Conventions

The first editor of any piece is always the writer…

-    Nancie Atwell

In the Middle

EDITING. Conventions are the rules of language ~ Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar/Usage, Paragraphing, and Capitalization ~ that make your text correct and easy for others to read. When you follow the rules, readers don’t need to waste energy mentally editing; they can pay attention to your clever ideas, creative organization, unique voice, vibrant word choice, and lyrical fluency.

Conventions are different from the first five trais (Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice and Sentence Fluency) because to improve those traits you have been learning how to revise ~ how to rethink  and re-see your work. Editing is fixing ~ making sure the text is as error-free as possible. The purpose is to make your paper readable to someone else. Sometimes mistakes in conventions get in the way and keep the reader from understanding your message. They also irritate some readers – something no writer sets out to do deliberately!

Editing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.

- Mark Twain

Develop a proofreader’s eye. Check everything. Then check it again. It’s often hard to spot your own mistakes. Try reading aloud; it makes you slow down. You may also find it helpful to have someone else look at your work. Editing is a skill in itself – quite a bit different from writing. To be a good editor you must practice. Teach yourself to read slowly, and with care. Be honest; dare to see what is.

One of the hardest tasks of the writer is to read what is on the page, not what the writer hoped would be on the page.

-  Donald Murray

Conventions

5.    Paper-Mostly Correct

There are very few errors in my paper; it wouldn’t take long to get this ready to publish.

•    I have used capitals correctly.

•    Periods, commas, exclamation marks, and quotation marks are in the right places.

•    My spelling in accurate.

•    Every paragraph is indented to show where a new idea begins.

•    My grammar/usage is consistent and shows control.

3.    Paper-About Halfway Home

A number of bothersome mistakes in my paper need to be cleaned up before I am ready to publish.

•    Spelling is correct on simple words. It may not always be right on the harder words.

•    Most sentences and proper nouns begin with capitals, but a few have been overlooked.

•    Paragraphs are present, but not all begin in the right spots.

•    A few problems with grammar and punctuation might make a reader stumble or pause now and again.

•    My paper reads like a first draft; I was more concerned with getting my ideas down than making sure all the editing was taken care of.

1.    Paper-Editing Not Under Control Yet

It would take a first reading to decode, and then a second reading to get the meaning of my paper.

•    Spelling errer our commun, evin on simpl werdz.

•    My paper, have errors in punctuation? And grammar that send the reader back two the beginning from asentence to sort thing out

•    I’ve got capital lETTErs scattered All Over tHe pLaCe or NOT at all.

•         I haven’t got the hang of paragraphs yet.

•    The truth is, I haven’t spent much time editing this paper.

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