In this lesson, you will learn some techniques to help you check that the content meets the audience's needs and supports the purposes of the essay.
Editing as part of the "writing process"
Most often, people consider editing to be at the tail end of the writing process, but truthfully, writers edit the entire time they create an essay or short story or business letter: they choose what to put in and what to leave out, they choose what words to use to express their ideas, they choose the marks of punctuation to use, and so on. One thing all writers have to realize, though, is that they can't do everything at once, successfully. The brain can only keep track of so many things at the same time, so when we write, because writing is such a complex activity, some things go by the wayside when we focus on other things.
Once we recognize and accept this fact, we can gain better control over the things we write, because we know to focus on only a few things at any one time. The best writers are those who know they will have to go back later and work on anything they write. Most generally, the first thing effective writers do is edit for content, and make sure they have addressed everything necessary to meet the audience's needs and support the purposes of the essay (See the earlier sections "Purpose? What's That?", and "Who Cares About the Audience?" for more about these issues.). After that stage, they go on to edit for form and structure. There is, of course, some overlap, and writers will fix typos and small errors they notice as they read for content, but the focus is on making sure the ideas are complete and clear and effective.
An outline of questions to use to edit for content
Once they have a pretty complete draft, writers usually have a number of audience- and purpose-related questions in mind as they review those drafts. No writer can effectively check a draft for all of these things at once, so be prepared to read through the draft several times, looking at different areas each time. Generally, the best approach is to start general and narrow it down, much as this list is organized.
Review questions
- Who is my audience?
- What is my purpose? Why should my audience read my essay?
Revision questions
- Introduction and thesis
- Have I included enough background information for my readers to understand my essay topic?
- Have I given them something to catch their interest in the introduction?
- Have I indicated in my introduction, either by stating my thesis or implying my thesis, what my essay's topic and purpose is? (Thesis Development
Exercise
Read through the following introductory paragraph and then answer in the text box below the questions that follow:
In this essay, I am going to write about a place that I like a lot. It's called Walker Lake and I like to go there and walk around because it is pretty and quiet. There are lots of trees and a pond and a lot of views of the surrounding area. I think it is a great place to go.
- Does the writer give enough background for you to understand the topic and what he or she is going to be writing about?
- Does the introduction catch your interest? Why or why not?
- Do you have a clear idea of the writer's purpose from this introduction?
- What do you think the next paragraph will be about? Can you forecast a bit about what the essay will be talking about?
See below for our answers.
- No. Did you even have a clue where this place might be? It could be in New York, New Mexico, or New Delhi, for all the background the writer gave. We can't assume the reader can read our minds or will know everything we know about a topic. Without that background, the reader starts off vaguely confused and it will likely only get worse the farther he or she reads.
- Not really. The mention of trees and a pond are good details that could start piquing a readers' interest, but without more to capture the imagination, most readers would be inclined to just set the essay down and not even bother reading on.
- You know the topic, but not the purpose. You know the writer is going to write about Walker Lake, but you don't know why. Part of the thesis needs to address why you are writing about a particular topic, so the readers have a clear idea of what they are going to get out of devoting their time to reading the essay.
- You might guess the writer will talk more about what the place looks like and why he or she likes the place, but you really couldn't tell any more than that, and that is only a guess, really, since the writer hasn't given the readers more to go on.
An example of the introduction above, revised
As I stumble up the rough, rocky road to the edge of the volcanic crater, I hear the wind whispering through the surrounding pines and the crunch of the cinders under my boots. The road rises and falls into humps where bulldozers have piled rock to make the road impassable to vehicles. Eventually, this road ends at the lip of the crater that sits on the edge of the San Francisco Peaks volcanic field that surrounds and spreads north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Gazing down into the crater bowl, I see the pond that is Walker Lake and the aspen and pine forest that covers the sides of that bowl. I know that past the other side of the crater wall, I can look out over the vast desert plain that leads to the Grand Canyon. Above me, the sky pans out in brilliant blue, catching the tops of the trees in its grip. Here is the place where I always feel most at peace and where I go to relax and think and leave behind problems. We all need places where we can relax and gain perspective on life, and Walker Lake is one of the most important ones for me.
- Essay body
- Do I address all the points necessary to support my thesis? Have I left any important issues out? Have I done all the research I need to do to be sure I have done this?
- Does each paragraph connect to my overall point? Have I made it clear to my readers how each point supports my thesis?
- Have I organized those points in the most effective way, or should I move some things around so the readers can follow them more easily? (A post-draft outline is often one of the best things you can do to check this. Jot down your thesis and then underneath that, list the point of each paragraph. Does the list look like it is organized logically?)
- Have I used transitions that will help my readers see how my paragraphs relate to each other?
- Paragraphs
- Does each paragraph have a clear, single focus? Do I have a clear topic sentence toward the beginning of each paragraph?
- Are there any paragraphs that look skimpy? If so, is it because it really needs to be connected to another paragraph, or is it because I have not completely explained the point and given sufficient evidence or examples to illustrate and support that paragraph's point?
- Do any paragraphs look huge? If so, do I need to break it up or do I need to narrow the focus of the point you are making?
- Is each paragraph organized effectively? (Mini-outlines of paragraphs can be helpful at this stage as well!)
Do I use transitions to help readers understand the information within paragraphs as well?
- Style
- Does my sentence structure and word choice reflect the needs of my audience and support my purpose?
- Does my tone come through in the way I want it to? Is it consistent throughout the essay?
- Do my sentences flow and do I provide enough variety to keep my readers interested?
Exercise
Look back over something you have written recently, and write a letter to yourself, posing as a reader of your essay; in other words, write to yourself the writer as yourself the reader (yes, this will feel like an odd thing to do, but it can work!). What would have helped you, as a reader, to be more interested in the essay? What could the writer have done to clarify some of the ideas? Literally put yourself in the reader's shoes, go through this list, and write to the writer as a reader.
Summary
In this lesson, you have learned about some steps you can take after creating a full draft to check to make sure you have fulfilled your audience's wants and needs and fulfilled your purpose.
  
|
