Editing Content
In the final review of your essay make sure that you have clearly:
- introduced your work
- organized your paragraphs to lead your reader smoothly through your ideas
- summarized your ideas appropriately
Click on the sections below for a list of specific questions to consider with respect to your introduction, body and conclusion.
Introduction
Consider the following questions as guides for editing:
- Can the reader easily recognize the topic or question your essay is addressing?
- Can the reader easily identify your essay’s thesis statement, its main point, or its answer to the question that you have chosen to address?
- Will the reader know what to expect from your paper?
Body
Consider the following questions as guides for editing:
- Does each paragraph have a clear connection to the overall goal of your paper (as seen, for example, in your thesis statement or in the question that you have indicated in the introduction)?
- Does each paragraph focus on a main point, and is each sentence of the paragraph clearly related to that point in some way?
- Have you fully explained the point you wish to make in the paragraph so that readers will be satisfied that you have answered their questions: “What?” “Why?” “How?” and “So what?”
- Are the transitions between paragraphs smooth so that the reader understands how one idea is related to the next?
Conclusion
Consider the following questions as guides for editing:
- Does the conclusion summarize concisely the main argument or idea of the paper and the most important points supporting it?
- Does the conclusion offer some insight into the implications and significance of the ideas presented in the paper?
It is a good idea to review and revise the ideas and arguments of your essay regularly while writing. Strategies for this process of global editing are described in the Revising Your Arguments module.
