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Editing and Proofreading your Research Paper

Dr. Nancy Agnes, Head, Technical Operations, Pubrica, sales@pubrica.com

I. INTRODUCTION

Grammatical errors have a severe negative impact on

your research work. They tend to present incorrect

information, and therefore,they must be edited and

proofread before the final copy is submitted to your

supervisor.

Editing and proofreading services are essential to the

writing process. They provide effectiveness and clarity

to your ideas. Well, what makes editing different from

proofreading? While editing requires you to reread your

draft to check for more important issues, including

organisation, paragraph structure, and content,

proofreading is doneto find and correct errors in

writing, grammar, and language.

II. STRATEGIES TO HELP IDENTIFY ERRORS

. Instead of working from a computer screen, use

a printout.Proofreading from a printout allows you

to simply hop around to where errors may have

been repeated throughout the work [e.g., misspelt

the name of a person], as well as saving your eyes

from the strain of staring at a computer screen.

Readout loud. This is particularly useful for

detecting run-on sentences and missing words, but

you'll also pick up on other issues that you might

not have seen while reading the text aloud. This

will also assist you in taking on the reader's role,

allowing you to comprehend the article as your

intended audience would.

The method prevents you from skipping over

potential errors and lets you read through your

document at your own leisure.

Every punctuation mark in your paper should be

circled or highlighted.This compels you to pay

close attention to each mark you make and consider

why you used it in each sentence or paragraph. If

you frequently misuse or overuse a punctuation

mark, such as a comma or semi-colon, this is a very

useful method.

Use the examine function of the computer to

discovererrors. Using your word processor's search

[find] tool can help you find errors more quickly.

For example, suppose you repeatedly use the same

phrase or qualifier. In that case, you can search for

those words or phrases and decide whether to

eliminate them or replace them with a synonym on

each occasion.

III. EDITING PROCESS

There are various ways by which you can develop

editing skill.

Organisation: When organising your academic writing, there should be a clear introduction and a

proper conclusion to it.

Paragraph Structure: Each paragraph should have a topic sentence to introduce its central idea.

There should be clear transitions between

sentences as well as between paragraphs to make

your flow coherent.

Main Ideas: There should be a focusedthesis statement. Main ideas should be connected with the

thesis statement and be supported by clear

evidence.

Clarity: Clear evidence and proper definitions improve the clarity of your ideas.

Avoid redundancy: Look for the repetition of words, accurate sentence structure, and the correct

use of technical terms.

IV. STRATEGIES FOR PROOFREADING YOUR

PAPER

Before You Proofread

Revise the larger aspects of the text. If you still need to work on the overall focus,

development, and organisation of the paper, or

if you need to re-arrange or change individual

portions [the act of revising], don't proofread

for the goal of making corrections to the

sentence and word level [the act of editing].

Eliminate unnecessary words before looking for mistakes. If a more concise phrase will

suffice, strive to avoid employing inflated

diction throughout your writing. Overly

complicated sentence constructs and

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terminology are more difficult to proofread

than simple, clear language. Identify and

replace empty or repetitive sentences at the

same time.

Review your list of references. Examine the sources you used in your paper and double-

check that you referenced them correctly in

your bibliography. Make sure the titles in your

bibliography are mentioned in the text as well.

Before you start editing your paper, make sure

there are no omissions.

V. PROOFREADING PROCESS

Proofreading follows after you edit your paper. Look

for errors and make the necessary revisions to improve

your writing. Proofreading,too ,requires certain skills.

Read and reread your work: It is not possible to find all errors in one go. First, read your writing

aloud. Second, slow down the process, and be more

focused. By dividing your writing into sections,

you can increase your focus and find the mistakes.

Highlight Common Errors.By this, you will understand where you commonly make mistakes

and can avoid them in future.

VI. OTHER AREASTO CHECK

Ensure the formal style of writing.

Avoid using the passive voice.

In scientific writing, use tables and figures to enable readers to interpret and visualise data.

Tables should include the following:

-A clear title

-Clear Headings for columns

-Defined body of data

-footnotes or reference

Figures present data in a visual format such as photos, charts, graphs, and diagrams. Similar to

tables, figures need to recognise the data they

convey clearly. Figures should include the

following:

- Captions or titles that reflect the topic. - Figures are listed by numbering each one

of them foreasy reference.

- Figures should be clear and easy to view. If you follow the tips given above, you should write an

accurate, error-free academic paper.

VII. CONCLUSION

Proofreading is the last writing process before the

author submits the article for publication. It is the stage

of verification, by the author, or by another person.

Thus, it is not only important to check grammar and

spelling, it is also highly advised to ensure that the idea

of the writer/author is in agreement with what they

wants to communicate with the audience. In other

words, that the article/work is clearly written for its

intended target audience.Pubrica use almost all of the

editing strategies and provide best proofreading service

for your research papers.

REFERENCES

1. DeBruin, M. (2020). Editing is Easy; Tutoring is Hard: Helping Writers with Learning Disabilities.

2. Cairney, A. (2020). Editorial Literacy: Reconsidering Literary Editing as Critical

Engagement in Writing Support.

3. Azeez, P. Z., & KOY45, K. (2020). Investigating Editing and Proofreading Strategies used by Koya

University Lecturers. Journal of the University of

Garmian, 7, 4.

4. Zimmerman, A. H. (2021). Voices in Bioethics Editing Workshop 2021.

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