Writers have a preconceived notion about the best way to write a paper.

This usually involves rushing through the paper simply to complete it, without as much forethought or afterthought as there should be. A truly good essay cant be created in this rushed manner. Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers state in A Writers Reference that [w]riting is a process of figuring out what you think, not a matter of recording already developed thoughts, (Hacker 3). Because writing is a discovery of what the writer thinks, good essay writing takes place in multiple stages over an extended period of time. The most important stage of the writing process is undoubtedly editing. Although there are many difficulties writers face when editing, editing helps refine the clarity and discovery of a topic. The biggest problem with editing is that no writer wants to edit. It seems like an extremely large and daunting task with many steps and processes, and frankly, writers are intimidated by it. Once past that feeling of helplessness, writers find that the hardest part of editing is cutting what theyve written. Authors are attached to their words and feel immense regret when cutting something they once liked. Another large problem with editing is that writers have problems catching their own mistakes. Writers will read over what theyve written and not see the grammatical mistakes they made because their brain superimposes what was meant with what is on the page. To address and fix the dilemmas of editing, writers must use all the resources available to them. To alleviate the intimidation of beginning such a daunting task, writers should begin editing in small parts. Instead of trying to edit all mistakes at the same time, authors should search for specific mistakes every time they read through their paper. For example, Hacker and Sommers state that [g]lobal matters focus, purpose, organization, content, and overall strategy generally receive attention first. Improvements in sentence structure, word choice,

grammar, punctuation, and mechanics come later, (Hacker 20). To be sure authors are editing effectively instead of being attached to their writing, peers should edit writers papers as well. This ensures that what needs to be cut will be; if many people edit one paper, all mistakes are more likely to be caught than not and clarity will be easier to establish. To ensure that writers are editing their own papers successfully, writers must give themselves more than one day to edit papers. If writers try to edit their work right after creating their first drafts, the ideas will be too fresh in their heads to edit effectively. More than two days is the ideal time-frame for editing ones own paper. So the question is, how does a writer successfully edit? The first step is planning. Planning is not limited to outlining, as most writers think; brainstorming, researching, and talking to others are also good tools for planning. The second step is creating the first draft. Writers should use their first drafts to put down all their ideas and try to arrange the ideas into some semblance of order. The next step is peer review. Peer review is useful because it is easier for an outsider to catch mistakes than it is for authors to catch their own mistakes. What is clear to the author might not be clear to the reader. After all other outside sources have been utilized, writers must edit their own papers. During self-assessment, writers must check their papers for strong meaning, fluidity, correct grammar, correct punctuation, and correct word usage; a good essay incorporates all these things. After self-assessment, writers must rewrite their papers incorporating all the changes that were made. The rewrite can either be used as the tentative final draft or can be edited again through the above processes to make the paper even stronger. Editing is never a one-step process. Possibly the most important aspect of editing is creating the clarity of a paper. This is often difficult to do, but through the drafting process, writers find that they can discover more

about their topics simply by drafting and revising. Afterwards, writers need to effectively edit their papers so that readers can easily see the discovery and clarity created by their papers. Establishing the order of the paper is the easiest way to do this. The order in which a writer establishes thoughts can be the difference between the reader understanding the paper or not grasping a word of it. If sentences or paragraphs are out of order, the ideas can seem unrelated and, therefore, confusing; a reader does not want to waste time on a confusing paper. Hacker and Sommers suggest to [a]im for paragraphs that are clearly focused, well developed, organized, coherent, and neither too long nor too short for easy reading, (Hacker 32). To link paragraphs together coherently, Hacker and Sommers state to link ideas clearly, repeat key words, use parallel structures, maintain consistency, and provide transitions (Hacker 39-41). By allowing coherence and clarity to enter a paper, writers allow their readers to follow their discoveries easily without losing interest. Through editing, authors can fix mechanical problems as well as logistical ones. Through editing, a writer can fix the grammatical and punctuation mistakes made throughout the paper, making the paper easier to understand. This also makes the writer sound more intelligent. Editing can also help the writer create a better and more concise thesis. Good writers find that they often change the thesis of their essay many times until it conveys exactly what they want it to. This is because the thesis is arguably the most important part of the paper; it tells the reader what the essay is about. Often times, writers need to complete the rest of the paper in order to discover what their thesis actually is and what it encompasses. The clearer the thesis, the better the reader understands the argument. Understanding an argument is ninety percent of reading an essay. Once the argument is understood, readers can create an opinion based on facts as well as what theyve read. Through

writing, authors can express their thoughts, emotions, opinions, and ideas effectively and coherently. Writing is a necessary part of everyday life; without it, people lose about half their modes of communication, which is possibly the most important skill one can possess. Without it, there would be no way for beings to converse with one another. But without editing, people risk sounding incoherent and unintelligent. No one wants to read the ramblings of a scatterbrain. Although editing is a long and strenuous procedure, writers must take the time to do so.

Works Cited Hacker, Diana, and Nancy I. Sommers. A Writer's Reference. Seventh ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. Print.