Tips for Editing Your Writing

Sources: these are my personal notes from across these resources. the text below may be directly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized from any of these sources.

• Writing Science by Joshua Schimel
• Write Ivy - multiple articles
• The Writing Collective - multiple articles
• BJ Space Blog Post

My Notes:

You can click on a bullet point to collapse or expand it

Highlighted sections are more likely to help with word count, while unhighlighted sections may help more only with character count

• Sentence structure: OCAR (opening=topic, challenge, action, resolution)
  1. Long sentences need an LD (lead, development; all up front) structure
  2. Short and clear topic
  3. Main verb immediately follows topic
  4. Key message at end (stress pt)
• Energize writing by eliminating/reducing:
  1. passive voice → active voice
     1. May show up in the form of "to be" and "to have" Look for...
        1. am, is, are, isn't
        2. was, were, will, won't, shall
        3. be, being, been
        4. can, could, would, should
        5. might, must, may
        6. has, have, had
        7. did, do, doing, did, does
     2. Examples:
        1. Passive: The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440. → Active: Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440.
        2. Passive: What good writers do, however, is to keep these duller, low-energy verbs to a minimum. → Active: Good writers, however, keep these duller, low-energy verbs to a minimum.
        3. Passive: The exam scores were tabulated by the teacher. → Active: The teacher tabulated the exam scores
        4. Passive: The baseball card was purchased by the collector.→ Active: The collector purchased the baseball card.
        5. Passive: The witness’s remarks were recorded by the police officer. → Active: The police officer recorded the witness’s remarks.
     3. When is passive voice necessary?
        1. You don't know, or do not want to reveal, the action performer
        2. When the person or thing receiving action is more important than the one performing the action
        3. Sentence contains two verbs with the same subject
           1. May need a shift of voice (from active to passive or vice versa) to preserve sentence flow
  2. fuzzy verbs → active verbs
     1. Fuzzy verbs
        1. occur
        2. affect
        3. facilitate
        4. perform
        5. conduct
        6. implement
     2. Action verbs
        1. modify
        2. accomplish
        3. create
        4. increase
        5. decrease
        6. invade
        7. react
        8. inhibit
        9. disrupt
        10. accelerate
        11. migrate
  3. nominalizations → adjective/verb
     1. Look for suffixes: "-ation," "-ance," "-mant," "-ment," "-ence," "-al," and “-sion”
     2. Examples: adjective → nominalizations of adjective (yes these are given in reverse order of what you'd want to do)
        1. difference → difference
        2. difficult → difficulty
        3. able → ability
        4. capable → capability
        5. similar → similarity
     3. Examples: verb → nominalizations of verb
        1. move → movement
        2. differ → difference
        3. suggest → suggestion
        4. interact → interaction
        5. analyze → analysis
        6. develop → development
        7. influence: A influenced B → A had an influence on B
        8. approach: A approached → A took an approach
        9. yield: The reaction yielded → The yield of the reaction was
        10. withdrew → a withdrawl of
        11. expect → expectation
        12. indicated → there are indications
        13. discuss → discussion
     4. Nominalizations are needed when:
        1. It's a subject referring to a previous sentence
        2. Referring to well-known concepts
  4. french/latin → anglo-saxon
     1. Examples: long → short words
        1. duration → length, time
        2. consume → eat
        3. morality → death
        4. permit → let
        5. necessary → need
        6. demonstrate → show
        7. donate → give
        8. initiate → start
        9. attempt → try
        10. utilize → use
        11. methodology → method
  5. "hidden" verbs
     1. Look for...
        1. accomplish
        2. achieve
        3. carry (out)
        4. cause
        5. come (to the)
        6. conduct
        7. give
        8. make
        9. perform
        10. provide
        11. undertake
     2. Examples:
        1. We will conduct a demonstration of the process. → We will demonstrate the process.
        2. Her constant tardiness caused disruptions in the class. → Her constant tardiness disrupted the class.
        3. We came to the realization that the market was already saturated. → We realized that the market was already saturated.
  6. directional words: "up," "down," "out," "in"
     1. Examples:
        1. out in the background → in the backyard
        2. taking something out of a box → taking something from the box
        3. up in the tree → in the tree
  7. "the", "that", "there is/are/was/were", "it is"
     1. Examples:
        1. There are many factors that could harm our economy → Many factors could harm our economy
        2. It is important to remember to vaccinate your dog for rabies. → County law requires you to vaccinate your dog for rabies.
        3. It is important to note that Russia faces many challenges because of its long border with China. → Russia must commit vast military resources to secure its 2,615-mile border with China.
  8. prepositional phrases
     1. Use noun in phrase as adjective
        1. Examples:
           1. Residents of the United States → United States residents → U.S. residents
           2. Clerk of the court → Court clerk
     2. Use possessive nouns to eliminate prepositions
        1. Examples:
           1. The biggest province in Canada → Canada's biggest ...
           2. The house of Bill and Jane → Bill and Jane's house
           3. Jane Smith, president of the Company → Jane Smith, the Company's president
           4. Attorney for the defendant → The defendant's attorney
     3. Use compound modifiers – often useful in cases where the prepositions are "as", "from", "of", and "for"
        1. Examples:
           1. This water is as cold as ice → This is ice-cold water
           2. The shipment is bound for China → The shipment is China-bound
           3. He is an advocate for the death penalty → He is a death-penalty advocate
           4. We want to hire cashiers who are speakers of Spanish → We want to hire Spanish-speaking cashiers
     4. Convert into an adjective
        1. Examples:
           1. Counties in the north → Northern counties
           2. Market by the side of the road → Roadside market
           3. Bunker under the ground → Underground bunker
           4. Hotel by the sea → seaside hotel
     5. Convert into participles (verb form of a word)
        1. Examples:
           1. In the attempt to write a concise essay, he left out important facts. → Attempting to write a concise essay, he left out important facts.
           2. In the fear of failure, he sought help with his English homework. → Fearing failure, he sought help with his English homework.
           3. In response to the alarm, the fire truck hurtled down the street. → Responding to the alarm, the fire truck hurtled down the street.
     6. Convert into adverbs
        1. Examples:
           1. The writer’s novels were of critical acclaim. → The writer’s novels were critically acclaimed.
           2. The patient’s symptoms were under close watch. → The patient’s symptoms were closely watched.
     7. Other examples:
        1. Original: Let’s meet up and plan out which cafes we want to try out first. → Edited: Let’s meet and plan which cafes to try first.
        2. Original: He dropped out of college on account of the fact that it was necessary for him to support his family. → Edited: He dropped out of college to support his family.
        3. Original: For many people, the reality of an entry into a new area of employment is cause for a host of anxieties. → Edited: Changing careers makes many people anxious.
     8. List of common prepositions
        1. about
        2. above
        3. across
        4. after
        5. against
        6. along
        7. among
        8. around
        9. at
        10. before
        11. behind
        12. below
        13. beneath
        14. beside
        15. between
        16. beyond
        17. by
        18. despite
        19. down
        20. during
        21. except
        22. for
        23. from
        24. in
        25. inside
        26. into
        27. near
        28. of
        29. off
        30. on
        31. outside
        32. over
        33. past
        34. through
        35. to
        36. under
        37. until
        38. up
        39. with
        40. without
  9. break up sentences with lots of commas (or long sentence, e.g. more than 2 lines)
     1. Example:
        1. “The massive immigration of ethnically and linguistically unfamiliar groups that accompanied the industrialization of the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries exposed Americans to cultural diversity, and so also might seem to lie behind the current phenomenon of lifestyle enclaves.” (1 sentence, 44 words)
        2. “The Massive immigration of ethnically and linguistically unfamiliar groups that accompanied the industrialization of the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This exposed Americans to cultural diversity and so also might seem to lie behind the current phenomenon of lifestyle enclaves.” (2 sentences, 40 words)
  10. modifiers, aka empty amplifiers, e.g. adjectives and adverbs (often end in -ly)
      1. certain(ly)
      2. dramatic(ally)
      3. entire(ly)
      4. high(ly)
      5. quite
      6. rather
      7. real(ly)
      8. simple(ly)
      9. substantial(ly)
      10. very
  11. meta discourse: text that isn't necessary to convey message
  12. verbosity
      1. Example 1:
         1. “It made me wonder why such an abundant energy source would be challenging to harness even with the minuscule energy the earth requires compared to  what  the sun  generates.” →
         2. “It made me wonder why such an abundant energy source would be challenging to harness even with the minuscule energy the earth requires compared to what the sun generates.” →
         3. “It made me wonder why such an abundant energy source would be challenging to harness even with the minuscule energy the earth requires compared to what the sun generates.”
      2. Example 2:
         1. “While my undergraduate career has provided me with some of the tools of the trade and sharpened my analytical mind, I am lacking the specialized knowledge required for engineering positions that apply machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision in novel ways. I am eager to begin a Master’s in Computer Science in order to explore advanced topics in computer science and artificial intelligence. I am determined to leverage this experience into an advanced position as a software engineer in industry, applying my skills to the constantly evolving landscape of intelligent systems.” (93 words) →
         2. “While my undergraduate career sharpened my analytical mind, I lack certain Machine Learning, NLP, and Computer Vision skills required for industrial software engineering positions. In a Master’s in Computer Science, I hope to explore these topics in artificial intelligence and build the skills needed to work in the evolving landscape of intelligent systems.” (53 words)
  13. heavy phrasing
      1. Examples: heavy → light phrases
         1. accordingly → so
         2. along the lines of → like
         3. as to → about
         4. as a matter of fact → in fact
         5. at all times → always
         6. at the end of the day → finally
         7. at the present time → now, currently
         8. at this point in time → now, currently
         9. because of the fact that → because
         10. by virtue of the fact → because
         11. by means of → by
         12. consequently → so
         13. due to the fact → because
         14. due to these reasons → because
         15. for the reason that → because
         16. for this reason → so
         17. for the purpose of → for
         18. from the point of view of → for
         19. furthermore → then
         20. have the ability to → be able to
         21. in the case of → if
         22. in order to → to
         23. in accordance with → by, under
         24. in light of the fact → because
         25. in spite of the fact → though, although
         26. in the final analysis → finally
         27. in as much as → since, because
         28. more specifically → in fact
         29. nevertheless → now, next
         30. on the grounds that → since, because
         31. on the basis of → by
         32. prior to → before
         33. that is to say → in other words
         34. to be sure → of course
         35. until such time as → until
         36. with a view to → to
         37. with regard to → about
         38. with the result that → so that
         39. in the nature of → like
         40. in the event that → if
         41. in terms of → in, for
  14. filler words (source)
      1. that
      2. just
      3. then
      4. totally
      5. completely
      6. literally
      7. absolutely
      8. definitely
      9. certainly
      10. actually
      11. basically
      12. virtually
      13. start
      14. begin
      15. began
      16. begun
      17. rather
      18. quite
      19. somewhat
      20. somehow