[b]Lesson Six: Editing and Revising [b][b]Writing is not a one-time act. Writing is a process. Memorable writing [b]comes more from rewriting than it does from the first draft. By rewriting [b]you will improve your essay -- guaranteed. If you skimp on the rewriting [b]process, you significantly reduce the chances that your essay will be as [b]good as it could be. [b]Once you have taken a break from your essay, come back and read it through [b]one time with a fresh perspective. Analyze it as objectively as possible [b]based on the following three components: substance, structure, and [b]interest. Do not worry yet about surface errors and spelling mistakes; [b]focus instead on the larger issues. Consider reordering your supporting [b]details, delete irrelevant sections, and make clear the broader [b]implications of your experiences. Allow your more important arguments to [b]come to the foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make [b]them explicit. [b]51edit.com can significantly help you with the editing and revising [b]process. Having edited tens of thousands of admissions essays, our Harvard- [b]educated editors can take a poor, boring essay and make it a powerful [b]personal essay. We will carefully edit the essay to improve the impact of [b]the introduction and conclusion, the logic and transition, the content, and [b]the grammar. For more on our services, please visit our editing section. [b]In order to figure out where revisions are necessary, you are going to need [b]as many different sets of eyes to read your essay as possible. Whether it [b]is you or one of your friends, our professional Harvard editors, family [b]members or teachers, these questions will help guide your revision process. [b]1. Editing Checklist [b]SUBSTANCE [b]Substance refers to the content of the essay and the message you send out. [b]Here are some questions to ask yourself regarding content: [b]· Have I answered the question asked? [b]· Do I back up each point that I make with an example? Have I used [b]concrete and personal examples? [b]· Have I been specific? (Go on a generalities hunt. Turn the [b]generalities into specifics.) [b]· Could anyone else have written this essay? [b]· What does it say about me? After making a list of all the words [b]you have used within the essay -- directly and indirectly -- to describe [b]yourself, ask: Does this list accurately represent me? [b]· Does the writing sound like me? Is it personal and informal [b]rather than uptight or stiff? [b]· Regarding the introduction, is it personal? Is it too general? [b]Can the essay get along without it? [b]· What about the essay makes it memorable? [b] [b]STRUCTURE [b] [b]The meaning of an essay can be obscured by not properly ordering your [b]ideas. Your essay should be a roadmap leading the reader to an inevitable [b]conclusion. [b]· To check the overall structure of your essay, conduct a first- [b]sentence check. Write down the first sentence of every paragraph in order. [b]Read through them one after another and ask the following: [b]o Would someone who was reading only these sentences still [b]understand exactly what I am trying to say? [b]o Do the first sentences express all of my main points? [b]o Do the thoughts flow naturally, or do they seem to skip around or [b]come out of left field? [b]· Now go back to your essay as a whole and ask these questions: [b]o Does each paragraph stick to the thought that was introduced in [b]the first sentence? [b]o Does a piece of evidence support each point? How well does the [b]evidence support the point? [b]· Is each paragraph roughly the same length? Stepping back and [b]squinting at the essay, do the paragraphs look balanced on the page? (If [b]one is significantly longer than the rest, you are probably trying to [b]squeeze more than one thought into it.) [b]· Does my conclusion draw naturally from the previous paragraphs? [b]· Have I varied the length and structure of my sentences? [b] [b]INTEREST [b] [b]Many people think only of mechanics when they revise and rewrite their [b]compositions. As we know, though, the interest factor is crucial in keeping [b]the admissions officers reading and remembering your essay. Look at your [b]essay with the interest equation in mind: personal + specific = [b]interesting. Answer the following: [b]· Is the opening paragraph personal? [b]· Do I start with action or an image? [b]· Does the essay show rather than tell? [b]· Did I use any words that are not usually a part of my [b]vocabulary? (If so, get rid of them.) [b]· Have I used the active voice whenever possible? [b]· Have I overused adjectives and adverbs? [b]· Have I eliminated clichés? [b]· Have I deleted redundancies? [b]· Does the essay sound interesting to me? (If it bores you, [b]imagine what it will do to others.) [b]· Will the ending give the reader a sense of completeness? Does [b]the last sentence sound like the last sentence? [b]PROOFREADING [b] [b]When you are satisfied with the structure and content of your essay, it is [b]time to check for grammar, spelling, typos, and the like. You can fix [b]obvious things right away: a misspelled or misused word, a seemingly [b]endless sentence, or improper punctuation. Keep rewriting until your words [b]say what you want them to say. Ask yourself these questions: [b]· Did I punctuate correctly? [b]· Did I eliminate exclamation points (except in dialogue)? [b]· Did I use capitalization clearly and consistently? [b]· Do the subjects agree in number with the verbs? [b]· Did I place the periods and commas inside the quotation marks? [b]· Did I keep contractions to a minimum? Do apostrophes appear in [b]the right places? [b]· Did I replace the name of the proper school for each new [b]application? [b]· Have I caught every single typo? (You can use your spell-checker [b]but make sure that you check and re-check every change it makes. It is a [b]computer after all.) [b][b]2. Final Steps [b]Read Your Essay Out Loud: To help you polish the essay even further, read [b]it out loud. You will be amazed at the faulty grammar and awkward language [b]that your ears can detect. This will also give you a good sense of the flow [b]of the piece and will alert you to anything that sounds too abrupt or out [b]of place. Good writing, like good music, has a certain rhythm. How does [b]your essay sound? Is it interesting and varied or drawn out and monotonous? [b]Have Your Essay Professionally Edited: After spending hundreds of dollars [b]on test prep courses and guidebooks, you must be extremely confident if you [b]decide not to seek a professional's advice on the most controllable aspect [b]of the entire application. [b]Named "the world's premier application essay editing service" by The San [b]Francisco Chronicle, 51edit.com has helped more applicants write successful [b]application essays than any other company in the world. Please click here [b]to have your essay professionally edited. [b][b]Congratulations! [b]You have completed the course. [b]We wish you the best of luck throughout the application process. [b][b]