Self-Editing, or How to Turn a Rough Draft into a First Draft
Amber Cook, Senior Writing Tutor
Amber Cook
As one of Walden’s writing tutors, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this. If everyone becomes an effective self-editor, I’ll be out of a job. So try to keep this between us.
Here’s the thing: Tutors, editors, and instructors can do their jobs a lot more effectively if you submit the strongest draft you can. I often receive messages with this warning: “I’m sorry—this is a really rough draft.” While I’m always happy to help, this warning tends to make me run to the chocolate drawer for comfort. I know it will be a bumpy ride.
While no one expects your work to be perfect when you’re asking for help, it’s much better if you can do everything within your power to improve your paper before you give it to someone for review. Many professors (and even a weary tutor or two) will refuse to read a draft that’s a bit too rough, so here are some tips for creating a good first draft:
Read your work out loud. If you have read your paper so often that the words are starting to blur together, reading it out loud can be a great way to break the monotony. The idea is that your ear will catch mistakes that your eye has long since begun to ignore. It also helps to do this starting at the end of your paper (reading the last sentence first, then the next to last, etc.), which keeps you from getting swept away in the content.
Note: This technique, of course, works best if you are working alone, away from the bewildered glances of coworkers or family. You may feel goofy doing it, but shut your door and give it a try. It works wonders, I promise!
Use your resources. While it may seem obvious, running a spell and grammar check on your computer is an absolute must. I can tell you that nothing annoys a well-meaning writing tutor more than having to point out errors that Microsoft Word can easily identify.
Note: This process isn’t foolproof—Word sometimes gets it wrong—but you should at least investigate each red or green squiggly line that Word gives you. Right-clicking on the word or phrase in question will give you Word’s recommendations.
Other resources you may not have considered are your friends and family. These people don’t have to be experts. If you can just get a fresh pair of eyes on your paper, you’ll discover problems that you, as the writer, can’t see. You know what you’re talking about, but does your reader?
Note: If you have a 14-year-old in your life, he or she can make an especially great nonsense-detector. You need someone who can tell you clearly and without trepidation that you’re full of baloney, and 14-year-olds often possess that gift.
Do two passes: one for format/mechanics and one for content/organization. When I read a student’s paper, I do two separate passes over it: one for mechanics and format and one for content and organization. Some may be able to do this all at once, but for me it takes a different type of concentration to spot picky grammar and APA errors than it does to find problems in flow or wording.
Read through your paper once with an eye only on questions like “Does this make sense?” and “Is this information presented in a logical order?”
Note: It helps to be wide awake for this reading, so I recommend coffee or a long break before you try this!
On your second reading, focus on the little details, such as APA format, grammar, and punctuation. Have your APA manual at your side for this reading, as you’ll need it to verify anything about which you’re unsure. Try to avoid the temptation to think about your research or concepts during these readings.
Note: If an idea comes to you about something you should add or omit, make a note of it on a separate piece of paper, and come back to it once you’ve dealt with the writing details. One problem at a time, right?
Once you’ve given these techniques a try, feel free to send your newly polished draft to Walden’s tutors at writingsupport@waldenu.edu. Having given it your best shot, you won’t be burdened with hearing explanations of concepts that you already know, and we’ll be able to move on to bigger and better issues. Who knows—you may even put us out of business.
Senior writing tutor Amber Cook holds a Bachelor of Music in flute and an English minor from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Music in music history from the University of Cincinnati. She was the managing editor of Music Research Forum, a journal of student research in music, and she has tutored writing in settings ranging from conservatories to military schools. Her master’s thesis on folk singer Peggy Seeger won the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Outstanding Thesis Award in 2002. Amber has published a review of Seeger’s work for American Music, the journal of the Society for American Music. Amber has been with Walden since January 2005 and currently resides in Asheville, NC.
