Editing Text

Informal Proofreading Marks

Formal Proofreading Marks

Exercises

Using what we’ve covered so far, begin editing your own abstract as well as your partner’s. Use the following pointers as a guideline:

  • Can you find phrases that can be shortened or simply deleted?
  • Are hedge words, -ly adverbs, and emphasising words used appropriately?
  • Underline jargon terms. Can you replace them with a more generally understandable synonym?
  • Are any of the problems words discussed in the previous chapter used in an unclear way?
  • Can you find any noun clusters?
  • Are there any buried verbs which you can convert to an active verb.

In anticipation of structuring sentences, consider the following:

  • What are the key words in this abstract. Are they repeated and kept consistent?
  • Find a sentence which has a large gap between the subject and verb (or the verb and the object). Re-write the sentence, closing this gap.
  • Can you rewrite any sentences to make them easier to understand?