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The next level of editing is that of grammar. And there's a very simple technique
that you can use to detect most of your grammar errors. The way to do this is to
read your sentences out loud. This sounds odd, but many students find it very
helpful because they often don't see their grammar mistakes, but they can them.
This works because of the way your brain processes information. This is a
simplification, but the writing part of your brain, the reading part of your brain, the
listening part of your brain, and the speaking part of your brain, are different
parts of your brain.
When you write without reading, you are only using one quarter of your brain. If
you read it afterwards, you still only use one half of your brain. However,
grammatical errors are often missed when reading and writing are close
together. That is, when you reread the sentence, you don't actually read it the
second time, you actually re remember it from when you wrote it. That thought
that you had in your brain is still active. and you may edit from the thought, and
not what is actually written, allowing the grammar error to persist.
Putting at least a day between when you write the paper and when you read it will
help break that msmory connection. If, however, you don't have that kind of time, you
can always use the out-loud technique. Reading aloud allows you to bring in the other
parts of your brain. So your whole brain is editing. This helps in detecting errors,
but may not always tell you how to correct them. Simply rework the sentence until it
sounds correct. The reverse of this technique can also be helpful.
If you're unsure of how to put into words what is in your head, don't try to write it
out, instead, speak it out loud. Out loud into
a tape recorder. Rewind it, listen to what you've said and write it out. This can help
work well with writer's block when you know what you want to say, but you just can't
seem to put it into words. For some it is helpful to have their own personalized
editing checklist. This is where you write down all of the different kinds of writing
glitches that you are prone to, and search through your paper, specifically for each
of those glitches.
For more information on editing, consult one of the many excellent writing handbooks
in the bookstore. Happy editing.