Quick Editing Checklist For Class Essays

Writing an essay for class? Bored to write one or you extremely hate it? Whatever your reasons about writing an essay for class, you dont have any choice now. All you have to do is to start your computer, hit on to a word processor and start typing.

If you dont know what to type and still you cant figure it out on what to write, youve got to prepare first the things that you needed in an essay writing for your class. You cant blame your professor if they required you to write one.



Now, the first thing that you need to do is know your topic. You cant write an essay for your class if you dont have any topics to elaborate. Your professor might have gave you your own topic for discussion or they prefer you to choose on your own. Once youve got your own topic, then do the research thing. You have to dig for more info that will support your essay later on. You can read any reference material or have it search over the internet.

Browsing the web allows you to know more about your topic and later on, you will have your own idea as to what you essay would end up to. So, collect any necessary information and note it all down.

If you want it in an easy way where you can write effectively and manageable, you can outline your essay before you start on writing. Plot on how you will start your paragraph, how the body or your essay would look like, how you will organize your ideas and how will you end it precisely. Have your first draft and then revise it when youre done


A perfect essay may seldom be attainable, but you can put in some proofing and editing work, along with the usual fix-ups from a grammar software, that will get your grade up at least a couple of notches.


Replace First Person Voice With The Third Person Form. For most academic and formal papers, a first-person point-of-view is usually not prescribed. Unless youve been specifically instructed to write from the first person (e.g. a personal anecdote), never turn in a paper written in that voice.


Use A Consistent Tense Throughout The Piece. Check the tense of your verbs throughout the whole text. Academic papers are usually written in the present tense and theres good reason to stick to the same temporal relations. The only time to ever use a different tense is when the paper doesnt make sense written in the present (e.g. when youre writing a historical account).



Replace Contractions With The Full Words. Unless specifically instructed to use them, remove contractions and replace them with spelled-out versions (e.g. replace all instances of isnt with is not).



Use Active Verbs. As with most other forms writing, the passive voice tends to make essays sound flat and boring. While the passive voice may sound more formal, its better to minimize them and use active verbs instead.