This piece is very well done. I particularly liked the prose sections, as they showed your own valuable experience with writing and editing. The long list of common errors would be available from many sources but your own unique perspective is the most outstanding aspect of this piece.
With adult writers, unfortunately, the rules don't always stick. As Stephen King points out in his book On Writing, at some point one must just get writing done and accept that an understanding of the rules may always escape you. The best way to learn to write, in other words, is to read the best material you can find and then to write a lot. This is not top say that all attempts to change one's poor habits are in vain, but sometimes mechanical issues can become daunting and people sometimes give up because they may feel they cannot do it perfect enough to show to anyone. I think you do understand this.
I actually had to read the entire Chicago Manual of Style for a professional editing course I took. I learned a great deal to help me with editing the work of others, but my own writing did not improve any with all that additional knowledge. I was required to source site the specific rule for every change I made; once I knew the book well and had it post-tabbed, that was easier to do. I still encourage most writers to free-write first, and then revise afterward. However, I do not believe there is just one way for the writing process to work, for each writer is an individual.
Here are some brilliant and essential bits that I really love about your helpful piece:
1) "Every mistake you catch is one less for your reviewers to find. If, as a set of fresh eyes, your reviewers are not distracted by obvious mistakes, they'll be able to focus on important corrections and advice. (The practice will also make you less likely to make mistakes in the future.)"
I really believe in the truth of this! Many new writers are incredibly sensitive about their content and how they express their ideas. Writers need to keep their identities and their writing as separate as possible--be distanced from their work. People who become insanely defensive in the face of a somewhat corrective review have not yet developed the thick skin required to succeed in a world wherein you must be edited to be published. If such writers learn to anticipate an editor's response in advance, it can work really well in the revision process. This paragraph is a wonderful point among many good ones you made.
2) "Here's what I look for in my own work that I apply to others: missing words, incorrect punctuation, spelling mistakes, repeated words/phrases, incorrect tenses, and typos (typos can be anything from a missing or added letter in a word, or a different word typed in altogether)."
I like this because you convey that you are not immune from mistakes and also provide the process that you use. Reading and editing the work of others is great training for looking critically at one's own writing, and although it is often MORE difficult than editing someone else's writing, it is an essential skill for professional writers. You make the process seem do-able and important. Well put!
To avoid becoming a little too much like the CMS in this article, I would suggest going back through and simplifying a bit more, and providing examples and their corrections. For some reason, students tend to remember the rules better if they can see the rules in action. It isn't so important to know the name(s) of the mistakes they make, as it is to eliminate the action. Also, I would remove the section that is found in numerous sources elsewhere--the list of commonly made errors, for example. Choose maybe three of the worst offences and elaborate more on those, instead. Deep rather than broad is a good strategy to actual help your readers improve, which is the real goal of the piece, right? If they become overwhelmed, they may just shut down and move on.
Thanks for being so kind as to create such a comprehensive guide by which other writers on the site can benefit. Work on condensing and simplifying sentences where you can and providing examples wherever possible. These are suggestions that will not steer you wrong in terms of revising your own excellent work.
Excellent effort put into this instructional piece!
My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Go Noticed"  . |
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