Editing an Academic Project

Editing an academic project gives the scholar an opportunity to add, delete, or re-arrange the words and sentences to make the project meaningful, clear, and understandable to the target audience. One should keenly scrutinize the project and make necessary corrections on the first draft. The final copy of the project becomes easier to understand, better organized and relevant to the readers.

Editing allows one to improve the quality of the project by removing any errors that may not have been noticed during the writing stage. Before beginning to edit the project, one must choose the preferred editing method, which is, computerized word-processor programs, or manual editing with a pen and paper. Choosing a quiet environment that is comfortable, familiar, and with minimal distractions gives one ample time for concentration and focus on the editing process.

Reasons for Editing an Academic Project

Editing is crucial to ensure that an academic project is formal, objective, consistent, clear, brief, and logical. One should check every detail from layout, language, the content of the project, and writing style. The first draft of the project may have errors, may not be clear, or is understandable. Editing gives one an opportunity to clarify the project and prevent possible communication barriers between the scholar and the reader.

The Importance of Editing an Academic Project

The importance of editing an academic project cannot be overemphasized because of the following:

• Editing enhances the writer’s credibility by making the writing clear, comprehensible, and convincing to the readers.
• It gives the writer an opportunity to correct errors and thus make the project convincing, unbiased, and balanced.
• It helps the writer to make an excellent first impression on the readers or the project supervisors.
• Editing helps the scholar to create a lasting value of the project by making it convincing and comprehensible to the readers.
• Through editing, the writer is able to produce a high quality piece of writing that has no errors.
• Editing facilitates coherence, consistence, and clarity with which the writer expresses the project idea.
• The scholar is able to improve the project work by eliminating redundancies and repetition.
• Editing helps the writer to correct any errors, to bring uniformity and correctness in citation and referencing according to a certain style.

After writing the first draft of the project, the following tips can help one when editing their own document:

• Take a break between writing and editing the document.
• If it is not possible to take a break from both writing and editing the document, one should do something different to keep the concept of writing out of his or her mind.
• Before editing the document, one should think about the readers and the objectives of writing the project.
• The writer should then read through so as to get the point of writing the project.
• One should find out the common weaknesses that always occur in their writing and correct them, like incoherent and overlong sentences, unnecessary repetition, or inconsistency in the use of language and words.

Forms of Editing for Academic Projects

Editing can be classified into two basic forms: structural editing, and copy-editing. In structural editing, one should check the argument structure for purpose, sense, cohesion, and repetition. When editing for purpose, the writer should confirm whether the arguments presented in the first chapter gives the reader a clear idea for the entire project. The scholar should also confirm whether the findings achieved the aims, or objectives of the project. Flow of argument should be clear in the entire document, and the conclusion should demonstrate whether the scholar’s argument has been proven or not.

When editing for cohesion one should check whether there are links, or transition sentences between paragraphs. When editing for repetition, one should check whether there are repetitive words or phrases which can be deleted without confusing the reader.

In copy-editing, the scholar should check for clarity and brevity, grammar and spelling errors, as well as over use of complex words. One should avoid long sentences that can strain the reader, or ambiguous expressions. Copy-editing enables the writer to standardize style and documentation, improve clarity and flow, all while avoiding errors, or interfering with the logic of the project

Levels of Editing

Generally, there are five major levels of editing. These include developmental or content editing, structural editing, copy editing, line editing, and mechanical editing. Each of these levels of editing is important in the progress of the project from the first draft to the final copy. The different stages of the project development determine the type of editing to use.

Developmental or Content Editing

In developmental or content editing, the scholar should aim at making project writing the best it can be. One should carefully examine the content of the paper and judge its sensibility. The development and articulation of ideas should be confirmed at this level. The main focus at this level of editing should be on the general plot of the project, identifying weak points, or inconsistencies that may be noticeable in the project.

Structural Editing

In structural editing, the scholar should look at the overall organization and presentation of the project as a whole. The abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, presentation of results, discussion, and the recommendations given in the project should show consistency.

This level of editing focuses on the meanings and accuracy, how information is presented, flow of ideas, logic, style, and the general quality of the work. The sentence levels, paragraphs, and the context of the project must be cohesive to give a clear meaning to the reader. The scholar should have a clear idea of the whole project so as to improve on its quality and presentation.

Copy-editing

When copy-editing, scholars should review the project paper and edit it to improve its readability. The main areas of focus at this level are on grammar, word choice, enhancing the overall quality of the project, and making corrections on spelling and punctuation.

One should review the paper to ensure that there is conformity to citation and adherence to complete referencing. One should make sure that the tone and style used in the project are appropriate for the target audience. Generally, copy editing is meant to correct errors, enforce flow, check for consistency, and verify factual accuracy.

Line Editing

Inline editing, the scholar should read the project line-by-line, closely examining and refining it to make sure that the arguments, or ideas in the writing are presented in a clear and eloquent manner. The main focus should be on clarity and simplification of the project to make sure that its meaning and agenda are clear.

Mechanical Editing

Mechanical editing is the final stage in which the scholar focuses on conformity of the project to a given style guide. One must make sure that the project adheres perfectly to the correct use of abbreviations, punctuation, spelling, format, and any other rules that apply to the style guide provided for the project.

Summary

During the editing process, the scholar makes significant revisions to the content and wording of the paper. One must proofread the document before publication or submitting the project to the project supervisors. After the project has gone through all the levels of editing, the final copy is clear, comprehensible, more logical, and meaningful to the readers. Excellent editing skills are important for scholars to be able to produce quality academic work.