may share the same name.

Bowie was born David Robert Jones in London , England, on 8 January 1947.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the country as parenthetical after the city within it to ensure that there is no ambiguity about which city is intended (i.e., not the one in Ontario, Canada).

Send your inquiries to 1385 Woodroffe Avenue , Ottawa, ON K26 1V8.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the larger geographical region in which the street is situated.

Please welcome Daria Rimini , RN, to the department.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the person’s credentials as non-essential to her name rather than initials in her name.

Send your inquiries to Albert Irwin , Jr., at the email address below.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the generational tag following the name.

You can always trust old George Wilson , Professor of English, to make a mountain of a molehill.

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off the individual’s professional title following their name.

The awards for damages ranged anywhere from a token $4,882 to a whopping $13,945,718 .

Why it’s correct: The commas mark off every group of thousand (three digits) to help the reader quickly recognize the magnitude of the number without counting the number of digits.

Exceptions: Don’t surround a year with commas if it follows only a month; use them only around years following a month and date. Also, drop the second comma if the larger geographical region is possessive in form.

Recording began in November 2005 and continued to February 2006.

Why it’s correct: Commas are unnecessary in general two-part dates.

The charm of London , Ontario’s street buskers almost rivals that of its UK namesake.

Why it’s correct: A comma following the possessive form of the larger geographical region would look even more awkward than this. Of course, the sentence could be reworded as “The street buskers’ charm in London, Ontario, almost . . . .”

The commas tell the reader to pause a little within a detailed series of time, geographical, or name designations when adding a higher order of organization just as commas were used as light alternatives to parentheses in Comma Rule 3.1.

Look for years added to three-part dates, larger geographical regions added after cities and towns, or credentials added after names with either no comma added on either side of that year, region, or credential or added only before it but not after. Add both or the second comma. If the date only has the month and year, but a comma or two surrounds the date, delete commas.

We can probably fit you in for the procedure on Tuesday December 12.

We can probably fit you in for the procedure on Tuesday , December 12 .

Here, the month and date follow the day of the week without a comma. Just add one between them.

They moved the release date to March 14 , 2020 to allow enough time for post-production.

They moved the release date to March 14 , 2020 , to allow enough time for post-production.

Here, the year gets the first of its two parenthetical commas but not the second, so just add one after the year.

The company was founded in July , 1978 , to address an urgent need.

The company was founded in July 1978 to address an urgent need.

The commas around the year are unnecessary because it’s only a two-part date. Just delete them.

Comma Rule 3.5: Put a comma between a signal phrase and a quotation.

Put commas between signal phrases and the quotations they introduce when the signal phrases end with a verb that gives rise to the quoted words or thoughts.

The chair of the meeting shouted , “We cannot proceed unless we have order.”

Why it’s correct: A comma separates the signal phrase ending with a verb from the quotation it introduces.

“Stay the course,” the supervisor advised, “and you shall soon find success.”

Why it’s correct: The parenthetical commas mark off the signal phrase interjected between quoted clauses.

You could tell she was thinking, “Is this guy for real?”

Why it’s correct: A comma separates the signal phrase ending with a verb from the quotation it introduces even if the quotation is merely thought rather than said.

Exception: A comma is unnecessary if the signal phrase ends with the restrictive relative pronoun that or the quotation is a phrase incorporated into the sentence rather than a sentence or clause on its own.

The customer service rep said that “The offer expired on August 23, not the 24th” and they have a “no exceptions” policy due to the perishable nature of the product.

Why it’s correct: The signal phrase ends with the restrictive relative pronoun that , which a comma doesn’t follow but could replace, and “no exceptions” is a phrase rather than a clause or sentence.

The customer service representative confirmed “August 23, not the 24” was the expiration date.

Why it’s correct: No comma follows the signal phrase because the quotation is just a phrase excerpt rather than a clause or sentence.

The comma cues the reader to pause as it abbreviates the relative pronoun that , which makes the comma unnecessary if it’s included.

Look for missing commas around quotations and add them between the signal phrase ending with a verb and the quotation, or look for unnecessary commas that split a sentence unnaturally, such as going before or after the that that precedes a quotation if present, and delete them.

The authorization said “Go for it.”

The authorization said , “Go for it.”

Here, the signal phrase omits a comma between the main verb and the quotation, so adding one corrects the error.

The current contract says clearly that , “overtime is time and a half.”

The current contract says clearly that “overtime is time and a half.”

Here, a comma unnecessarily follows the relative pronoun that , perhaps because the writer thought that a comma should always precede the quotation. You could either delete the comma or “that,” but not both.

Comma Rule 3.6: Don’t put commas around restrictive relative clauses (before that ).

Don’t put a comma before a restrictive relative clause (e.g., beginning with the relative pronoun who or that ) following a main clause.

The stocks that we all thought were going to offer the best returns are doing the worst.

Why it’s correct: No commas surround the restrictive clause from “that” to “returns,” which is somewhat parenthetical in that the sentence could grammatically function without it (“The stocks are doing the worst”). However, this would be misleading because it implies that all the stocks are failing expectations, whereas the sentence focuses on only a subset. The vagueness resulting from omitting the restrictive clause proves that it is essential to the sentence’s clarity.

The students who presented first set the bar high for those who followed.

Why it’s correct: No commas surround the restrictive clause from “who” to “first.” The clause is restrictive because it specifies a small group of students. Adding commas around the clause would make it non-restrictive (see Comma Rule 3.1 above) and would change the meaning of the sentence: it would mean that all the students presented first.

She didn’t say that we couldn’t work together.

Why it’s correct: No comma precedes the restrictive clause beginning with “that.”

The absence of the comma tells the reader that the relative clause starting with the relative pronoun that or who is essential to the meaning of the sentence and should be read smoothly without pauses around it.

Look for commas preceding that or who and determine whether the meaning of the sentence would be significantly changed if you deleted the restrictive relative clause. If it would be, delete the commas.

You don’t have to cite common-knowledge facts , that every source you can find agrees on.

You don’t have to cite common-knowledge facts that every source you can find agrees on.

Here, the restrictive relative clause beginning with that is essential to the meaning because it clarifies what kind of facts are common knowledge. It is not interchangeable with the non-restrictive relative clause beginning with which , which requires a comma before it because it is non-essential (see Comma Rule 3.1 above). In the UK, writers often use “which” instead of “that” even in non-restrictive relative clauses without the comma preceding them. In North America, however, we distinguish the relative clause types by using a comma and which for non-restrictive clauses and that without a comma for restrictive clauses.

The students , who were caught plagiarizing , were each given a zero, whereas the rest did quite well.

The students who were caught plagiarizing were each given a zero, whereas the rest did quite well.

Here, the commas in the incorrect sentence say that all students were caught plagiarizing. Deleting the commas to make “who were caught plagiarizing” a restrictive relative clause brings the sentence back to the intended meaning, which is that a subset of students were caught plagiarizing and the rest did well.

Comma Rule 3.7: Don’t put commas between subjects and their predicates.

Don’t put a comma between a clause’s subject (even if it’s a long one) and predicate (the main verb action) if there are no parenthetical elements between them.

Participants who quit smoking because of the new treatment option were twice as likely to remain smoke-free as those who quit cold turkey.

Why it’s correct: No comma separates the subject “Participants who . . . option” from the predicate “were . . . turkey” even though the subject is quite long at ten words.

Exception: Adding a pair of commas between the subject and predicate is acceptable when they are divided by an interjection. See the fourth and fifth correct examples illustrating Comma Rule 3.1.

The absence of the comma tells the reader to read smoothly across the subject and predicate because they are the integral parts of a unified clause even if the subject is long.

Look for commas that separate the subject from the predicate when there are no parenthetical words or phrases, or non-restrictive clauses, separating them. For this, you must know how to spot the main-clause subject and predicate and delete any stray commas that come between them.

All the businesses that benefited from the new regulatory environment following the passing of Bill 134, have given back to their community.

All the business that benefited from the new regulatory environment following the passing of Bill 134 have given back to their community.

The subject of the above sentence is a long one because, following the core noun “businesses,” it contains a restrictive relative clause beginning with that , which contains prepositional phrases (“from the new . . .” and “of Bill 134”) and a participial phrase (“following . . .”). None of these length-extending units change the fact that there is no legitimate parenthetical interjection requiring commas between the subject and the predicate that begins with “have given.” The easy fix is just to delete the comma.

Comma Rule 4.1: Put commas between each item in a series, including the last two items.

Put commas between each item in a series, including before the and or or that separates the second-to-last (a.k.a. penultimate) and last items, whether those items be words, phrases, or even clauses in a series.

NASA sent the space shuttles Columbia , Challenger , Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour on 135 orbital missions from 1982 to 2011.

Why it’s correct: A comma follows each noun in a series up to the penultimate one before the and joining the last two.

I gave them the option of either researching the content , preparing the PowerPoint , or doing the actual presentation.

Why it’s correct: A comma follows each participial phrase in a series up to the penultimate one before the or joining the last two.

The presenters rehearsed before Week 5 , during Reading Week , and again after Week 7.

Why it’s correct: A comma follows each prepositional phrase in a series up to the penultimate one before the and joining the last two.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards set the stage for other singer-guitarist power duos like Robert Plant and Jimmy Page , Freddie Mercury and Brian May , Steven Tyler and Joe Perry , Axl Rose and Slash, and Anthony Kiedis and John Frusciante.

Why it’s correct: A comma follows each compound noun phrase in a series up to the penultimate one before the and joining the last two pairs.

I can’t stand comma splices , you have no patience for run-ons , and she won’t tolerate sentence fragments.

Why it’s correct: In a compound sentence containing three independent clauses, a comma follows each clause up to the penultimate one before the and joining the last two.

The serial commas help separate each item in the series, and the one that comes before the coordinating conjunction and that joins the last two items (a.k.a. the “Oxford comma”) helps resolve various ambiguities that may arise without it (see some below). The question of whether to use the Oxford comma has been a long-running debate. Some style guides, such as the Canadian Press and Associated Press, and even institutions like Algonquin College recommend omitting it because they advocate for as few commas as possible. However, they say nothing about situations where omitting the Oxford comma creates unavoidable ambiguity—that is, two interpretations that mean two very different things. The anti-Oxford comma side even has an anthem in the Grammy-winning indie band Vampire Weekend’s 2008 debut-album single “Oxford Comma,” which opens with the lyric “Who gives a f**k about the Oxford comma?”

However, grammarians, readers, and writers who care about clarity in writing, and even the plaintiffs awarded $5 million in a US civil suit (as well as the defendants paying the price), certainly care about the Oxford comma. The significant confusion and even conflict that results from its absence in clutch situations justifies its inclusion in all. For instance:

• In a 2017–2018 civil case that went nearly as far as the US Supreme Court, Oakhurst Dairy of Portland, Maine, was ordered to pay its delivery drivers $5 million due to the ambiguity caused by an omitted Oxford comma in state law. The law was soon amended to separate the last two items in a list of overtime pay exemptions to resolve the ambiguity (Victor, 2018) .
• The inclusion or omission of the Oxford comma leads to two entirely different interpretations when names are listed. If you were to say, for instance, that you and two others must go to court, you would say, “Beth, Ian, and I must go to court.” Without the Oxford comma, however, you would be addressing Beth (who now isn’t going to court) to tell her that just you and Ian are going: “Beth, Ian and I must go to court,” which is not what you originally meant.
• Appositive relations between items in a series also create ambiguities when omitting the Oxford comma. If an actor winning a big award in front of a national audience were to say, “I would like to thank my parents, God and Buffy Sainte-Marie,” the absence of an Oxford comma makes “God and Buffy Sainte-Marie” appear to be an appositive noun phrase modifying “parents”—that is, she would imply that her parents are God and Buffy Sainte-Marie. By using the Oxford comma, she avoids this absurdity by thanking three entities: her parents, God, and Buffy Sainte-Marie—as intended.
• Omitting the Oxford comma is especially confusing if the items listed are a combination of paired and single items. If the list of pairs in the fourth correct example above omitted the Oxford comma, it would end with the absurdity of having the last four items appearing as singles with “and” awkwardly separating each: “. . . Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Axl Rose and Slash and Anthony Kiedis and John Frusciante.” Knowing the context of these pairings would help resolve the ambiguity, but if you were reading a list of unknown mixed single and paired items, you wouldn’t know which was a single and which was a pair near the end without the Oxford comma. A list such as “A, B and C, D, E and F, G, H, I, J and K and L” would be ambiguous because you wouldn’t know if the last three items paired J with K (and L is single) or K with L (and J is single).

If the Oxford comma is necessary to avoid ambiguity in such cases, it should be used as a rule in all cases. Writers shouldn’t have to make a subjective judgment call about whether the reader would find it ambiguous with or without the Oxford comma because some readers are more astute than others. Except perhaps in titles where brevity is highly valued and no ambiguities of the kind listed above can confuse the reader, the Oxford comma should always be used.

Look for a list of three or more words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence. If you don’t see a comma before the and that separates the last two items, add one there.

Our group is full of non-contributors, my friend and me.

Our group is full of non-contributors , my friend , and me.

Omitting the Oxford comma in the incorrect example above suggests that you and your friend are non-contributors because “my friend and me” are in appositive relation to “non-contributors.” Though you did not mean to say this, you are in effect offering yourself and your friend as particular examples of non-contributors. By adding the Oxford comma, however, you now say that the group is comprised of you, your friend, and some non-contributors. With the Oxford comma, you and your friend are productive members rather than non-contributors despite being grouped with them.

Comma Rule 4.2: Put commas between two or more coordinate adjectives.

Put commas between two or more coordinate adjectives that refer to the same noun. Coordinate adjectives are those stacked in front of a noun in no particular order to describe the noun in multiple ways. You can tell that they’re coordinate adjectives if you can (1) change their order and (2) add and between each without changing the meaning either way.

The new hires turned out to be dedicated , ambitious employees.

Why it’s correct: Both adjectives, “dedicated” and “ambitious,” describe the noun “employees” in no particular order, and you can replace the comma with an and to make “. . . dedicated and ambitious employees.”

Would you like a nice , new , clean , dry diaper?

Why it’s correct: All four coordinate adjectives describe the noun “diaper” in no particular order.

The incessant, thunderous drum beat changed the rhythm of their hearts.

Why it’s correct: The comma goes between “incessant” and “thunderous” because they are coordinate. The comma doesn’t go between “thunderous” and “drum” because they are non-coordinate in that you can’t change their order and add and between them without changing the meaning.

Use SMS for brief , fast text message exchanges.

Why it’s correct: The comma goes between “brief” and “fast” because they are coordinate. The comma doesn’t go after “fast,” “text,” or “message” because they are non-coordinate in that you can’t change their order and add and between them without changing the meaning.

The commas distinguish coordinate from non-coordinate adjectives and therefore what adjectives are incidental and which are intrinsic qualities of the noun they describe. For more, see Comma Tip 6: Use Commas Correctly with a Series of Adjectives (Simmons, 2018a).

Look for a series of two or more adjectives preceding a noun without commas between them. If you can put and between them and change their order without changing the meaning of the sentence, they’re coordinate adjectives that need commas between them.

The day started off with a vicious unrelenting freezing rain.

The day started off with a vicious, unrelenting freezing rain.

The only adjectives that could be swapped around and have and added between them are “vicious” and “unrelenting.” The adjective “freezing” is locked in its position before the noun “rain” to mean the type of rain that makes the outside one huge ice rink. Therefore, you need to add a comma between “vicious” and “unrelenting,” but not between “unrelenting” and “freezing.”

Comma Rule 4.3: Don’t put a comma after the final coordinate adjective.

Don’t put a comma after the second of two (or third of three, etc.) coordinate adjectives—i.e., between the final coordinate adjective and the noun it describes. See Comma Rule 4.2 above for a further explanation of coordinate vs. non-coordinate adjectives.

Look for coordinate adjectives preceding a noun with commas between them. If you can put and between them and change their order without changing the meaning of the sentence, they’re coordinate adjectives that need commas between them.

Select and use common, basic, information technology tools to support communication.

Select and use common, basic information technology tools to support communication.

The only adjectives that could be swapped around and have and added between them are “common” and “basic.” In this case, “information technology” (a.k.a. “IT”) is a noun phrase that modifies the noun “tools,” so their order is locked in, making them non-coordinate.

Comma Rule 4.4: Don’t put a comma between non-coordinate adjectives.

Don’t put commas between non-coordinate adjectives—that is, between adjectives that are in a fixed order before the noun they modify and cannot have and added between them without changing the meaning of the sentence. See Comma Rule 4.2 above for a further explanation of coordinate vs. non-coordinate adjectives.

Look for coordinate adjectives preceding a noun with commas between them. If you can’t put and between them and change their order without changing the meaning of the sentence, they’re non-coordinate adjectives. Any commas between them must be deleted.

Send the black , Pearl , drum kit to the heavy , metal drummer.

Send the black Pearl drum kit to the heavy metal drummer.

The order is important in the first set of non-coordinate adjectives describing the noun “kit” because the type of kit we’re dealing with is a drum kit, so “drum” must come immediately before “kit.” The brand of drum kit is Pearl (capitalized because it is a proper noun), so “Pearl” precedes “drum kit.” The only adjective preceding these non-coordinate adjectives is “black,” but it is unaccompanied by another to make it a coordinate adjective, so there are no commas. Likewise, inserting a comma between “heavy” and “metal” splits the musical genre “heavy metal” serving as a non-coordinate adjective to “drummer,” so it misleadingly implies that the drummer is a 400 kg lead statue.

Comma Rule 4.5: Don’t put commas between two coordinate nouns or verbs.

Don’t put commas between two nouns (or noun phrases) or verbs (or verb phrases) joined by the coordinating conjunction and in a compound subject, predicate, or object.

Look for commas appearing before or after the coordinating conjunction and when it comes between nouns (or noun phrases) or verbs (or verb phrases), then delete them.

The communications director from your company , and the same from our company met to discuss a common strategy.

The communications director from your company and the same from our company met to discuss a common strategy.

The above sentence features a compound subject , meaning that two subjects (the two communications directors) perform the main action (“met”). Though each is followed by a prepositional phrase (“from . . .”), the comma between them must be deleted in the incorrect sentence to avoid impeding the reader.

They applied for an extension , and worked all weekend on the report.

They applied for an extension and worked all weekend on the report.

The sentence above has a compound predicate , meaning that the one subject (“They”) performed two actions (“applied” and “worked”). Again, the comma is unnecessary between them and must be deleted from the incorrect sentence. The comma would be necessary if the second verb had a different subject performing the action, in which case they would be two independent clauses in a compound sentence (see Table 4.3.2b and Comma Rule 1.1).

They can’t expect us to write both the report and memo , and not pay us.

They can’t expect us to write both the report and memo but not pay us.

The above sentence also has a compound predicate (“can’t expect” and “not pay”). Adding a comma makes this out to be a compound sentence, which it isn’t because the subject “They” is common to both actions. To avoid an “X and Y and Z” structure caused by having a compound object (“report and memo”) appearing just before the conjunction coordinating the second verb, the “and” joining the two verb phrases can simply be changed to “but.”

The teacher gave us a new deadline based on the revised schedule , and a slightly revised end-of-semester timeline.

The teacher gave us a new deadline based on the revised schedule and a slightly revised end-of-semester timeline.

The above sentences have a compound object , meaning that two objects (“deadline” and “timeline”) are acted upon by the verb “gave.” The objects here are in somewhat long noun phrases, but to add a comma between them (after “schedule”) would mislead the reader into thinking that this is a compound sentence with a new independent clause following “and.” Deleting the comma would ensure that the reader understands the sentence instead as a simple sentence with a compound object.

For more on commas, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide’s Comma page (Penn, 2011a)
• The Grammar Book’s Commas page and its Commas Quiz 1 and Commas Quiz 2 (Straus, 2018a)

5.3.2: Apostrophes

Apostrophes are mainly used to indicate possession and contraction but are probably the most misplaced punctuation mark after commas. They can embarrass the writer who misuses them, show a lack of attention to detail, and confuse readers about whether a noun is singular or plural, possessive, a contraction, or just a misspelling. Used properly, apostrophes at the end of a noun cue readers that the noun following is possessed by what the noun preceding refers to. For instance, in “Uncle Tom’s cabin,” the apostrophe indicates that the cabin (noun) is owned by Uncle Tom. Placement of apostrophes before or after the s ending a word determines if the noun is plural or singular. They’re also used for contractions in informal writing such as you see at the beginning of this sentence. You have four main rules to follow when using apostrophes, as well as several special cases.

Quick Rules: Apostrophes

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common apostrophe errors associated with each one.

Apostrophe Rule 1.1: Put an apostrophe before the s ending a singular possessive noun.

Put an apostrophe before the s added to the end of a singular noun when the noun or noun phrase following belongs to the noun preceding it. In the case of joint ownership in compound nouns (when two or more nouns have joint possession of the noun following), the apostrophe- s goes only at the end of the second or final noun.

Have you heard the story of Albert Einstein’s brain?

Why it’s correct: The brain belongs to Einstein (singular), so the apostrophe and s indicate possession.

Grace Jones’s formidable presence in 1985’s A View to a Kill electrified audiences.

Why it’s correct: The “formidable presence” belongs to Grace Jones. Though her name ends with an s , she is grammatically singular and therefore receives an apostrophe and s just like any other singular noun. The apostrophe and s are also added to the end of years to indicate that the noun following (in this case a James Bond film) occurred in that year.

I’ve always heeded my brother-in-law’s financial advice.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe and s are added to the end of a compound noun.

Reznor and Ross’s first soundtrack won a 2010 Oscar for Best Original Score.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe and s are added to the end of the final noun in cases of joint possession. Saying “Reznor’s and Ross’s first soundtrack” would refer to solo soundtracks by each.

The apostrophe before the s signals to the reader that the preceding singular noun is in possession of the noun or noun phrase following. To test whether you are dealing with a case of possession, you can flip the order and insert “of the” between the nouns or noun phrases. In the first example above where the brain belongs to Einstein, for instance, “the brain of Einstein” is a wordier equivalent of “Einstein’s brain” but confirms possession.

Look for s added to the end of words when your intention is to show possession but you’ve omitted the apostrophe, making the word look like a simple plural. Add the apostrophe. Also, in cases where an apostrophe is added to the very end of a singular noun that ends in s to show possession (see the second correct example above), add another s rather than imply that the singular noun is plural.

Mr. Davis’ companies proposals request is for a 33% funding increase.

Mr. Davis’s company’s proposal’s request is for a 33% funding increase.

The incorrect sentence above contains three apostrophe errors:

• The company belongs to Mr. Davis, who is just one person and is therefore grammatically singular despite having a name ending in s . Perhaps the writer heard that you can’t have an “s’s” due to pronunciation concerns, but usually we pronounce this Day-viss-ez to indicate possession. Thrown by this and confusing the singular and plural possessive forms, the writer who omits the s may cause the same confusion can avoid doing so by adding it.
• The proposal belongs to the company, but the apostrophe is omitted and the plural form of company (“companies”) is given instead of “company’s.” The error is likely due to the fact that the plural noun and singular possessive noun forms are homophones —they sound exactly alike but are spelled differently and mean different things (see homophone.com for several examples of such homophones). Correcting this is a simple matter of replacing “ies” with “y’s” at the end of the word.
• Finally, the request is in the proposal and thus belongs to it. Omitting the apostrophe makes the plural noun “proposals,” and fixing it is just a matter of adding the apostrophe before the final s .

Apostrophe Rule 2.1: Put an apostrophe after the s ending a plural possessive noun.

Put an apostrophe after the s at the end of a plural noun (a noun of two or more people, places, or things) when the noun or noun phrase following belongs to it.

The two companies’ merger was finalized last month.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe goes at the end of the plural noun “companies” to indicate that the noun following (“merger”) belonged to both.

The Joneses’ family tradition includes rescuing ancient artifacts from dastardly villains.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe is added to the end of “Joneses,” the plural of the surname “Jones,” meaning each individual Jones family member is in joint possession of the noun phrase following (“family tradition”).

I listed having had three years’ experience in C++ coding on my résumé.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe comes at the end of the plural “years” to indicate that the noun following happened in those years. This is a more concise alternative to saying “three years of experience.”

Exception: When the plural form of the noun is irregular in that it doesn’t end in s (e.g., “feet,” “children,” “men,” “mice,” “teeth”), use the singular possessive apostrophe-s.

Can you please point me to the men’s room?

Why it’s correct: The singular possessive apostrophe-s form is added to the end of an irregular plural noun that doesn’t end in s to indicate possession.

The apostrophe after the s tells the reader to read the noun as being a plural in possession of the noun or noun phrase following, as opposed to the apostrophe before the s signaling a singular possessive.

Look for plural words that end in s being in possession of the noun following without an apostrophe at the end or the apostrophe added before the s . Either add the apostrophe to the end of the word or move it there.

We’ve been granted two months grace.

We’ve been granted two month’s grace.

We’ve been granted two months’ grace.

Here, the grace period belongs to the two months (plural), so omitting the apostrophe is incorrect because it leaves “months” as a simple plural. The apostrophe-s ending is also incorrect because it makes “month” singular, which disagrees with the “two” preceding. To correct these errors, the apostrophe must go after the s at the end of “months.”

Apostrophe Rule 2.2: Don’t put an apostrophe before the s ending a non-possessive plural decade

Don’t put an apostrophe between the 0 and s when writing a plural decade that’s not possessive (e.g., 1990s). Put an apostrophe at the end only if the decade is in possession of the noun or noun phrase following.

The 1980s’ main contribution to popular music was excessive cheesy synthesizers.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe follows the plural decade (meaning everything that happened from January 1, 1981, to December 31, 1990) to show possession of the noun phrase “main contribution.” You could also say, “The main contribution of the 1980s to popular music was . . . .”

1980’s Academy Award for Best Picture went to Ordinary People .

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe precedes the s to mean that the event following happened in the year 1980.

How This Helps the Reader:

The apostrophe after the s signals to the reader that the noun or noun phrase following happened in the decade given. Some mistakenly put an apostrophe between the 0 and s when referring to the simple plural of a decade (e.g., 1990’s), but this conflicts with the singular possessive form of the year (see the “1980’s” example above). If the decade were also possessive, “1990’s’” (with two apostrophes—one before and one after the s ) would look awkward. The non-possessive apostrophe between the 0 and s is probably confusing the rule that places the contraction apostrophe before the last two digits of the year or decade (see the third example in Apostrophe Rule 3 below).

Look for an apostrophe-s added to the end of a decade and delete the apostrophe if the decade (or year at the beginning of the decade) isn’t in possession of the following noun or noun phrase.

The 1990’s were a colorful decade in men’s fashion.

The 1990s were a colorful decade in men’s fashion.

The ’90s were a colorful decade in men’s fashion.

In the incorrect sentence above, “1990’s” is the singular possessive form of “1990,” meaning something belonging to the year 1990 should follow it rather than a verb. Perhaps the writer confused “1990’s” with the contraction “’90s.” The apostrophe before the s must be deleted to make the simple plural “1990s,” meaning all the years from 1991 to 2000 inclusive.

Apostrophe Rule 3: Put an apostrophe where letters are omitted in contractions.

Put an apostrophe wherever letters and characters (including spaces) have been omitted in contractions. Contractions are two (sometimes more) words combined into one word to represent the way they’re often said quickly as one word in informal speech. In the examples below, the contractions would be incorrect if formal writing were expected by the audience but are correct as informal writing.

There’s going to be a huge reckoning when markets adjust, and it won’t be pretty.

Why it’s correct: The first apostrophes replace the omitted i in “There is” and the second for the o in “will not.”

I woudn’t’ve have said that if I knew you were sensitive about your nose.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophes replace the omitted o and a in the three-word phrase “would not have” contracted into one word.

She’s been bangin’ out hit records since the ’70s .

Why it’s correct: The apostrophes replace the omitted space and ha in “She has,” final g in “banging,” and 19 in “1970s.”

It’s a pretty bad cold, sure, but ’sbeen a while and ’tis the season, as they say.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophes replace the omitted space and i in the contraction for “It is,” it ha in “it has been,” and first i in “it is.”

Exceptions: Many contractions at the far end of informality typically omit even contractions.

I’m gonna get me a cold beer when this shift’s over.

Why it’s correct: The first apostrophe replaces the omitted space and a in “I am,” and the second replaces the space and i in “shift is.” As a convention in the writing of gonna as a contraction of “going to,” apostrophes aren’t used to replace the omitted i, g, t, and o .

The apostrophe replaces omitted letters in contractions and thus signals informal writing meant to represent the way we speak words informally, though they would be unacceptable in formal writing. Some common contractions that often confuse readers because they are homophones with other words include:

Table 5.3.2: Commonly Confused or Misspelled Contractions

For a more exhaustive set, see the List of English contractions (Wikipedia, 2018).

Look for the absence of apostrophes in contractions and add them. Your spellchecker will help catch these in most cases (see Figure 5.1.4.8 above), but you must be especially careful in seeking them out if your spellchecker has any difficulty. Ensure also that you always use the form of apostrophe that looks like a small superscript “9,” not “6” (the opening of single quotation marks; see Quotation Marks Rule 2) especially when placed at the beginning of words or numbers.

Its not like there gone to kick us out if im late and your hammered.

It’s not like they’re gonna kick me out if I’m late and you’re hammered.

The many errors in the incorrect sentence can be corrected in the following ways:

• It’s (for “it is”) is meant rather than the third-person possessive pronoun Its
• they’re (for “they are”) is meant rather than the pronoun there
• gonna (for “going to”) is meant rather than “gone to”
• I’m (for “I am”) is meant rather than “im”
• you’re is meant rather than the possessive pronoun “your”

I cant imagine life without ‘70’s rock ‘n roll.

I can’t imagine life without ’70s rock n’ roll.

The errors in the incorrect sentence can be corrected in the following ways:

• can’t (for “cannot”) is meant rather than cant , meaning “slang.”
• ’70s (for 1970s with the apostrophe like a superscript “9”) is meant rather than the opening single quotation mark (like a superscript “6”); the trick to getting the correct direction of apostrophe is to type any letter first, then the apostrophe to orient it in the form appearing as a small superscript “9,” and then go back to delete the letter in front of it
• n’ (for “and”) is meant rather than the opening single-quotation mark (like a superscript “6”) appearing before the n ; an apostrophe replacing the a , in addition to the one for d , is seen as excessive

Apostrophe Rule 4: Put an apostrophe before a plural s following single letters.

Put an apostrophe wherever adding an s to make a simple plural would be confusing, such as pluralizing a single letter.

As my mom always said, “Mind your p’s and q’s , dot your i’s , and cross your t’s .”

Why it’s correct: The apostrophes help form the plurals of the lowercase letters when they would otherwise look confusing as “ps” and “qs” or ambiguous as “is.”

I’m aiming for straight A’s this semester.

Why it’s correct: The apostrophe helps form the plural of the uppercase letters when it would otherwise look ambiguous as “As.”

The apostrophe helps the reader see these as plural forms of letters rather than as misspellings or typos.

In the rare case of using a plural form of a letter, separate the letter and its s with an apostrophe if you have omitted it.

You need to practice rolling your rs if you want to nail the Italian accent.

You need to practice rolling your r’s if you want to nail the Italian accent.

In the example above, omitting the apostrophe makes the plural of the letter r appear as a typo.

For more on apostrophes, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide’s Apostrophe page (Penn, 2011b)
• The Grammar Book’s Apostrophes page and its Apostrophes Quiz 1 and Apostrophes Quiz 2 (Straus, 2014a)

5.3.3: Colons

Quick Rules: Colons

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common colon errors associated with each one.

Colon Rule 1.1: Put a colon at the end of a clause or phrase introducing a list.

Put a colon after a clause or phrase that introduces a list formatted either as a series separated by commas in the sentence or a bulleted or numbered stack down the page.

We’re going to need some branded stationery: business cards for all associates, letterhead and memo templates, post-it notes, pens, and USB sticks.

Why it’s correct: The colon ends an independent clause (complete with a subject and predicate) that introduces a list arranged within the sentence.

To find the date of a web page that doesn’t otherwise have one:

• Type “inurl:” into the Google Search field, then copy and paste the URL of the web page whose date you’re looking for immediately after it
• Hit Enter and add “&as_qdr=y15” to the end of the search result URL in the address bar above the results page, which should show the title of the web page whose date you’re looking for, but without the date yet
• Hit Enter again and you’ll see the date appear in gray font below the web page title in the updated results list

Why it’s correct: The colon ends an infinitive phrase that, as a dependent clause, is completed by each imperative sentence in the numbered list of procedural steps arranged down the page.

The colon cues the reader to read the information following as a list of items in parallel delivering on the promise made in the clause or phrase preceding it.

Look for lists either in sentence form with each item separated by a comma or in the form of a numbered or bulleted list. If no colons separate the introductory clauses or phrases from the lists that follow, add them. If semicolons or commas introduce the lists (see Semicolon Rule 3 below), replace them with colons.

Four obstacles infuriate me on my rush to class through the hallways; inattentive people texting while walking, slow walkers, people who stop suddenly as if there’s no one behind them, and 4–5 people walking side-by-side, taking up the whole hallway.

Four obstacles infuriate me on my rush to class through the hallways: inattentive people texting while walking, slow walkers, people who stop suddenly as if there’s no one behind them, and 4–5 people walking side-by-side, taking up the whole hallway.

In the example above, the writer made the common mistake of confusing a semicolon for a colon. Fixing it is a simple matter of replacing one with the other. See the example correct sentence for Colon Rule 2.1 below for a handy mnemonic for getting the right punctuation in these cases.

Colon Rule 1.2: Put a colon at the end of an opening salutation in formal emails and letters.

Put a colon at the end of the opening salutation line where you address the recipient by name at the opening of a formal email or letter. In a semiformal email, a comma at the end of the salutation is fine. If an email is formal, however, a comma follows the greeting word (e.g., Hello ) and the colon follows the recipient’s name.

Greetings, Greta:

Why it’s correct: The colon following the semiformal email’s opening salutation cues the recipient (Greta) to read the message following it.

Dear Mrs. Jackson:

Why it’s correct: The colon following the formal letter’s opening salutation cues the recipient (Mrs. Jackson) to read the message following it.

Exception: In an informal message, a comma following the recipient’s name (but not the greeting word) strikes a more casual tone in the opening salutation.

Why it’s correct: The comma following the informal message’s opening salutation cues the recipient (Hank) to read the message following it.

The colon cues the reader to read the message following the salutation that addresses them by name.

Look for either no punctuation used at the end of an opening salutation address or other punctuation inappropriate for the occasion, such as a comma in a letter’s salutation, or incorrect, such as a semicolon.

Dear Mr. Bobrovsky,

Dear Mr. Bobrovsky;

Dear Mr. Bobrovsky:

In the first incorrect example, a comma used at the end of an opening salutation addressing the reader in a letter is too informal for the given channel. This suggests to the professional reader that the writer isn’t up to date on business letter writing conventions. Modern business writers use a colon instead of a comma. Worse, the semicolon suggests that the writer is confused about the respective roles of colons and semicolons despite having had ample opportunity to learn them throughout their English-speaking lives.

Colon Rule 2.1: Put a colon between an explanation and its introductory independent clause.

Put a colon after an independent clause followed by a statement that explains in further detail what the introductory clause states in general. An independent clause is one that can stand on its own as a sentence beginning with a capital and ending with a period because it expresses a complete thought with a subject (doer) and a predicate (action; see §4.3.1 above). This colon usually stands for the causal transition phrase “—that is, . . . .”

Imagining the colon elongating into an equals sign (=) is a useful way to remember what it does: equate information on either side of it.

Why it’s correct: The independent clause ends with a colon and the verb phrase following explains what “does” means. Since the material to the right of the colon is a verb phrase rather than a complete sentence, the e in “equate” remains lowercase.

The colon cues the reader to read the phrase or clause to the right of the colon as an explanation of what the clause to the left of it says.

Look for combination statement-explanation sentence structures with either no punctuation between them or the wrong punctuation, such as a semicolon, comma, or long dash (em dash).

You have only one option left—delete the corrupted file from your hard drive and download the last version you saved to the cloud.

You have only one option left: delete the corrupted file from your hard drive and download the last version you saved to the cloud.

In the incorrect sentence above, the writer made the common mistake of using the long dash as multipurpose punctuation for any pause you hear in speech. Fixing the sentence is a simple matter of replacing the long dash with a colon. You could alternatively add “that is,” between the long dash and “delete,” but the colon makes for a more concise sentence with two fewer words.

Colon Rule 2.2: Put a colon between a quotation and its introductory independent clause if the latter is a complete sentence.

Put a colon after an independent clause that introduces a quotation. Like the clause followed by an explanation in Colon Rule 2.1 above, it must be a complete clause that can stand on its own before the colon and quotation.

The first joke he told was a groaner of the highest order: “What did the fish say when you put him in his tank? . . . ‘Hey, how do you drive this thing?’”

Why it’s correct: The quotation is introduced by an independent clause that ends with a colon, whereas a signal phrase that ends with a verb such as “said” is followed by a comma.

The colon cues the reader to read the quotation to the right of the colon.

Look for quotations preceded by a complete independent clause. If they don’t have a colon separating them from the quotation, add one. Also, look for colons used to set up quotations when a comma is more appropriate, such as if the last word before the quotation is a verb, which would make the clause preceding the colon incomplete. In such cases, you would either replace the colon with a comma or rephrase the introductory fragment to make it an independent clause.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said: “No more monkeys jumping on the bed.”

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed.”

Mama called the doctor and the doctor gave her an ultimatum: “Look, if another one of your children falls off the bed and gets a concussion, I’ll be reporting you to the Children’s Aid Society.”

In the example above, the clause preceding the colon and quotation is a compound with a fragmentary second clause missing an object after the transitive verb “said,” whereas it would have to be a complete independent clause to use a colon. Correcting it would be a simple matter of replacing the colon with a comma (see Comma Rule 3.5 above). Alternatively, you could make the introductory clause a complete and independent one, meaning it could stand on its own as a sentence, then use a colon before the quotation.

Colon Rule 2.3: Don’t put a colon before an explanation or quotation preceded by a fragment.

Don’t put a colon before an explanation or list if the clause that precedes it is not an independent one—that is, if it cannot stand on its own as a sentence.

Look for colons ending phrases or incomplete clauses with lists or explanatory statements following and simply delete them or rephrase the incomplete clause as a complete one. The incorrect sentence at the end of Colon Rule 2.2 above exemplifies an incomplete clause preceding a quotation; below is one preceding a list:

The remaining tasks include: picking up the birthday cake, putting up the streamers, and wrapping the presents.

The remaining tasks include picking up the birthday cake, putting up the streamers, and wrapping the presents.

The following tasks remain: picking up the birthday cake, putting up the streamers, and wrapping the presents.

In the example above, the colon ends an incomplete clause—incomplete because it has a subject and only half of the predicate. The verb “include” is transitive , which means that an object (a thing acted upon by the verb) must follow it (Simmons, 2007a). The objects here are gerunds , which are verbs in noun form ending in -ing (Simmons, 2018b), and are all on the other side of the colon, so the colon can just be deleted. Alternatively, the incomplete clause can be completed by changing the subject to “The following tasks” to set up the list and changing the verb to the intransitive “remain”— intransitive because it doesn’t take an object (Simmons, 2008).

Colon Rule 3.1: Put a colon between a main title and its subtitle.

The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man.

Why it’s correct: The colon separates main title from subtitle.

The colon distinguishes what should be known as the main title of the book, film, report, assignment, etc. Often this is a catchy, snappy handle for what to call it. The subtitle usually provides a little more practical information about what the work is about.

Look for titles that have any punctuation other than colons between main titles and subtitles. Often the cover of a book positions the subtitle below the main title and in a smaller font, in which case a colon must be added when transcribing the title into a document.

Amusing Ourselves to Death / Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

In the example above, the absence of punctuation separating the main title from the subtitle on the cover may have prompted the writer to make one up by using a slash. The convention for representing main titles and subtitles, however, is to separate them with a colon.

Colon Rule 3.2: Put a colon between publisher locations and names in bibliographical references.

Toronto: ECW.

Why it’s correct: The colon separates location and publisher.

The colon is merely a convention for separating the publisher location and name. Readers like to know if the book is published in the major centers like New York or London or if they’re more local like Toronto or Vancouver.

Look for the part in bibliographical references of books where the publisher information is given. If any punctuation other than a colon separates them, replace it with a colon.

New York, Random House.

New York: Random House.

In the example above, the comma is non-standard punctuation separating the city where the book publisher is based and the name of the publisher. It must be replaced with a colon.

Colon Rule 3.3: Put a colon between numbers in ratios and times.

Put a colon between numbers in mathematical ratios and to separate hours, minutes, and seconds when indicating time.

A globe scaled 1:50,220,000 (or 790 miles to the inch) is one you can grip in the palm of your hand.

Why it’s correct: The ratio colon indicates the relative size difference between the model (given as 1 here) and the real thing, which in this case is over fifty million times bigger than the model.

Clocking in at 3:24:56, that film was three hours, twenty-four minutes, and fifty-six seconds too long.

Why it’s correct: The colons divide units of time into hours, minutes, and seconds. After seconds, decimal-periods are used for fractions of seconds.

The colon expresses mathematical relationships and the division of units between numbers in a space-efficient manner.

Look for ratios and times to ensure that a colon is being used and that there are no spaces between it and the numbers on either side.

My first marathon time was 3: 22: 15 and my second was a slower 3.26.44.

My first marathon time was 3:22:15 and my second was a slower 3:26:44.

In the example above, errors in spacing and using non-standard punctuation are easily corrected by deleting spaces between the numbers and colons in the first time written and using colons instead of periods in the second.

For more on colons, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide’s Colon page (Penn, 2011c)
• The Grammar Book’s Colons page and its Semicolons and Colons Quiz 1 and Semicolons and Colons Quiz 2 at the bottom (Straus, 2015a)

5.3.4: Semicolons

Quick Rules: Semicolons

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common semicolon errors associated with each one.

Semicolon Rule 1: Put a semicolon between related independent clauses to make a compound sentence.

Put a semicolon between independent clauses whose content is so closely related that it makes sense to keep them in the same sentence, though they have different grammatical subjects (doers of the action). An independent clause is one that can stand on its own as a complete sentence because it has a subject (doer) and predicate (action). A compound sentence joins two independent clauses either with a comma and coordinating conjunction (and, but, so, etc.; see Table 4.3.2a) or with a semicolon. Doing neither would make a run-on sentence, and using only a comma between the clauses would make a comma splice. Use a semicolon in compound sentences where none of the seven coordinating conjunctions is appropriate to use or where you need to be as concise as possible and can do without the conjunction without sacrificing clarity.

The new website is nearly ready to launch; we just need to set some SEO controls and publish it.

Why it’s correct: The semicolon joins the independent clause beginning with the subject “The new website” and the other with the subject “we.” Both could stand on their own as sentences but are closely related enough to be in the same sentence.

The semicolon helps the reader see where one clause ends and another (with a different grammatical subject) begins. It also signals that these are two closely related ideas worth joining in the same sentence.

Look for compound sentences punctuated with anything other than a semicolon (e.g., a comma, which makes a comma splice) or with no punctuation at all between them. For this you really must know sentence structure well enough to spot the grammatical subject of a main (a.k.a. independent) clause so that you can tell if a second subject begins a new independent clause within a sentence but without the necessary punctuation preceding it. Review §4.3.1 on sentence structure if you need a refresher.

We would like to see less personal cellphone use from employees during working hours, however you can of course use your cellphone in an emergency.

We would like to see less personal cellphone use from employees during working hours; however, you can of course use your cellphone in an emergency.

The incorrect sentence above is a comma splice because it uses only a comma to separate two independent clauses (see Comma Rule 1.2). The error is easier to spot if you imagine deleting the conjunctive adverb however . Replacing the comma with a semicolon and adding a comma after the conjunctive adverb easily fixes the problem.

You can put the meeting in the calendar make it so we get a notification the day before.

You can put the meeting in the calendar; make it so we get a notification the day before.

The incorrect sentence above is a run-on sentence because it contains two independent clauses without any punctuation between them. Adding a semicolon quickly makes the sentence a properly punctuated compound sentence.

Semicolon Rule 2: Put a semicolon between sub-lists in a series of lists in a sentence.

Use semicolons as “super commas” between groups of items in a long list of items arranged in a sentence.

Please send T4s to Brenda, Albert, and Joan in Accounting; Jeremy, Lorraine, and Drew in Marketing; and Jasmine, Lily, and Alphonso in Legal.

Why it’s correct: The semicolon acts as a “super comma” that separates three sub-lists of three employees each according to their respective department in an office.

The semicolon helps the reader see subgroups within a long list that would be confusing if it included and s between the two last items in each subgroup throughout.

Look for sentences that contain long lists and see if there are internal groupings that can be separated with semicolons rather than commas.

She was a kind mother, sister, and daughter, a dedicated public servant, business owner, and campaigner for progressive issues, as well as a kind soul with an insatiable curiosity, a brilliant mind, and a big heart.

She was a kind mother, sister, and daughter; a dedicated public servant, business owner, and campaigner for progressive issues; as well as a kind soul with an insatiable curiosity, a brilliant mind, and a big heart.

In the incorrect example above, the long list of items is internally organized into groups of family and professional roles, as well as personal qualities. To help the reader follow these divisions as they switch from one group to another, the semicolon acts as a “super comma.”

Semicolon Rule 3: Don’t put a semicolon where a colon should be used.

Don’t use semicolons as if they were interchangeable with colons. They are different punctuation marks performing different functions. Review the semicolon rules above and compare with §5.3.3 on uses for colons.

Look for semicolons and determine if they are being used appropriately in the manner described in the rules above or if they are actually performing the functions of colons explained and exemplified in §5.3.3 above. You can jump straight to every instance of a semicolon throughout your document by performing a word search (Ctrl + f) and just typing in a semicolon (;).

Please send notifications to the following people; your family, friends, employer(s), legal representative(s), and financial planner(s).

Please send notifications to the following people: your family, friends, employer(s), legal representative(s), and financial planner(s).

In the incorrect example above, the semicolon is being used to introduce a list of items, which is the function of a colon (see Colon Rule 1). Simply replacing the semicolon with a colon corrects the error.

• The Punctuation Guide’s Semicolon page (Penn, 2011d)
• The Grammar Book’s Semicolons page and its Semicolons and Colons Quiz 1 and Semicolons and Colons Quiz 2 at the bottom (Straus, 2014b)

5.3.5: Parentheses

Quick Rules: Parentheses

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common parentheses errors associated with each one.

Parentheses Rule 1.1: Put parentheses around qualifying interjections of lesser importance within and between sentences.

Use parentheses around interjections within a sentence where using parenthetical commas would lead to confusion. You can also use parentheses around an entire sentence that offers an aside that helps explain something said in the sentence previous. Parentheses always come in pairs: an opening parenthesis signals the beginning of an interjection of lesser importance, and a closing parenthesis signals the return to the sentence proper. When used around an entire sentence, the closing parenthesis goes after the sentence-ending period; otherwise, it goes before.

We called pest control to get our office back from the vermin (silverfish, mites, house flies, fruit flies, and spiders) that seem to have taken up residency this past year.

Why it’s correct: The parentheses mark off a list that digresses from the main point of the sentence with a series of illustrative examples. Parentheses are a better alternative to parenthetical commas because they would confuse the reader with two different types of commas: parenthetical and series.

I’ve come around in my opinion of the common house centipede. (I used to squash them at first sight.) It turns out that they’re effective pest control agents themselves.

Why it’s correct: The parentheses mark off a whole sentence as a slightly digressive aside interrupting the flow of the main point.

The parentheses guide the reader toward reading the words, phrases, and clauses surrounded by them as being of lesser importance but still offering insight into what comes immediately before them.

Look to make sure that the parentheses you use genuinely set off words, phrases, or clauses that help explain those that came before them and that the parentheses both open and close. If you use parentheses around a whole sentence, ensure that the closing parenthesis goes to the right of the period rather than to the left.

I know house centipedes, scutigera coleoptrata , are ugly, but I’m sure you would much rather have them in your home than the vermin they feed on.

I know house centipedes ( scutigera coleoptrata , are ugly, but I’m sure you would much rather have them in your home than the vermin they feed on.

I know house centipedes ( scutigera coleoptrata ) are ugly, but I’m sure you would much rather have them in your home than the vermin they feed on.

The incorrect example above uses parenthetical commas to set off the Latin name of the insect referred to in the first clause, then uses a Rule 1.1 comma to crowd the area with commas. Parentheses would be more appropriate here, as well as in the second incorrect example that omits the closing parenthesis. The second sentence also places the parenthetical element at the end of the clause rather than where it should be: immediately after the common name of the insect it explains.

The next time you see a house centipede stuck in your bathtub, throw it a lifeline. (Don’t try to pick it up; they’re extremely fragile and fall apart at the slightest touch). Just rest one end of a meter stick on the edge of the tub and put the other end inside so the little guy can use it as a ramp to climb up and out.

The next time you see a house centipede stuck in your bathtub, throw it a lifeline. (Don’t try to pick it up; they’re extremely fragile and fall apart at the slightest touch.) Just rest one end of a meter stick on the edge of the tub and put the other end inside so the little guy can use it as a ramp to climb up and out.

The incorrect sentence places the closing parenthesis to the left of the period ending the parenthetical sentence; if the parenthetical sentence were deleted along with the parentheses, the period would be stranded between sentences. Correcting this involves simply moving the period so it goes to the left of the closing parenthesis.

Parentheses Rule 1.2: Don’t use parentheses where parenthetical commas would do.

Don’t overuse parentheses, especially where parenthetical commas would be more appropriate. Recall that, according to Comma Rule 3.1, commas can surround parenthetical, non-essential words, phrases, and clauses added to explain immediately what came before. Whether you use commas or parentheses, the sentence must make grammatical sense without the interjected element. The problem with overusing parentheses, however, is that it clutters up your writing with distracting asides, so the less conspicuous comma is preferable in situations where a parenthetical element doesn’t need full parentheses.

Look to make sure that the parentheses you use can’t be replaced with commas without causing confusion. In other words, if the parenthetical element follows Comma Rule 3.1 and doesn’t involve other types of commas covered by the other rules, then use commas instead of parentheses.

At the same time, the market dropped a few thousand points (which wouldn’t have been so bad if it didn’t stay down for so long), so no one was buying anything.

At the same time, the market dropped a few thousand points, which wouldn’t have been so bad if it didn’t stay down for so long, so no one was buying anything.

The incorrect example above includes a restrictive relative clause beginning with which , which is a perfect example of a non-essential parenthetical clause that we saw being set off from the main clause in Comma Rule 3.1 above. In this case, commas would be better to use than parentheses.

Parentheses Rule 2: Put parentheses around in-text citations crediting research sources in APA and MLA documentation styles.

Others argue that “text neck” is neither a true epidemic nor even a true ailment (Skwarecki, 2018) , just as “book neck” was never a condition that concerned anyone.

Why it’s correct: The parentheses mark off an APA-style in-text citation.

The parentheses tell the reader that the quotation, paraphrase, or summary came from the author or authors named within the parentheses. The reader can then consult the References section at the end of the document and easily find the full bibliographical reference for that source by searching out the same author last name in the alphabetical list of source authors. When citing multiple works by the same author, the year of publication in the citation allows the reader to distinguish between them.

Look to make sure that you use parentheses rather than brackets if your documentation style is APA or MLA. IEEE, on the other hand, does use brackets, albeit with a numerical citation rather than author and year.

“ Text neck” results from people straining their necks hunched over cellphones for several more hours per day, and thousands more per year, than they would if they were just reading books [Shoshany, 2015].

“Text neck” results from people straining their necks hunched over cellphones for several more hours per day, and thousands more per year, than they would if they were just reading books (Shoshany, 2015) .

The incorrect sentence above uses brackets rather than parentheses to mark off an in-text citation. Use parentheses for APA or MLA in-text citations.

For more on parentheses, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide’s Parentheses page (Penn, 2011e)
• The Grammar Book’s Parentheses and Brackets page and its Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Parentheses Quiz 1 linked at the bottom (Straus, 2014c)

5.3.6: Brackets

Quick Rules: Brackets

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common bracket errors associated with each one.

Brackets Rule 1.1: Put brackets around changes or additions to the wording of quotations.

The president tweeted that “All of the phony T.V. commercials against [him were] bought and payed [ sic ] for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS.”

Why it’s correct: The first brackets change the original “me are” to “him were” to be consistent with the third-person orientation and past-tense verb in the signal phrase. The bracketed “[ sic ]” indicates that the quotation’s spelling mistake was in the original source and intentionally kept rather than introduced by the writer when repeating the quotation.

The brackets indicate what changes the writer makes to a quotation, whether to lend clarity to the original wording or to make it grammatically consistent with the sentence around it. Doing so shows a concern for both quoting accurately and writing correctly. Sneaking in some changes to a quotation to suit your purposes is called misquoting. Sometimes the additions draw attention to errors in the original, such as corrections to the spelling or the use of “[ sic ],” short for the Latin sic erat scriptum (“thus was it written”), to preserve the author’s error.

Ensure that quotations are exact transcriptions of the original to avoid misquoting. If you find any intentional changes, surround them with brackets. Ensure also that any errors in the original quotation are preserved but identified with “[ sic ]” immediately following.

Apple’s 1997 slogan encourages you to “Think different” by using their computers for outside-the-box solutions.

Apple’s 1997 slogan encourages you to “Think different [ sic ]” by using their computers for outside-the-box solutions.

Apple’s 1997 slogan encourages you to “Think different[ly]” by using their computers for outside-the-box solutions.

The incorrect example above contains a quotation that is grammatically incorrect in its original form. Adding “[ sic ]” ensures the reader that the critical writer is well aware that, with “think” being a verb, “different” would have to be the adverb “differently” to be correct. Adding the -ly ending in brackets takes a more corrective approach to the error.

Brackets Rule 1.2: Don’t put brackets around what should have parentheses.

Ensure that the brackets you use don’t follow either of the parentheses rules explained in §5.3.5 above.

I know house centipedes [ scutigera coleoptrata ] are ugly, but I’m sure you would much rather have them in your home than the vermin they feed on.

The incorrect example above mistakenly uses brackets around the parenthetical Latin name of the insect identified just before by its common name. Following Parentheses Rule 1.1, however, you would just replace the brackets with parentheses.

Brackets Rule 2: Put brackets around parenthetical elements within parentheses.

Use brackets whenever you have parenthetical elements within a phrase or clause that is already surrounded by parentheses.

Though “text neck” is controversial (some argue that it was only ever a chiropractors’ marketing gimmick [Skwarecki, 2018] ), it makes sense that neck strain sustained for several hours daily harms our musculoskeletal health.

Why it’s correct: The brackets mark off an in-text citation within a parenthetical statement. If not within parentheses, the citation would be framed by parentheses instead of brackets.

Brackets help the reader keep track of nested parenthetical elements. Switching to brackets for parenthetical elements within parentheses also helps avoid the awkwardness of “double-chin” parentheses such as “)).”

Look to make sure that you don’t double up parentheses with “))” anywhere in your document.

The snake-oil rhetoric of Dr. Fishman’s website undermines the credibility of his “text neck” concept (with a chronic lack of proper citations for research supporting his claims (Fishman, 2018) ).

The snake-oil rhetoric of Dr. Fishman’s website undermines the credibility of his “text neck” concept (with a chronic lack of proper citations for research supporting his claims [Fishman, 2018] ).

In the incorrect sentence above, parentheses are used within parentheses. Simply replace the inner parentheses with brackets.

Brackets Rule 3: Put brackets around IEEE-style numerical in-text citations crediting research sources.

Physiopedia recommends holding up your mobile device so that it’s level with your eyes and avoiding “prolonged static postures” [4] .

Why it’s correct: The brackets mark off an IEEE-style numerical in-text citation.

The brackets tell the reader that the quotation, paraphrase, or summary came from the research source numbered within the brackets. The reader can then consult the References section at the back and easily find the full bibliographical reference for that source by the corresponding number.

Look to make sure that you use brackets rather than parentheses if your documentation style is IEEE, as opposed to APA or MLA, which use parentheses.

Shoshany argues that “Text neck” results from people straining their necks hunched over cellphones for several more hours per day, and thousands more per year, than they would if they were just reading books (5).

Shoshany argues that “Text neck” results from people straining their necks hunched over cellphones for several more hours per day, and thousands more per year, than they would if they were just reading books [5] .

In the incorrect example above, parentheses are used rather than brackets to mark off an in-text citation. The correct in-text citation style for IEEE is to use brackets instead.

For more on brackets, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide’s Brackets page (Penn, 2011f)
• The Grammar Book’s Parentheses and Brackets page and Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Parentheses Quiz 1 linked at the bottom (Straus, 2014c)

5.3.7: Quotation Marks

Quick Rules: Quotation Marks

Click on the rules below to see further explanations, examples, advice on what to look for when proofreading, and demonstrations of how to correct common quotation mark errors associated with each one.

For more on quotations see the following resources:

• The Purdue OWL’s series of modules, starting with How to Use Quotation Marks (Purdue OWL, n.d.) and ending with the exercises in the fifth module
• The Grammar Book’s Quotation Marks page and its Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Parentheses Quiz 1 and Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Parentheses Quiz 2 linked at the bottom (Straus, 2007a)

5.3.8: Hyphens

Using hyphens between two or more words in combination helps the reader treat them as if they were one word when the words around them would create ambiguity without the hyphen(s). We do this especially with compound modifiers, which are two or more adjectives that modify the same noun in combination. For instance, if you said that there was funding available for small business owners, does that mean funding is only available for people who are under five feet tall? (In that case, “business owners” is read as a compound noun and “small” is the adjective modifying it.) If you mean that funding is available for business owners who employ fewer than 15 people, then you want to use the compound-modifier hyphen to pair up “small” and “business” so that they are read as if they were one adjective modifying the noun “owners”: small-business owners . Hyphens help the reader by guiding them toward what words to pair up when it could go either way.

The same is true of hyphens used in compound nouns. Saying, “It was a light year” means something completely different from “It was a light-year.” In the first case, you’re saying that nothing much happened that year; in the second, you’re saying that something spanned nearly 6 trillion miles. Hyphens matter!

• http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tcdnstyl-chap?lang=eng&lettr=chapsect2&info0=2

5.3.8.1: Compound-modifier Hyphens

The most common use of hyphens is for compound modifiers—that is, two or more adjectives that must be read in combination before a noun they describe. In fact, the hyphen you see between “compound” and “modifier” in the heading above exemplifies how this works: since both of those words together (and in that order only) modify the noun “hyphen” (“modify” meaning that they tell you what kind of hyphen it is), the hyphen helps the reader identify which words functions as modifiers and which as nouns, since “modifier” in this case behaves as an adjective rather than a noun. Without the hyphen, the reader might make the mistake of taking “modifier hyphen” as a compound noun, as in the case of “small business owners” above.

If you were to say that the USSR was the first second world country to de-communize, the combination “first second” would surely trip up the reader. But pairing “second” and “world” with a hyphen resolves the ambiguity to say “The USSR was the first second-world country to de-communize.”

Table 5.3.8.1a: Common First-term Nouns in Compound Modifiers

Table 5.3.8.1b: Common Adverbs in Compound Modifiers

Exception: Don’t add hyphens after adverbs ending in -ly .

Table 5.3.8.1c: Common Prefixes Making Compound Modifiers

Table 5.3.8.1d: Common Middle-term Prepositions in Three-part Compound Modifiers

Table 5.3.8.1e: Common Three-part Compound-modifier Phrases

Table 5.3.8.1f: Common Foreign-phrase Compound Modifiers

Don’t hyphenate more recently imported foreign phrases that are still italicized.

Table 5.3.8.1g: Common End-term Nouns in Compound Modifiers

Table 5.3.8.1h: Common Past-participles Following Nouns

Table 5.3.8.1i: Common End-term Present-participle and Gerund Compound-modifier Adjectives

Table 5.3.8.1j: Common End-term Preposition Compound-modifier Adjectives

Table 5.3.8.1k: Common Number + Time-period Compound Modifiers

But some have become one word, like handwritten, handmade, and standalone.

Compound Adjectival Numbers

Suspended hyphens.

• Big hair in the mid-1980s
• Populism results in new accusations of anti-Americanism (because “America” is capitalized).
• My ex-girlfriend and I haven’t spoken in a decade.
• I re-wrote the essay.
• Not with adverbs ending in -ly

Compound Nouns

Again, anything starting with “self-” (e.g., self-starter, self-esteem, self-care), starting with “great-” (e.g., great-grandmother, great-uncle), or ending with “-in-law” (e.g., mother-in-law, sister-in-law) and numbers above 20 (twenty-one, forty-three). If someone said that you have poor people skills, does that mean you have skill in dealing with poor people? By hyphenating “people-skills,” they make it clear that you could be better at dealing with people in general.

Table 5.3.8.2a: Common Compound Units of Measurement

Table 5.3.8.2b: Common Prefixes Making Compound Nouns

Table 5.3.8.2c: Common Three- or Four-term Compound Nouns

Some words have become one word like headache, checkout, checkbook, uproar, downpour, input, sunrise, clearinghouse, bookkeeper, housekeeper, sightseeing, shipbuilding, cabinetmaker, blackboard, redhead, workplace, and even email.

https://www.capstoneediting.com.au/blog/how-to-hyphenate-a-compound-noun

Compound Verbs

Usually pairing a noun with a verb, but some are now combined into one word.

Source: Grammar Usage – Compound Verbs (Jamieson, 2010)

For more on hyphens, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide’ s Hyphens page (Penn, 2011g)
• The Grammar Book ’s Hyphens page and its Hyphens Quiz 1 and Hyphens Quiz 2 at the bottom of the page (Straus, 2007b)

5.3.9: Long Dashes

For more on long dashes, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide ’s Hyphen and Dashes page (Penn, 2011h)
• The Grammar Book ’s Dashes page (Straus, 2018b)

5.3.10: Question Marks

Question marks obviously follow questions. However, if the question is a polite request for action rather than one where a Yes or No answer is expected—i.e., a rhetorical question—end the sentence with a period rather than a question mark (Jamieson, 2014) .

For more on question marks, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide ’s Question Mark page (Penn, 2012)
• The Grammar Book ’s Question Marks page and its Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Parentheses Quiz 1 and Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Parentheses Quiz 2 linked at the bottom (Straus, 2014d)

5.3.11: Exclamation Marks

For more on exclamation marks, which should be used sparingly, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide ’s Exclamation Point page (Penn, 2011i)
• The Grammar Book ’s Exclamation Points page (Straus, 2015b)

5.3.12: Periods

For more on periods, see the following resources:

• The Punctuation Guide ’s Period page (Penn, 2011h)
• The Grammar Book ’s Periods page (Straus, 2014e)

2. Take any writing assignment you’ve previously submitted for another course, ideally one that you did some time ago, perhaps even in high school. Scan for the punctuation errors covered in this section now that you know what to look for. How often do such errors appear? Correct them following the suggestions given above.

Austen, I. (2006, October 25). The comma that costs 1 million dollars (Canadian). The New York Times . Retrieved http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/business/worldbusiness/25comma.html

Ayoade, R. [Beggars USA]. (2008, June 25). Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g

Bowal, P, & Layton, J. (2014, March 6). Comma law. LawNow: Relating law to life in Canada . Retrieved from http://www.lawnow.org/comma-law/

Caldwell, D. (2016). Oxford comma. Know Your Meme. Retrieved from http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/oxford-comma

Cuéllar, J. M., & Lanman, T. H. (2017, June). “Text neck”: An epidemic of the modern era of cell phones? The Spine Journal 17(6), 901-902. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1529943017300967

Fitz-Gerald, S. (2015, May 29). 20 questions with TSN’s Bob McKenzie: Rivalry with Sportsnet, crazy hockey parents and calling the cops on Phil Esposito. National Post . Retrieved from http://nationalpost.com/sports/hockey/nhl/20-questions-with-tsns-bob-mckenzie-rivalry-with-sportsnet-crazy-hockey-parents-and-calling-the-cops-on-phil-Esposito

Jamieson, P. (2014, July 16). Polite requests. ProofreadNOW . Retrieved from https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/polite-requests

Jamieson, P. (2010, January 7). Grammar usage – compound verbs. ProofreadNOW . Retrieved from https://www.proofreadnow.com/blog/bid/29485/Grammar-Usage-Compound-Verbs

Penn, J. (2011a, July 10). Comma. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/comma.html

Penn, J. (2011b, December 16). Apostrophe. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/apostrophe.html

Penn, J. (2011c, December 16). Colon. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/colon.html

Penn, J. (2011d, December 25). Semicolon. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/semicolon.html

Penn, J. (2011e, December 25). Parentheses. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/parentheses.html

Penn, J. (2011f, December 16). Brackets. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/brackets.html

Penn, J. (2011g, December 16). Hyphens. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/hyphen.html

Penn, J. (2011h, December 16). Hyphen and dashes. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/hyphen-and-dashes.html

Penn, J. (2011i, December 16). Exclamation point. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/exclamation-point.html

Penn, J. (2011j, December 16). Period. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/period.html

Penn, J. (2012, January 2). Question mark. The Punctuation Guide . Retrieved from http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/question-mark.html

Physiopedia. (2017, October 9). Text neck. Retrieved from https://www.physio-pedia.com/Text_Neck

Purdue OWL. (n/d). How to Use Quotation Marks. Purdue OWL . Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/punctuation/quotation_marks/index.html

Simmons, R. L. (2001a, February 1). The participle. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/participle.htm

Simmons, R. L. (2001b, February 1). The appositive. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/appositive.htm

Simmons, R. L. (2007a, November 24). The transitive verb. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/transitiveverb.htm

Simmons, R. L. (2007b, November 24). The conjunctive adverb. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/conjunctiveadverb.htm

Simmons, R. L. (2008, January 24). The intransitive verb. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/intransitiveverb.htm

Simmons, R. L. (2018a). Comma tip 6: Use commas correctly with a series of adjectives. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/handouts/commatip06.pdf

Simmons, R. L. (2018b). The gerund. Grammar Bytes! Retrieved from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/gerund.htm

Shoshany, S. (2015, June 11). A modern spine ailment: Text neck. Spine-health . Retrieved from https://www.spine-health.com/blog/modern-spine-ailment-text-neck

Skwarecki, B. (2018, January 12). Text neck was never a real epidemic. Lifehacker . Retrieved from https://vitals.lifehacker.com/text-neck-was-never-a-real-epidemic-1822024249

Straus, J. (2007a, May 30). Quotation marks. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp

Straus, J. (2007b, May 30). Hyphens. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/hyphens.asp

Straus, J. (2014a, June 5). Apostrophes. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp

Straus, J. (2014b, June 5). Semicolons. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/semicolons.asp

Straus, J. (2014c, June 5). Parentheses and brackets. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/parens.asp

Straus, J. (2014d, February 18). Question marks. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/qMarks.asp

Straus, J. (2014e, June 4). Periods. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/periods.asp

Straus, J. (2015a, December 5). Colons. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/colons.asp

Straus, J. (2015b, December 16). Colons. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/exclaim.asp

Straus, J. (2018a). Commas. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp

Straus, J. (2018b). Dashes. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/dashes.asp

Truss, L. (2003). Eats, shoots & leaves: The zero tolerance approach to punctuation . New York: Gotham. Retrieved from https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/294386/eats-shoots-and-leaves-by-lynne-truss/excerpt

Weller, C. (2018, January 10). Bill Gates and Steve Jobs raised their kids tech-free—and it should’ve been a red flag . Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/screen-time-limits-bill-gates-steve-jobs-red-flag-2017-10

Wikipedia. (2018, February 24). List of English contractions. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_English_contractions

Section 5.4 Learning Objectives

With the help of technology such as spellcheck features in Microsoft Word and online apps, as well as auto-correct and -complete on mobile devices, we can be better spellers than ever. We also must be better spellers than ever because, assuming we’re making full use of these technological aides, audience expectations demand impeccable, error-free spelling. At the same time, the secondary school system has for decades relaxed its teaching of writing basics such that many students enter the post-secondary system lacking basic writing skills (“University Students Can’t Spell,” 2010) . Between high school and the professional world, college students must not only quickly learn these basics, such as not confusing its and it’s , but also develop the attitude that such details matter.

Using technology close at hand to improve your spelling is crucial to helping you get there. Follow the procedure in §5.1.4.8 above (and shown in Figure 5.1.4.8; click on the thumbnail above-right to return to it) to set up your spellchecker in Microsoft Word so that it identifies errors as you go. Though it’s a good idea to draft quickly and leave the pace-killing attention to detail for the editing stage, you can look up spellings for words that you struggle with as you go by just highlighting them, going to the Review tool ribbon, and clicking on the Spelling & Grammar tool at the far left (or Alt + R, S). The feature will activate to suggest the correct spelling of just that word. Always also run a spellcheck sweep of your entire document by scrolling up to the top of your document and, without anything highlighted, following the same procedure to activate the spellchecker to examine each error and the tool’s suggested corrections before you finalize your document for submission.

What about spellchecking when writing outside of your word processor, such as in an email? For this you must ensure that your internet browser spellchecker is on and properly set up. In Google Chrome, for instance, you would just:

• Click on the Settings icon (three stacked periods at the top right).
• Click on the Settings option from the drop-down menu.
• Scroll down and click on Advanced Settings .
• Scroll down to the Languages section and click on the Spell check to expand the control panel.
• Click on English (Canada) to toggle on the feature so it turns blue. You will see there that you can also add custom words.

With the spellchecker turned on, your browser will identify misspelled words by red-underlining them. If you have any additional difficulties, you can also move text to your word processor, use its more advanced spellchecker and editing features, then copy and paste your draft back into the email.

As good as the spellcheckers can be if you set them up properly, you must also know what to look for on your own so that you know what to approve when the spellchecker suggests edits. We’ll divide this self-editing skill into two of the biggest challenges to spellcheckers:

5.4.1: Spelling Names

5.4.2: spelling homophones.

How do you feel when someone misspells your name? If you’re like most people, you feel a little insulted, especially if the offending person had easy access to the correct spelling. Spelling people’s names correctly is not only an essential principle of netiquette but also key to maintaining your credibility in correspondence. If you’re addressing a hiring manager in the cover letter to a job application, for instance, and her first name happens to be one of the 155 unique spelling variants of the name Caitlin (Burch, 2001) , your livelihood depends on spelling her name just as she does herself. Otherwise, your lack of attention to detail becomes an invitation for her to deposit your application directly in the shredder.

Be especially vigilant with names during the proofreading stage of the writing process and use technology to help. With naming trends in the last couple of decades tending toward unique spellings both for people and products, spellcheckers may be of little help at first. Your best bet is to carefully confirm the name of the person in question by finding multiple sources that confirm their name (e.g., documents at hand, as well as their LinkedIn profile online), or the name of the product by consulting the company website, and add it to your spellchecker. When your spellchecker is doing an active sweep and grapples with the unfamiliar name, click on the “Add to Dictionary” option. That way, you can teach your spellchecker to be vigilant for you.

Many spelling errors involve homophones , words that sound the same in speech but are spelled and used differently in writing. When you mean there but write their or they’re in your draft, a sophisticated grammar and spellchecker will mark it as an error because it’s incorrect in the context of the words around it despite being spelled correctly on its own. Just in case your checker is fooled by it, however, familiarizing yourself with the most common homophone-driven spelling errors is wise. Ensure at the proofreading stage that your writing hasn’t fallen into any of these traps.

Table 5.4.2: Common Homophone Misspellings

For more on this topic, see Homophones (Singularis, 2013).

Burch, N. (2001, February 1). You say Caitlin, I say Katelynne… Irish Names from Ancient to Modern . Retrieved from http://www.namenerds.com/irish/Katelyn.html

Singularis. (2013, July 28). Homophones. Retrieved from http://www.singularis.ltd.uk/bifroest/misc/homophones-list.html

“University students can’t spell.” (2010, February 1). Maclean’s . Retrieved from: http://www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/university-students-cant-spell/

Section 5.5 Learning Objectives

The very last target for proofreading as you finalize your draft for submission is mechanics. In English writing, mechanics relates to typographic style such as the choice between UPPERCASE and lowercase letters, italics or boldface type and plain style, as well as using figures (e.g., 1, 2, 3) or written out numbers (e.g., one , two , three ). Professionals follow stylistic conventions for mechanics much like they do punctuation rules. If you don’t know these conventions, making them up as you go along may produce unprofessional-looking documents. Consider the following as your guide for how to get your writing mechanics right.

5.5.1: Capitalizing

5.5.2: italicizing, underlining, and bolding, 5.5.3: numbering.

One of the worst mistakes you can make in a high-priority document like a cover letter is a glaring capitalization error such as not capitalizing the first letter in a sentence or writing “im” or “ive” instead of “I am” or “I have.” These errors are fine when texting your friends. To a hiring manager, however, the red flags they raise concerning the literacy, work ethic, and even maturity of the applicant might land that application in the shredder. At the other typographic extreme, those who use all-caps for anything other than abbreviations, as in “SEND ME THAT REPORT RIGHT NOW,” look emotionally unstable. In normal writing, we use conventional combinations of capitals and lowercase letters meaningfully to guide our readers through our sentences. Let’s take a closer look at when to capitalize and when not to capitalize letters.

5.5.1.1: What to Capitalize

5.5.1.2: what not to capitalize, 5.5.1.3: abbreviations.

You can’t go wrong if you capitalize in the following situations:

• Sentence; e.g., T hese pretzels are making me thirsty.
• Full-sentence quotation even if it appears after a signal phrase; e.g., A great American humorist put it best when he said, “ T ravel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness ” (Twain, 1869, p. 333) .
• Rule following a colon in a sentence; e.g., My mother taught me the golden rule: T reat others the way you’d like to be treated yourself .
• P oint in a bullet-point or numbered list regardless of whether it’s a full sentence or just a noun phrase, as in this list
• The first-person personal pronoun “ I ”
• Major words in titles , including the first letter of the first word no matter what it is, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, but not short prepositions such as in , of , on , or to, nor coordinating conjunctions such as and, but, for, or so, unless they’re the first word (see Table 5.5.2.1 below for several example titles)
• The first letter of proper nouns, which include the types given below in Table 5.5.1

Table 5.5.1.1: Proper Nouns

Don’t capitalize the following:

• Directions if they’re not in a geographical name; e.g., We drove east to North Bay, Ontario, from the Pacific Northwest .
• Professional roles on their own without a name following (e.g., the prime minister ) or if they follow the person’s name; e.g., Patrick Grant, professor of English
• Celestial bodies when used outside of the context of celestial bodies; e.g., He’s really down to earth. I love you to the moon and back. Here comes the sun.
• The seasons, despite the fact that the days of the week and months are capitalized (e.g., We’re heading south for the winter. ) unless they’re part of a title (e.g., Fall 2019 semester )
• Century numbers; e.g., the nineteenth century
• Words that came from names or geographical regions; e.g., pasteurize, french fries, italics, roman numerals, arabic numerals
• Fields of study; e.g., history , biology , physics , economics , dentistry
• Some academic degrees; e.g., master’s degree , bachelor’s degree
• Citations at the page and line level: page 6 , lines 23–27 ; p. 24 , ll. 12–14

Pay close attention to the beginning of sentences, each point in a list, titles, and proper nouns. Determine whether you should capitalize or leave letters lowercase depending on the conventions given above.

Incorrect: l et’s go S outh to visit the P resident and stay with v ice p resident Frito.

The fix: L et’s go s outh to visit the p resident and stay with V ice P resident Frito.

The fix: L et’s go s outh to visit P resident Comacho and stay with Frito, his v ice p resident.

In the drafting process, you might delete the original capitalized opening to a sentence while trying out another style of sentence and forget to capitalize the new beginning. The proofreading stage is when you can catch glaring errors such as this. Also, the convention for geography is to capitalize directions only if they’re part of place names but not when they’re mere compass directions. Finally, capitalize professional titles only when they precede a name.

Incorrect: In addition, im proficient in the use of Microsoft o ffice, such as Power p oint.

The fix: In addition, I am proficient in the use of Microsoft O ffice, such as Power P oint.

Texting habits might die hard. A crucial step in professionalizing yourself, however, is to correct informal spellings such as im so that they are the more correct I’m or more formal I am , especially in job application documents. Also, be especially careful with capitalization around proprietary names such as software, which may include internal capitalization as we see in Power P oint or You T ube .

Incorrect: I had to read the textbook Communication A t Work for my Algonquin c ollege c ommunications course in the a ccounting program.

The fix: I had to read the textbook Communication a t Work for my Algonquin C ollege C ommunications course in the A ccounting program.

The titling convention is to capitalize major words but not short prepositions such as at . Since academic courses, institutions, and programs are proper nouns like the names of people, capitalize them all.

Fully spell out abbreviations the first time you mention them and put the abbreviation in parentheses. For example, if you were to say, “The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is reporting an above-average number of flue deaths this year,” subsequent mentions of the agency can appear as simply “PHAC.” Institutions that are so common as names (proper nouns) in their abbreviated form (e.g., CBC, which stands for the “Canadian Broadcasting Corporation”) can be given as abbreviations unless introduced to an audience that wouldn’t know them. As you can see here, avoid adding periods after each uppercase letter in an abbreviation.

For more on capitalization, see The Grammar Book ’s Capitalization Rules page (Straus, 2014).

The standard typeface options of italics , bold , and underline allow writers to draw attention to their text in varying degrees. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage comes from overuse, which diminishes their impact. Taking advantage of their ability to draw the reader’s eye and communicate information beyond the words they express requires following certain conventional uses for each. We’ll start with the most meaningful in terms of the information it can convey.

As the typeface option that slants the top of each letter to the right, italic typeface performs several possible functions related to emphasizing words. Italics can also resolve ambiguities that would cause confusion without it. Use italics for the following purposes:

• Emphasis : Use italics sparingly to emphasize particular words or phrases; e.g., “I’ve asked them no less than three times to send the reimbursement check.” If we were saying this aloud, you would raise your volume and slow down your enunciation to emphasize “ three times .” Italicizing is more mature and professionally appropriate than using all-caps to emphasize words.
• Words under Discussion : Italicize a word, phrase, or even a full sentence when discussing it. For instance, you see throughout this textbook example words italicized, such as just above in §5.5.1.1.
• Foreign Words and Phrases : Italicize foreign words that have not yet become part of the English vernacular. For instance, italicize the binomial Latin name of a species (e.g., branta canadensis for Canada goose) or the French phrase déjà vu but not the more familiar borrowed French words “bourgeois,” “brunette,” “chauffeur,” “cliché,” “depot,” “entrepreneur,” “résumé,” or “souvenir.” If the foreign word is in most English dictionaries, it is probably safe to write it in plain style rather than italics.
• Titles : Use italics when referring to the title of a longer work such as a book, film, or newspaper. See Table 5.5.2.1 below for a full list of the types of works you would italicize as opposed to shorter works (or titled sections within longer works) you would put in quotation marks without italics.

Table 5.5.2.1: Italicized Titles

When words are already italicized, such as a sentence under discussion or a book title within a book title, then de-italicize the title back into plain style (e.g., Vision in Shakespeare’s King Lear). Exceptions to the rule of italicizing books are holy texts such as the Bible and Koran, though specific editions should be italicized (e.g., The New American Standard Bible ).

Underlining is normally an old-fashioned alternative to italicizing because it identified titles written on typewriters before modern word processors made italicization feasible. Today, underlining is mainly used to emphasize words within italicized titles or as an alternative to boldface type.

More than any other typeface, bold is best at emphasizing words because it draws the reader’s eyes more effectively than italics or underlining, especially for document titles and section headings. In casual emails, you can also use it to highlight a main action point that’s surrounded by plain-style text to ensure that the reader doesn’t miss it. Avoid bolding, underlining, italicizing, and using all-caps in combination merely to lend added emphasis to words. Use whichever one is most appropriate in context.

For more on italics, underlining, and bolding, see the following resources:

• Your Dictionary’s When to Italicize (2009)
• WikiHow’s How to Use Italics (Morgan, 2015)
• Butterick’s Practical Typography’s Bold or Italic (Butterick, 2013)

When do you spell out a number (e.g., ten ) and when do you use a figure (e.g., 10 )? What are the conventions for academic and professional situations? It depends on your purposes, but in routine formal situations and in APA style, spell out numbers from one to ten and use figures for 11 and up. In MLA, spell out any number if it’s only a word or two, but use figures for numbers that require three or more words (Becker, 2014) . In informal and technical writing, however, using only figures ensures accuracy, consistency, and brevity. Let’s look at the formal APA conventions in more detail in Table 5.4.3.

Table 5.5.3: Formal Numbering Conventions

Determine whether you should replace your spelled-out numbers with figures or vice versa according to the conventions given above.

Incorrect: Only 2 people showed up.

The fix: Only two people showed up.

In formal writing, spell out one- or two-word numbers rather than use figures lazily. However, feel free to use figures, no matter how small the number, in informal writing where concision matters most.

Incorrect: She was charged nine-hundred-and-thirty-six dollars and ninety-eight cents for the repair.

The fix: She was charged $936.98 for the repair.

Incorrect: The chances of life existing on other planets are quite high if there are, by extrapolation, roughly 1 9,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 star systems with earth-like planets in the universe (Frost, 2017) .

The fix: The chances of life existing on other planets are quite high if there are, by extrapolation, roughly 19 billion trillion star systems with earth-like planets in the universe (Frost, 2017) .

Incorrect: 23,000 units were sold in the first quarter.

Incorrect: Twenty-three thousand units were sold in the first quarter.

The fix: In the first quarter, 23,000 units were sold.

Though you should use a figure to represent a number above ten and spell out a number appearing at the beginning of a sentence, re-word the sentence if that number is more than two words.

Incorrect: We’ve moved the meeting to 05/04/18 .

The fix: We’ve moved the meeting from Tuesday, April 2, to Friday, April 5, 2018.

The fix: We’ve moved the meeting from Tuesday the 2nd of April to Friday the 5th, 2018.

Though the above correction sacrifices brevity, the gains in clarity can potentially prevent expensive miscommunication. The correction prevents the message recipients from misinterpreting the new meeting date as being May 4th and helps them pinpoint which date in their calendars to click and drag the original meeting from. Providing the days of the week also helps the recipients determine at a glance whether the new date conflicts with regularly scheduled weekly appointments.

Incorrect: Let’s meet at number ninety, 6th Avenue, at fourteen o’clock .

The fix: Let’s meet at 90 Sixth Avenue at 2 p.m.

Though “ninety” would be correct in some contexts (MLA style) because it is a one-word number, APA address conventions require you to use figures for address numbers and to spell out numerical street/avenue numbers from first to tenth, then to use figures from 11th onward. Also, the English convention for representing time of day is to use the twelve-hour clock, whereas the French convention is to use the twenty-four-hour clock.

Incorrect: Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m 64 ?

The fix: Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m sixty-four ?

Unless the age follows a person’s name as an appositive (e.g., Paul, 64, is losing his hair ) or is part of a series that identifies several ages (e.g., a program for those of 4 to 6 years of age, with some 7-year-olds ) or combines one person’s age in years and months, spell out ages up to one hundred.

Incorrect: The one expedition cataloged thirty-four new types of spiders, 662 new types of beetles, and 178 new types of ants.

The fix: The one expedition cataloged 34 new types of spiders, 662 new types of beetles, and 178 new types of ants.

Though normally you would spell out two-word numbers, maintaining consistency with the related numbers in the series, which are figures here because they are over ten, takes precedence.

Incorrect: The program has 2 streams, one for the 4 -year-olds and another for the 5 -year-olds.

The fix: The program has two streams, one for the 4 -year-olds and another for the 5 -year-olds.

This looks at first as if all three of these are related numbers in a series and therefore must all be figures. The related-numbers convention applies to only the last two numbers (ages), however, whereas the first number is not an age, hence not part of the series. Since the first number can be spelled out as one word, two , it is not given as a figure.

Incorrect: If your gym orders more than 20 100-lb. weights, you’ll get every additional unit for half price.

The fix: If your gym orders more than twenty 100-lb. weights, you’ll get every additional unit for half price.

To avoid “20 100-lb.” being misread as “20100-lb.,” bend the rule about using figures for numbers above ten to spell out the first of the consecutive numbers and use a figure for the second since it’s a weight. (If the first number were more than two words spelled out and the weight only one, however, “150 thirty-pound weights” would be preferable.)

For more on numbers, see APA Style’s Comparing MLA and APA: Numbers (Becker, 2014).

2. Take any writing assignment you’ve previously submitted for another course, ideally one that you did some time ago, perhaps even in high school. Scan for the mechanical errors covered in this section now that you know what to look for. How often do such errors appear? Correct them following the suggestions given above.

Becker, D. (2014, June 26). Comparing MLA and APA: Numbers. APA Style . Retrieved from http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2014/06/comparing-mla-and-apa-numbers.html

Butterick, M. (2013, July 24). Bold or italic. Butterick’s Practical Typography . Retrieved from https://practicaltypography.com/bold-or-italic.html

Frost, R. (2017, November 15). The number of Earth-like planets in the universe is staggering—here’s the math. Forbes . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/11/15/the-number-of-earth-like-planets-in-the-universe-is-staggering-heres-the-math/#5db6267f4932

Morgan, M. (2015, May 23). How to use italics. WikiHow . Retrieved from https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Italics

Straus, J. (2015, June 5). Capitalization rules. The Grammar Book . Retrieved from https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/capital.asp

Twain, M. (1889). The innocents abroad, or The new pilgrims’ progress . Vol. II. Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz. Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=f4EwNleAjJAC&rdid=book-f4EwNleAjJAC&rdot=1

Your Dictionary. (2009, September 3). When to italicize. Retrieved from http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/punctuation/when/when-to-italicize.html

Chapter 5: The Writing Process—Editing Copyright © 2022 by Sydney Epps is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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5 High-Impact Writing Strategies for the Elementary Grades

Simple, effective exercises can help elementary students develop the foundational writing skills they need for their academic journey.

When considering writing as part of the instructional day, teachers may think only of the type of writing where students engage in storytelling or informational pieces. While the ability to leverage student choice and produce fiction and nonfiction text is beneficial for all grade levels, it’s important to consider how writing can be incorporated and layered across all content areas, as well as develop the deep foundational understanding to prepare young writers for authoring texts.

For us as teachers, it’s vital that we share a common language and understanding about the types of high-impact writing strategies that students can engage in and how to effectively implement them in the classroom. 

1. Handwriting in the Early Grades

In the digital age, prioritizing handwriting education during phonics instruction remains instrumental in nurturing well-rounded learners and sets them up for success when more stamina is required of them. The tactile experience of handwriting establishes a profound connection between language and sensory perception, contributing increased cognitive development .

Teachers can adopt a common path of movement language (language used to describe how to form the letters) when teaching the letters. In addition to that, providing students with multisensory ways of forming the letters helps create a strong understanding of the letters’ features.

A practical example of this type of instruction is having students trace a lowercase a in a tray full of salt, repeating the path of movement language, “over, around, down.” Then, students practice writing the letter using a pencil or dry erase marker. As the teacher models the directionality, it’s important to ensure that students know what “over,” “around,” and “down” mean and look like and that the teacher is using on-the-spot intervention for correction.

2. Dictated Sentences

Utilizing dictated sentences in elementary phonics instruction holds profound importance in nurturing early literacy skills. This strategy serves as a powerful bridge between decoding individual phonemes and comprehending them within a meaningful context. 

For example, in a phonics lesson where students are practicing decoding and spelling words with a short i vowel and have practiced reading the high-frequency words they and the , the teacher may end the lesson with students writing the dictated sentence, ”They will fill the big bin with wigs.”

This method encourages the application of phonics knowledge in real-word scenarios, promoting fluency and automaticity. In addition, dictated sentences provide a valuable opportunity for students to hone their listening skills, enhancing their ability to discern and reproduce distinct phonetic elements accurately and to authentically apply irregularly spelled high-frequency words in context. This practice benefits students of any grade level working on phonics skills.

3. Writing to Read

Another foundational type of writing that prepares students for more demanding types of writing in later grades is writing to read. This is an interactive approach to early writing instruction where the teacher models early literacy and print concepts starting as early as prekindergarten through early kindergarten. Through collaboration with the students, the teacher models drawing pictures and sentence creation.

Teachers can start by engaging students in a conversation around an event in a book or nursery rhyme they read together. Then, the teacher offers a prompt: “In the story, the characters went to play at the park. That gives me an idea for a story. What kinds of things do you like to do at the park?” Students can share multiple ideas for the story, and the teacher chooses one to model. 

While the teacher explicitly models drawing and develops a sentence about the drawing, the students offer ideas on where to start writing, count the words in the story, identify the sounds they hear as the teacher spells out each word, and notice where spaces will occur. The more that students engage in this type of instruction, the more responsibility we can hand over to them, and they can write the story along with us. As students are given more opportunities to apply early writing principles and rereading strategies, they begin to understand the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing.

4. Reading to Write

When the foundations for early writing have been established, students can quickly move into another layer of high-impact writing, which is writing about the texts that they’re reading. 

Even starting in kindergarten, encouraging students to write and/or draw in response to reading across multiple content areas is a valuable strategy that helps deepen comprehension and understanding of a particular topic, as explored in Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos’s book Teaching for Deep Comprehension .

These “writing about the reading” prompts require students to analyze, synthesize, and connect ideas, fostering a deeper understanding of the material. For example, if first-grade students are working on story elements, after reading a story, a student might write, “The character in the story is a bear who lives in the forest. The problem in the story is that he is sad, but he solves his problem when he learns to be happy.” 

This expression encapsulates comprehension, language reinforcement, and academic vocabulary. As students progress through grade levels upward to 12th grade, the scaffold of giving the students a prompt for writing about the text should decrease as they develop enough self-regulation to write about their own thinking.

5. Writing About Learning

Similar to reading to write, this strategy is solely focused on writing about what the student has learned, why the learning is important, and when to use the learning. This type of writing can happen as early as kindergarten, but in a highly scaffolded manner that mostly focuses on articulating why the learning is important.

Students up to 12th grade can benefit from writing about their learning because it keeps the purpose of what they’re learning in various content areas relevant and promotes quick retrieval of the information.

This strategy also promotes metacognition , because it helps learners organize their thoughts and reflect on their learning process. For instance, a second-grade class could collaboratively study the nature of bees in a nonfiction text. Then, because the teacher focuses on the skill of identifying and explaining main ideas and details, a student may write, “I learned the main idea by using headings and key details. Knowing main ideas helps us understand the most important information in a text.”