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Sunday, October 5, 2025

Sharpen Your Skills: Essential Editing Keys and Writing Tips

Hey Blogspot readers! Ready to take your academic or professional writing from good to great? Even the best ideas can get lost in cluttered, confusing prose. This article—drawn from key editing and writing tips—will give you the tools you need to catch common errors, enhance your style, and make your arguments crystal clear. Whether you're working on an essay, a report, or just an important email, these tips will help you communicate with force and precision.


Key Editing Tips for Clarity and Precision

1. Avoid Redundancy and Repetition

Your writing should be lean and direct.

  • Don't use the same word or expression multiple times in the same paragraph.
  • Avoid using redundant synonyms, such as saying something is both "writing and prose".

2. Manage Run-on and Incomplete Sentences

While long sentences can be necessary, be careful of

run-ons (two independent clauses not properly separated).

  • Fixing a Run-on: You can separate independent clauses using a period, a comma and a conjunction (like and), or a semicolon.
    • Incorrect: The Cult of Washington emerged in the late eighteenth century, people were excited.
    • Correct (Semicolon): The Cult of Washington emerged in the late eighteenth century; people were excited.
  • A Note on "However": Remember, "however" is NOT a conjunction.
    • Incorrect: George Washington cut down the tree, however he refused to tell a lie about it.
    • Correct (Semicolon): George Washington cut down the tree; however, he refused to tell a lie about it.
  • Vary Your Structure: Try using a short, simple sentence for emphasis after a few longer ones.
  • Incomplete Sentences: Never write an incomplete sentence; always ensure you have a subject and a verb.

3. Place Modifiers Carefully

Misplaced modifiers can cause confusion by making it unclear what a descriptive phrase is referring to. Always place your descriptive phrases (like participial and prepositional phrases) next to the noun they modify.

  • Incorrect: Running through the forest, the wind cooled the sweaty Davy Crockett. (It sounds like the wind is running!)
  • Correct: The wind cooled the sweaty Davy Crockett as he ran through the forest.

Tips for Stronger Academic Style

4. Maintain Parallel Structure

Parallel structure can enhance your writing's rhythm and impact.

  • Keep the structure consistent by maintaining the words, phrases, or grammatical sequences you use to begin your clauses.
    • Incorrect: George Washington rallied the colonists’ spirits, defeating the British, and maintained his republican values, in order to become a national icon.
    • Correct: By rallying the colonists’ spirits, defeating the British, and maintaining his republican values, George Washington became a national icon.

5. Control Your Person, Contractions, and Expletives

  • Person: Avoid first or second person ("I think," "you can see") and use them only sparingly. The reader already knows it is you who holds the thoughts. Also, avoid using "one" to talk about people generally (e.g., "One can see...").
  • Contractions: As a general rule, avoid contractions (e.g., use "I would" instead of "I'd").
  • Expletives: Avoid the grammatical structure ("there" + form of "to be") when possible, as it makes your writing indirect.
    • Indirect: There were many people that admired George Washington.
    • Direct: Many people admired George Washington.

6. Introduce and Integrate Quotations

Only quote someone when paraphrasing could not possibly do justice to their idea or their phraseology; otherwise, paraphrase and cite.

  • Do not leave quotations hanging on their own.
  • Be sure to

introduce the quotation and the author (using first and last name).

    • Correct: As historian David Waldstreicher (2009) notes, “More important than the speed with which they spread … is the very generic quality of the commentary around these celebrations” (p. 9).

7. Avoid Using "This" as a Noun

Using "

this" as a noun is generally imprecise and weak.

  • Use "this" as an adjective (e.g., "This strategy") or rephrase the sentence for greater clarity.
    • Weak: George Washington surprised the British by crossing the Delaware in mid-winter. This made him a hero.
    • Strong: George Washington surprised the British by crossing the Delaware in mid-winter. His daring strategy made him a hero.

8. Use Hyphens in Adjectives

If a noun phrase (adjective-noun) is used as an

adjective before another noun, you need to add a hyphen. This is common with centuries.

  • Noun phrase: Newspapers from the nineteenth century praised George Washington. (No hyphen)
  • Adjective phrase: Nineteenth-century newspapers praised George Washington. (Hyphenated)

Conclusion

These guidelines are not just rules—they're tools for effective communication. By focusing on avoiding redundancy, correcting run-ons, placing modifiers correctly, and maintaining a clear, direct style, you'll produce writing that is not only correct but genuinely compelling. Start applying these tips to your next piece of writing, and watch the quality of your work soar!

Which of these tips do you find yourself needing to apply most often? Share your thoughts below!

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