November 17, 2020 Training

Cont. Editing Mastery: How to Edit Writing Perfection by Shani Raja

Relevance does not always equal worthiness; delete everything that isn’t worthwhile too

    What is common knowledge, or too specific for your audience?

Is every point unique? A great point to reduce rambling

    For points that have overlapping points, consider splitting into multiple, more specific points. Be careful with rewrites if it’s someone else’s writing, try to check with them if you can.

Double check all facts that you aren’t comfortable with assuming are correct

Consider the angle, similar to the purpose, but focuses more on what you are trying to specifically say (inform the public v. inform the public about the dangers of X); consider the perspectives involved, who’s for/who’s against/who’s caught in the middle/why…

Consider the overall narrative, how your points link to each other, the mental journey

Try to reduce wordiness; it helps make things easier to read.

Remember to vary sentence lengths to improve flow and readability. Variety is more interesting, increases retention

Try to compartmentalize what editing you’re doing at a time, this can help you focus in on each step and find issues you may miss if you’re trying to do everything at the same time

Don’t be afraid to get multiple opinions; checking with the author or another reader can help you spot issues or make decisions that you’re waffling on

Remember: be ruthless. Your work will always be better for it.