Proof reading, editing and revising by sohail ahmed

1. Revising, Editing & Proofreading Sohail Ahmed

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

23. Sohail Ahmed Good Luck