EDITING AND REVISING

RESEARCH
 These are the instructions for our in-class peer
editing activity. Follow all directions. You will also
need to have an outside source edit your paper and
sign the bottom of it.
NUMBERS

 Look for all numbers in the paper. If any are

incorrect, highlight them.
 Spell out a number that begins a sentence.

 Spell out a number that expresses order (i.e. first,

second, third, etc.)
 Spell out a number that tells how many if it is one or
two words. If it is longer than two words, write it
numerically.
 Use numerals to express numbers in conventional
situations (like percentages, dates, addresses,
times, etc.)
CITATIONS
 Highlight all parenthetical citations in your paper.
Then check for…
 1. …the period. It should go only after the
parentheses. Not before and after. Not just before.
Just after. Like this: Mrs. Ross is the weirdest
teacher ever (“Weird Teachers”).
 2. …the titles. Titles must be capitalized! No, I don‟t
mean IN ALL CAPS. The major words should be
capitalized like this: The Men Who Stare at Goats.
Notice that the title was italicized because it‟s a
major work. If it‟s an article title, it should be in
“quotation marks.”
FORMAT
 Check for MLA formatting—this should be the
easiest part of your research paper grade! Make
any corrections with a red pen.
 - Margins should be 1”

 - 4-line heading (Name, Teacher‟s Name, English II-

#, Date [6 November 2009])
 - Double spaced (with no extra lines between
paragraphs)
 - Header (in same font—Last name and page #)
POINT OF VIEW
 Highlight ALL instances of first (I, me, my, we, our,
us, etc.) or second (you, your, etc.) person.
Eliminate these from your paper. Consider
substituting “one” or “some” (or ask me if you can‟t
figure it out).
CONTRACTIONS
 Search for any contractions in your paper and
highlight them when you spot „em. Uncontraction
these. Okay, so that‟s not a word, but you know
what I mean.
CONJUNCTIONS
 There‟s nothing wrong with conjunctions; you just
don‟t want to start a sentence with one. To refresh
your memory, the coordinating conjuntions are: for,
an, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS). If you started
any sentences with one of these words, highlight
and fix it. Usually it can just be taken out of the
sentence. If it doesn‟t make sense that way, change
the period
 before the conjunction to a comma. **Hint: the most
common sentence-starting conjuctions are “and,”
“but,” and “so.”
GENERAL TYPOS AND MISTAKES

 Switch papers with someone around you. Read

over your partner‟s paper very carefully. Make any
corrections with a red pen.