Workshop Questions (Editing)



Editing workshop objectives: This session should concentrate on editing and all sentence level issues. This is when we worry about subject verb agreement, misspellings, and so forth. We are not concerned with focus or detail at this point. This is when we focus on sentence level issues such as word choice. In short, we are only proofreading and worrying about stylistic concerns and the level of the sentence and the word.

To the writer: Do you have any specific problems? If so, you could tell the reader about those concerns on a separate sheet at the beginning of the paper.

1) What sentences could be combined or shortened (Give examples)?
2) Where could word choice be altered? For example, if the word red appears fifteen times in the paper, you might circle these instances and suggest using crimson and ruby as substitutions.
3) Do not worry about spelling. It is the writer's responsibility to run spell check.
However, look for misused homonyms in the paper. For example, in the sentence "their are many ways to read poems," the writer obviously means "there," not "their." Also look for words that don't quite fit. Perhaps the author selected the wrong substitute from spell check.
4) Circle all instances of "you" in the paper. In most circumstances "you" should be eliminated from the paper.
5) Mark all fragments in the paper.
6) Underline any and all run-on sentences.
7) Are slang terms used inappropriately? Where?
8) Are commas, semicolons, and colons used appropriately? If not, indicate where they are needed.
9) Are pronoun references clear? If not, mark unclear pronounce references. Mark things such as "When a student [singular] goes to the store, they [plural] buy books."
10) Check for subject/verb agreement.
11) Check for passive voice. "Mistakes were made" is passive voice. Who made the mistakes? Fix this by saying "The government made mistakes."
12) Are interrogative sentences ended with question marks and declarative sentences with periods? If not, indicate.
13) Are there recurring grammar problems that are major (i.e., constant comma splices)? Mark each mistake and explain what the problem is.
14) Suggest a (different) title.
15) Is this twelve-point Times New Roman with one inch margins?
16) Is the heading correct?
17) Are the headers set up right?
18) What sentences could be combined or shortened (Give examples)?
19) Any sentences that function better in other places? Draw arrows and explain what should go where.