Essay editing tip #1: take a break

You might still be wondering how to make an essay better regardless of how many essays you have written and where you stand on a scale of professional writers. Well, taking a break and resuming may be the best. After you are done telling your story, and you have the necessary aspects of a great essay, take some time to rest.

Don’t start editing your essay and submit it straight away. When our brains get stuck on one thing, we sometimes lose the ability to see things. We emotionally get attached and can’t see the obvious mistakes. Watch a movie, walk, clear your head, and do whatever makes you happy and feel at peace. Give yourself a few hours or days to distance yourself from the writing process. You can come back and start revising once you feel all fresh.

You will realize there have been mistakes, but you could not notice them. You will notice the grammatical errors and logical inconsistencies. You will be happy you did not submit the essay straight away once you realize those errors that could ruin your fascinating story. 

Essay editing tip #2: change the font and size

You should do everything possible to make your essay visually look like a different essay. Experts recommend changing the font and size. When you stare at an object for long, it appears to lose its shape and other characteristics, blending into a homogenous thing. You have to look at it from a different angle to start seeing them again.

A paper is not an object or a painting, and you use words for essays but still visually perceive it. It takes at least a day to write a paper. Imagine starting your task and thinking about it for a whole day. It would cause a lot of confusion in your head. Changing the size and font will change the angle, and you will have a fresh perspective and begin to notice misused topic sentences, grammar mistakes, etc. 

Essay editing tip #3: Print out your paper

Printing out your paper is another way to change your perspective. Staring at a laptop screen for a long can cause distractions and leave you feeling drained mentally. It will be difficult for a tired brain to detect errors, and editing your paper digitally may fail. Once you hold your paper in hand, you will have the opportunity to step back from the screen and approach the task with a renewed spirit.

You might have rectified grammar mistakes but not identified formatting mistakes. Maybe improperly sized fonts have found their way to your task, or you have overlooked margins. Maybe you have used big words and long sentences that need to go. You probably missed some good words to use in your text, and now you can turn your paper into something else.

Essay editing tip #4: Use a highlighter 

You can enhance your writing skills if you apply some old-fashioned methods of self-editing. Old-school writers usually maneuver around with a highlighter in their hands. The best way to focus on individual sentences and prove them vigorously is by highlighting them. You can lose focus if you locate a mistake and correct it immediately. It is advisable to first identify all areas that need correction and then take action later. At our expert writing services, we recommend the use of different colors to highlight various kinds of issues.

There are different issue types you may need to look out for. Highlight formatting issues, grammar mistakes, important information, and problematic areas. When you use different highlighters to categorize the mistakes, it will be easy to know what you are dealing with. Highlighting will help you identify errors that could be missed, for instance, identifying misplaced great essay phrases and changing their location to where they make more sense. 

Essay editing tip #5: Read your paper backward

What if you try analyzing your final draft upside down? You can challenge your essay and make the process fun. The essay should be sensible from top to bottom. There should be a logical flow between paragraphs, and transitions should be used to make the flow coherent.

Focus on individual words and sentence fragments. Ask if it is fit to use them in an essay. This will help you notice spelling mistakes and typos and improve the quality of your essay. Listen to the flow of the text. It is easy to know whether it is easier to notice whether the essay is well written and easy to follow when reading backward.

You will know where the paper needs refinement with better transitional sentences. You may have used unnecessary information or faulty parallelism that needs to be removed. Consistency is key, and you should check the citation and formatting to ensure they comply with the requirements.

Essay editing tip #6: Use a checklist

To ensure your text is free from errors and transmits your intended message effectively, you can use an editing checklist. Always check your essay against pre-set criteria. The following are some items you can put on your checklist and use when editing an essay. 

Introduction – is it introducing readers to the background story and context? Is the introduction engaging?

Thesis statement – does it convey what the essay is about? Is it clear?

Central paragraphs – are main arguments appropriately supported? Are they logical and well-organized?

Transitions- are the paragraphs linking with one another with proper transitional sentences?

Conclusion – is the conclusion memorable?

Grammar – did you use the correct syntax? Are there any spelling mistakes? Have you used proper words for essays?

Formatting – does the citation follow the proposed guide?

Essay editing tip #7: Read your paper loud

This is another step from our experts. After you are done with writing, and there is little time to breath, you need to look at your paper quickly with fresh eyes. You will get fresh insight into how your ideas flow once you hear the sound of each sentence and phrase audibly. Reading audibly enables students to write proficiently, as they can identify structural issues in their work easily. 

This heightened level of concentration will aid in highlighting any sections that exhibit awkwardness or repetition, which might not have been immediately evident otherwise. It will enable you to identify instances of clumsy language, lengthy sentences, and recurring words within the essay. Besides fixing basic grammar or typos, when you read your work out loud, you can also focus on how it sounds and if it keeps the readers interested. So, the next time you’re done writing something, don’t forget to give your voice a little workout!

Essay editing tip #8: Change the environment

According to our paper editing guide, you can reset your mind by changing your surroundings. Writing essays can be tiring because it requires much focus and hard work. So, taking breaks is as important as finding the right words. Before revising your paper, go to a park, library, or favorite cafe for a fresh beginning. Find a comfy and quiet place to work. To find and fix grammar mistakes, you need a rested mind without distractions.

Sometimes, going to a different place can help you be more creative and see your work differently. This might help you find areas in the text that need more attention and make solutions come faster. Remember, making a good paper takes time and effort. Rushing through it usually leads to low-quality work.

Essay editing tip #9: Use a dictionary 

To make your writing more attractive, you can find interesting words to use in your essays. In your first drafts, it’s okay to use simple sentences and words to express yourself freely. You can make them better when you edit. Dictionaries can help you for a long time. They can help you get better at spelling. Even some common mistakes can go away if you use a dictionary.

Using a dictionary can also help you learn good words for your essays. When you use advanced words in short assignments, it can make them much better, going from okay to really good. This also helps make your writing clearer.