Comments on: Monday Master Class: How to Edit Your Paper in Three Passes or Less

By: Saad Padela

Saad Padela — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:22:38 +0000

Great strategy!

Since my sophomore year in college (I’m a senior now), I’ve been on the senior staff of an undergraduate research publication. (Actually, it was founded in my sophomore year). For the past two years I’ve been training editors and advising them through the revisions process with potential authors. We use a very similar, but as of yet uncodified, system.

The first thing we do when meeting with authors is we present their own argument to them, as we understood it. We try to punch holes in it, and offer the author advice on how to make his or her thesis more compelling.

Then, we focus on moving, splitting, and merging paragraphs to come up with the best structure.

Finally, in the third step, we do “low-level” edits: fix grammar and spelling, and tighten up loose or clumsy sentences.

By: Zac Davis

Zac Davis — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:07:07 +0000

I guess I use that 3 pass system, I just didn’t know other people used it. It is a really useful way to really get your papers to read well.

By: Study Hacks

Study Hacks — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:40:43 +0000

@Rebecca:

I really agree. The downside, I guess, is that slow = painful. That’s why I really had to be sure to attack this phase fresh and on a different day from the rest of my work on the paper. (though for smaller papers I didn’t always get away with this!)

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:15:51 +0000

The out-loud pass needs to be slow; reading every word. By the time you get to that stage you know what you WANT to say. It’s all to easy to skip over mistakes or fill in missing words if you go through this step too quickly. If you find yourself doing that you can always start at the end and read the paper out loud backwards, sentence by sentence. That won’t help with transitions, but it can be invaluable to breaking you out of the rut of repetition so that you see the errors.

By: lightkeeper54.com » Blog Archive » How to edit your paper

lightkeeper54.com » Blog Archive » How to edit your paper — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:44:52 +0000

[…] Study Hacks » Blog Archive » Monday Master Class: How to Edit Your Paper in Three Passes or Less Paper editing is a tricky task. It has to be done well. Nothing scuttles a paper faster than obvious mistakes or sloppy construction. You must, however, be careful. Too many editing passes can bloat the paper-writing process. In Straight-A, a simple three-pass system is presented that finds this balance between effective and efficient. It casts a critical eye on your structure — and your mechanics — without unduly burdening your schedule. [link] […]

By: Study Hacks

Study Hacks — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:42:58 +0000

@Martin:

Thanks! I sometimes forget how punchy the paper-writing process can make me. The whole thing can feel like insanity.

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:26:21 +0000

What you’ve written here is similar to the way I edited and redrafted essays. But I didn’t do anything like the third ‘Sanity Pass’. You’re quite right, that third pass is a wise move. I think I’d have enjoyed that pass if I was thinking “Am I completely insane!?” all the way through reading. I’m still laughing at the amusing - albeit sensible - idea.

I really wish I’d done that now!

Seriously, next time I’ve got an essay to write…