2. Revising
• Revision occurs throughout the writing
process and involves such tasks as
rethinking, overall structure, focus, thesis
and support, editing and proofreading.
Sohail Ahmed
3. Why should writers
proofread?
• I had a lot of trouble reading your Writing.
You make good points, but your writing has
too many sloppy errors.
• Sorry! I know I should have proofread my
work before I handed it in. To be honest, I
waited until the last minute. I was hoping you
wouldn’t notice my mistakes.
Sohail Ahmed
4. Your reader may focus on your mistakes
and may ignore your overall point.
Sohail Ahmed
• Subject-verb
agreement
• Wrong verb
• Capitalization error
• Missing word
• Article
• Missing word
• Pronoun Case
• Fragment
• Spelling errors
• Parallel structure
5. Writing is a form of
communication.
• Don’t communicate that you are a sloppy
writer!
• Don’t let your reader become distracted by
your careless errors.
Sohail Ahmed
6. Strategies for Proofreading
• Slowly read your Writing aloud.
• Use an electronic grammar and spell check.
• Try reading your Writing backwards
• Read someone else’s Writing.
• Examine the content of the Writing, piece
by piece.
Sohail Ahmed
7. Examine the content of the
Writing, piece by piece.
• Examine the introduction.
• Examine each body paragraph.
• Examine the conclusion.
Sohail Ahmed
8. Introductory Paragraph
• Is there a catchy opening to grab the
reader’s attention?
• Does this opening fit the mood of the thesis
and the rest of the Writing?
• Have you made a smooth transition between
the first line(s) and the thesis statement?
Sohail Ahmed
9. Thesis Statement
• Does the thesis address the assignment?
• Is the thesis stated in an opinion form?
• Does the thesis reflect the content of the
body?
Sohail Ahmed
10. The Body Paragraphs
• Does each body paragraph contain a leading
topic sentence?
• Do the sentences in the body develop the
opening sentence?
• Does each paragraph cover one main point?
Are they in logical order?
• Does each paragraph have a smooth ending?
Sohail Ahmed
11. Concluding Paragraph
• Have you rephrased the thesis statement?
• Have you drawn a conclusion from the separate
body paragraphs?
• Have you made an overall statement concerning the
points that you discussed separately in the body
paragraphs?
• Have you brought up a new idea? If so, delete it.
Do not bring up new information in the closing.
• Is there a feeling of closure in the last line?
Sohail Ahmed
12. Editing
• 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.
Sohail Ahmed
13. Rules to Edit
• 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.
Sohail Ahmed
14. Rules to Edit
• Read one sentence at a time.
• 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.
• Know your grammar and punctuation rules
Sohail Ahmed
15. Editing Style
• Edit, don’t rewrite
• Keep the spirit, just play with the words
• Grammar, spelling, formatting
• Spellcheck and grammar check are not
enough
• Read each word and sentence carefully
Sohail Ahmed
16. Where We Do Errors?
• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Verb Tense
• Verb Form
• Pronoun Case
• Pronoun Reference
• Pronoun Point of View
• Misused or omitted articles
• Misused or omitted
prepositions
• Sentence structure
(fragments, run-ons, and
comma splices)
• Misspellings
• Missing words
• Missing endings on words
• Punctuation
• Parallel structure
Sohail Ahmed
17. Subject-Verb Agreement
• Do your subjects agree with your verbs?
• Know the rule of subject-verb agreement:
• Singular subjects require singular verbs, and plural
subjects require plural verbs.
• Many attempts to persuade the reader (has, have)
been attempted.
Sohail Ahmed
18. Are you using the appropriate
forms of your verbs?
• If you are discussing an event that has
happened, are you using the past tense?
• Are you being consistent in using the same
verb tense? If you begin in one tense,
generally you should continue in the same
tense.
Sohail Ahmed
19. Check your sentence
structure.
• Look for:
• Fragments—incomplete thoughts.
• Comma splices—two sentences separated
by only a comma.
• Run-ons—two sentences running into each
other with no separation.
Sohail Ahmed
20. Look for fragments
• Fragments are incomplete thoughts that
should not be used in academic writing.
• Examples:
• Because the dog was out in the rain.
• While I was in Karachi.
Sohail Ahmed
21. Look for comma splices.
• Look for comma splices—two sentences
separated by only a comma.
• He was late he had to wait for the next bus.
• He was late, he had to wait for the next bus.
Sohail Ahmed
22. Advice
• Double-check so you don't miss an error for others
to revise and have plenty of time to prepare for it.
Sohail Ahmed
