Beyond the Books - Susan Prior - Proof you need to proof your work

CRICOS QLD00244B NSW 02225M TEQSA:PRF12081


Self-editing your assignment

Proof you need to proof your work

Susan Prior


Susan Prior I am an editor, writer and content producer. I work as a freelancer, which means I work for

many different clients on many different projects. I have a Bachelor of Mass Communication from

USQ, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Writing, Editing, and Publishing from UQ. I produce a local magazine called Living in The

Shires, and, because there is only me, I have to self-edit all the time.


Why do you need to edit your assignment? University tutors expect student assignments to be

of a certain standard. Careless errors distract your tutor from your ideas. In a survey on lecturers’ perceptions of students’

literacy, more than a third of responding lecturers said they deducted marks for writing errors*.

*Woodward-Kron, R. & Van der Wal, A. (1997). Lecturers’ perceptions of student literacy: a survey conducted at the University of Newcastle.


What I will cover: resources layout – formatting, styles etc. the process of writing an assignment editing your content, including structural

editing grammar, spelling and punctuation, including:

• hidden symbols• active voice and sentence structure• noun–verb agreement• dangling modifiers• Using hyphens and en dashes• precise language• punctuating dot points• checking your quotes.


Resources

USQ has some great resources when it comes to writing and editing your assignments. Check them out before you begin.

Go here: http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre. And, specifically, here:

http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/assignment-skills/writing-assignments.

http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre

http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/assignment-skills/writing-assignments


Resources

Read USQ’s Publishing and Writing Style Guide, which gives you some basic style advice. Download it from here: http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents/13703PL

Unless otherwise specified by your lecturer, you should use: the Macquarie Dictionary the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers,

Sixth Edition.

http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents/13703PL


LayoutYour lecturers may give you specific instructions on formatting. For example, they may ask for: double-spaced text Times New Roman font, size 12 a specific margin size left justified no paragraph indentation a footer (or header) that includes your

student name, the course details, your name and student number, and page number.


Source: invisiblebread.com

http://invisiblebread.com/


Process of writing an assignment Analyse the question or task. Research the topic. Make plenty of notes and decide

what position you will take and what your arguments will be to support that. Draft your essay. Let it sit for a time. I like a week. Edit your content. Redraft and, once again, let it sit. Edit the final draft.

It is these editing steps that we will discuss in this webinar.



Edit your content This is called a structural edit. Make sure you have eliminated any errors in logic

and reasoning in your work when you redraft, and before you get to the final edit.


The structural edit Have you addressed the question? Does your introduction include a thesis statement and

does it outline the topics you will cover in the essay?

A quick reminderA thesis explains the main idea or theory, and your opinion on that. You gather evidence to support your thesis and discuss it logically.


The structural edit, cont’d Does each paragraph relate to one idea? Does each paragraph have a topic sentence? Are the transitions between paragraphs logical and

smooth? Have you argued and presented evidence for your

thesis point? Does your conclusion restate your main thesis point? Have you reinforced the strength of your argument?

Don’t introduce any new ideas to your conclusion.


Edit the final draft

Self-editing your assignment also involves checking the: grammar, spelling, and punctuation styles formatting reference list title page word count.


General tips Make an editing checklist. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources

/printouts/Editing%20Checklist.pdf

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/Editing%20Checklist.pdf


General tips cont’d Read your assignment aloud. Read it from the end to the beginning. Read a hard-copy version of your

assignment. Get a friend to read it. Be methodical.


Hidden symbols

Make sure paragraph and other hidden symbols are showing. This is really helpful so you can avoid double spacings and to check your styles, and so on.


A word on styles

Using the Styles sheet menu in Word is a whole topic in itself. If you can, devote some time to doing an online course.A basic video by lynda.com has plenty of tutorials, and a free 10-day trial: https://www.lynda.com/Word-tutorials/Using-Word-styles-style-sets/124521/130445-4.html

https://www.lynda.com/Word-tutorials/Using-Word-styles-style-sets/124521/130445-4.html


GrammarIf you have a grammar conundrum, a really good website to use is: www.chompchomp.com

It has heaps of useful information.

http://www.chompchomp.com/



Spell checking in Word

Set your dictionary in Word to English (Australia). (In 2016, go to File>Options>Language.)

Do not rely on the spell checker.


Spelling cont’dWatch out for homonyms.

These are words that are said or spelled the same way: right, write your, you’re their, they’re and there bare, bear.


A pair of pared pears!


Sentence structure Make sure your sentences are complete. A sentence has at least a subject, a verb,

and expresses a complete thought.


Sentence length Make sure you vary sentence structures

and lengths.


Use the active voice(Thanks to www.grammarly.com.)

If you can add ‘by zombies’ after the verb and it makes sense, you probably have passive voice. The town was attacked (by zombies).

Passive

To make this sentence active, you will need to put the noun doing the action in the subject location of the sentence. Zombies attacked the town

Active

http://www.grammarly.com/


Sentence fragments and punctuation Eliminate sentence fragments, for example:

• There are two options. Raising the wall or digging a trench. X (It is missing the subject.)• There are two options: raising the wall or digging a trench. • There are two options. These options are raising the wall or

digging a trench.


Run-on sentences and punctuationRun-on sentences are often just incorrectly punctuated with commas.


Source: viralnova.com

http://www.viralnova.com/


Run-on sentences and punctuation

Improvements to the building can sometimes be made, this can involve rewiring the home and replacing the plumbing. X

• Improvements to the building can sometimes be made. This can involve rewiring the home and replacing the plumbing.

• Improvements to the building can sometimes be made by* rewiring the home and replacing the plumbing.

*By is a conjunction. Other conjunctions include: and, because, but, for, if, or, and when.


• Improvements to the building can sometimes be made, which can involve rewiring the home and replacing the plumbing.

‘Which’ introduces a non-restrictive clause at the end of the sentence.

• Improvements to the building can sometimes be made; this can involve rewiring the home and replacing the plumbing.

The semicolon joins these two ideas while giving them equal rank. You use a semicolon between two independent clauses.


Source: www.teacherspayteachers.com

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/


SentencesParallel structure, for example: Caroline likes to cook, to read and

swimming. X• Caroline likes to cook, to read and to swim.

Caroline likes cooking, to read and swimming. X

• Caroline likes cooking, reading and swimming.

Caroline wanted to make sure that she made her speech clear, succinctly and persuasively. X

• Caroline wanted to make sure that she made her speech clearly, succinctly and persuasively.


Noun–verb agreementThe subject and verb in a sentence should agree in number: that is, singular subjects require a singular verb, and plural subjects require plural verbs.


Noun–verb agreementFor example: The list of books are on my desk. X

• The list of books is on my desk.

The bouquet of flowers are lovely. X• The bouquet of flowers is lovely.

The committee is working late. • Members of the committee are working late.

The team has training tonight. • The team mates have training tonight.


There are some really good examples here: http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp

Noun–verb agreement

http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp


A word about dataIs ‘data’ plural or singular? Is it ‘the data are acceptable’, or ‘the data is

acceptable’?

Traditionally a count noun, data was the plural of datum. ‘The data are acceptable’, or ‘the datum is

acceptable’.

However, today, with a subtle change in usage of the word, data is now used as both a mass noun and a count noun. And count nouns take a singular verb, meaning either way is acceptable.

Having said that, your lecturer may have a preference.



Dangling modifiers When a modifier (either a word or a phrase) has no target word in the sentence to describe, it is dangling. Hungry, the cake was all gobbled up. X

• Hungry, Simon gobbled up the cake.

Searching through the cupboard, the scarf was nowhere to be found. X

• Searching through the cupboard, Susan was unable to find her scarf.

With a shout of frustration, the ball slipped through her fingers. X

• With a shout of frustration, Sarah let the ball slip through her fingers.


ApostrophesUsed for: single possession – the teacher’s concerns plural possession – the teachers’ concerns

• But: the woman’s concerns and the women’s concerns

contractions• I am – I’m• I cannot – I can’t• It is – It’s.

N.B. With possessive pronouns (its, yours, hers) no apostrophe is used. The apostrophe in it’s is there because it’s is a contraction of it is.


What is an en dash? Firstly, it is NOT a hyphen. It is wider than a hyphen, but narrower than an

em dash, for example: hyphen (-), en dash (–), and em dash (—). An en dash is the width of the letter N, and an

em dash is the width of a letter M.


Finding the en dash symbol


Using an en dash In a span or range of numbers: 2015–2016 season; in

chapters 6–10.Exceptions are when using from or between: from 1970 to 1973; between 12 and 17 people.

To show an association between words that retain their separate identities: noun–verb agreement; the Brisbane–Gympie train service.

To connect a prefix to a proper open compound: pre–World War II.

Some kinds of compound adjectives (more than one element): ‘HIV-positive’; but, ‘hepatitis C–positive person’.


• As a pair and spaced to isolate a parenthetic expression in a sentence, so instead of:

Since 2010, when the school closed, there has been a huge surge in unemployment in the town.

You could use:Since 2010 – when the school closed – there has been a huge surge in unemployment in the town.


WordinessEliminate unnecessary words, such as: very, a lot, or really? Eliminate redundancies, for example: added bonus 4 am in the morning critically important final outcome first discovered future plans proof positive return back up until.


Use precise languageEliminate: jargon Clichés discriminatory language euphemisms*.

Avoid repetition.

*A ‘euphemism’ is when you use a mild or indirect word or expression instead of something more direct and to the point.


Source: University of Maryland


Source: peanuts.com

http://www.peanuts.com/


Punctuating dot points

Eliminate: jargon clichés euphemisms.

Does each paragraph relate to one idea? Does each paragraph

have a topic sentence?


Quotes Are all quotes and paraphrases correctly

punctuated? Have you introduced them clearly? Are they all cited correctly within the text

and in the Reference page?

If you want to know more about quoting this is a really useful page: http://www.plagiarism.org/citing-sources/cite-sources/

http://www.plagiarism.org/citing-sources/cite-sources/


Pre-flight check: title page final word count (don’t include

contents, reference page, appendices) footers and headers contents references appendices cover sheet (if required).


Recommended reading


My contact detailsWeb: www.write-now.com.auEmail: [email protected]: 0439 788 465Facebook: Write-now!

The magazine can be found here: www.livingintheshires.com.au

http://www.write-now.com.au/

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/susanprioreditor/

http://www.livingintheshires.com.au/


Education

Beyond the Books - Susan Prior - Proof you need to proof your work