Revise only *hard copy* especially if your manuscript
is quite long. Revising from a monitor is confusing.
Verify the spelling of names, figures, dates, and addresses. These are
the most murdered items in manuscripts!
Be sure of what you put between those quotation marks! Otherwise,
rephrase the line and omit the quotation marks.
Did you follow the writer guidelines? e.g., number of words required,
font/font size specified, spacing, margins...
Edit your content
Be sure that you did not stray from your topic. Are your paragraphs
coherent?
Did you fulfill your purpose for writing that piece?
Is your entertainment feature article entertaining enough?
Did your personality sketch bring out your subject's unique and distinct
qualities?
If necessary, did you provide enough supporting data (graphs, charts,
figures) for your piece?
If applicable, did your article answer the 5 Ws and H? Who, what, why,
were, when and how.
Edit for tightness
Remove redundant and useless words.
What about diction?
Did you use the right word to express what you mean? For example,
"He stared at her" is more intense than "He looked at her."
"Devour" is not the same as "eat."
Did you vary the length of your sentences? Combining long with short
sentences makes your article easier and more natural to read.
Did you check that the body of your article is longer than the
introduction (lead)? Some writers get carried way. They focus on an effective lead to hook
the readers but neglect the body of the article!
What about tone and style?
Does your work reflect your writing style or does it sound like a copied
work?
Did you use the active voice?
Are you consistent with the point of view you used?
Do your title and the words you used match the tone of your piece?
About The Author
Copyright Lizzie R. Santos at www.iMusePub.com |
