See It in a New Way

Varying your approach to something you already know can pay off, much like improving balance on solid ground carries over to standing on a moving wave with the idea of remaining upright and afloat fully realized. Once you’ve written a paper, you might consider finding ways to read it in a new way.

The following are some ideas (you may think of others) to read what you have written in a different way, mostly for the purpose of editing:

• Use a larger font size in a draft.
• Change the font to a vibrant color.
• Type each sentence on its own separate line.
• Read the paper from the last sentence to the first sentence written.

Another way to review your paper for correct punctuation and grammar is to read it aloud, using auditory and visual senses simultaneously. For instance, when you pause while reading aloud, an invisible comma seems to hover in the air between words, often but not always a guide to the placement of commas in your writing. You’ll want to make sure a comma is visible on your page if one is necessary.

There is also correlation for those of you whose communication technique is sign language. By signing your paper as you read it, you will notice the same patterns that those reading aloud do. You can note whether an “-ed” ending you’ve signed to indicate past tense is actually on the page or not. Through signing your words or reading them aloud, it is probable that errors – if there are any – will show up as something not the same in the two modes of communication. Then you can reread the sentence with the discrepancy to decide whether what you meant to write is there on the page or not.

Comma splices and run-ons are two particular errors that writers can find more easily when they review their writing in such ways. For those reading aloud, the voice falls into a lower and quicker tone to indication completion of a thought; for those using sign language, a gesture with extra emphasis can indicate the completion of a statement. Knowing where one thought ends and another begins helps you double check for end punctuation (or semicolons) between sentences.

By finding new ways to read and review your paper, you may turn into a better editor of your own work because you see it in a new way, but please don’t forget to turn the large neon pink type back to black before turning in your final draft.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!