Editing Checklist

 

Presentation Check

  1.  Is your paper legible?
  2.  Is your heading (name, date, and hour) in upper right hand corner of the page?
  3.  Is the Title centered on top line (necessary for essays/compositions)
  4.  Does the Body begin on third line – indented?
  5.  Do not write on the back of a page.
  6.  Have you honored all four margins?
  7.  Rough draft copies should be double spaced.
  8.  Final draft copies should be single spaced.
  9.  All work should be in pencil unless otherwise directed

Paragraph Check

  1.  Check to see that each paragraph is indented.
  2.  Check each paragraph for a topic sentence.
  3.  Check each sentence to make sure it supports the topic of the paragraph.
  4.  Check the content for interest and creativity. Audience appropriate?
  5.  Check the type and format of writing assigned.

Sentence-By-Sentence Check: Usage and Mechanics

  1.  Check for complete sentences: subject, verb, complete sense, capital letter, and end mark.
  2.  Check for words that are left out and check for words or ideas that are repeated (except for a concluding sentence that summarizes the topic).
  3.  Check all words for capitalization mistakes.
  4.  Check for all punctuation mistakes, which includes five areas: (commas, periods, apostrophes, quotation marks, underlining)
  5.  Check for subject-verb agreement mistakes.
  6.  Check for problems in usage (pronoun usage, double negatives, a/an choices, etc.).
  7.  Check for misspelled words.
  8.  Do not use abbreviations.
  9.  Do not use contractions.
  10.  Do not use “slang expressions”.
  11.  Avoid the use of second person (any form of “you”)

Sentence-By-Sentence Check: Style and Sentence Structure

  1.  Check for sentence fragments.
  2.  Check for too many simple sentences. Use simple, compound, and complex sentences.
  3.  Check for sentence variety. Do not begin all sentences with the same word.
  4.  Check for run-on sentences: two sentences connected with a conjunction and no comma.
  5.  Check for a comma splice: two sentences connected with a comma and no conjunction.
  6.  Check for correct punctuation of complex sentences: use a comma after the first sentence only if it is dependent or cannot stand alone.