Lecture # 9

Writing Process 6:
Proofreading and Editing
Prepared by: Jasmin Lawrence
 Objectives:

 Understand the process of

proofreading and editing.
 Learn how to identify common
errors in proofreading and editing
the SRP.
 In last week’s lecture we discussed the
global or macro-level changes which your
team could make to improve the first draft
of your scientific paper.

 As you revise the first draft, your team will

check your paper for organization,
comprehensiveness and suitability for your
intended audience (Thonney, 2016).
This week’s lecture focuses on proofreading and editing
strategies for the collaborative scientific research paper.
 Although having done your revision it
would appear as if you have come to
the end of the writing of your paper, it
is highly likely that there are areas that
need refining.

 Yourteam should therefore proofread

and edit the first draft of your scientific
research paper.
Proofreading and editing
require you to make changes
at the local or micro level
(Thonney, 2016).
 Proofreading
 Proofreading requires very careful
reading of text for the purpose of
finding errors in:
 spelling,
 punctuation,
 sentence construction,
 grammar, and
 documentation.
 Editing
Making changes which include corrections to:
 spelling errors,
 mechanics (including punctuation)
 faulty sentences,
 grammar issues, and
 lack of adherence to the mechanics of
documentation including use of punctuation
and capitalization in in-text citations and on
the list of references.
Each member of your team should do a close reading
of the paper.

.
 Theclose reading will help you to
identify areas which need fixing.

 Tobenefit optimally from the

proofreading and editing exercise,
as done during the revision
process, your team must ask
certain questions.
 Did we include redundancies?

Redundancies are needless repetitions of

words within a sentence (Alley, 2018).

These words make the writing cluttered

and difficult to read. Good scientific
writing is concise and informative.
Examples of redundancies

atthe present time

continue to remain
completely eliminate
basic fundamentals
period of time
currently underway
 Examples of redundancies

Correct the following:

 According to the researchers they
stated

 Authorof the article “ Excessive use of

smart telephones by adolescents” Black
(2018) wrote
 Corrections

 According to the researchers…

OR
The researchers stated…

 Black (2018) wrote…

 Did we use idiomatic English?
• Did we write grammatical errors?

• Did we construct good sentences?

• Did our subjects agree with our verbs?

• Did we write pronoun reference errors?

• Did we use words appropriately?

Check for run-on sentences/comma splice errors

No cure for Alzheimer’s

exists, however, scientists
have isolated the gene that
causes it.
 Correct options:
 No cure for Alzheimer’s exists. However, scientists
have isolated the gene that causes it.
 No cure for Alzheimer’s exists; however, scientists
have isolated the gene that causes it.
 Although no cure for Alzheimer’s exists, scientists
have isolated the gene that causes it.
 No cure for Alzheimer’s exists, but scientists have
isolated the gene that causes it.
 Check for misplaced modifiers
Modifiers (words or phrases that describe another part
of a sentence) must point to the words they modify to
avoid ambiguity.
 Shooting at speeds of 100 mph, the
technicians tested the solar mirrors for
hailstone damage.
 Most participants selected a lunch from
the menu that was high in sugar.
 Corrections
 To test for minor damage, the technicians
fired hailstones at 100 mph onto the solar
mirrors.

 Most participants selected a lunch that was

high in sugar from the menu.
 Most participants selected, from the menu, a
lunch that was high in sugar.
 Subject verb agreement
 Green et al. (2018) states…
 The data was collected.
 The phenomena was studied.
 Each respondent were asked to
complete a consent form.
 A series of shocks often precede
a large earthquake.
 Corrections
 Green et al. (2018) state…
 The data were collected.
 The phenomenon was studied.
 The phenomena were studied.
 Each respondent was asked to
complete a consent form.
 A series of shocks often precedes a
large earthquake.
Check for parallel structure
Parallel Structure - Using the same pattern of
words to show that two or more ideas have the
same level of importance. Can occur at the
word, phrase or clause levels and brings
balance to writing.
 Smith likes camping, running and to drive.
 The coach told the athletes that they should
get adequate sleep, they should not exhaust
themselves too much and to do some warm-
up exercises before the match.
 Corrections
 Smithlikes camping, running and
driving.
 Thecoach told the athletes that they
should get adequate sleep, they should
not exhaust themselves too much and
they should do some warm-up
exercises before the match.
 Check pronoun referencing
A pronoun and its antecedent should agree in
number (singular or plural), gender and person
(1st, 2nd, or 3rd).
 This finding suggests that there is a link
between excessive use of smart phones
and lack of sleep. They mean ...
 The boat bumped the edge of the dock,
but it did not need many repairs.
 Onthe internet it says that it might rain
tomorrow.
 Correction
 This finding suggests that there is link
between excessive use of smart phones
and lack of sleep. It means ...
 The boat bumped the edge of the dock,
but the dock did not need many repairs.
 The weather forecast on the internet
says that it might rain tomorrow.
 Vocabulary

The amount of participants…

Less patients returned for follow-up…

The list is comprised of

 Corrections

 The number of participants

 Fewer patients returned for follow-up

 The list comprises

 Check Punctuation
The colon – Introduces a formal list.
N.B. What is on the left side of the colon should stand
alone as a sentence.
 We studied five types of Marsupialia: opossums,
bandicoots, koalas, wombats and kangaroos.
Semi-colon – Connects complex items in a list or joins
two independent clauses closely linked in thought.
 Four sites were considered for the research facility:
Livermore, California; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Los
Almos, New Mexico; and Amarillo, Texas.
 No cure exists for Alzheimer’s disease; it brings
dementia and slow death to thousands of persons
each year.
 Is this correct?

 The
five types of Marsupialia were:
opossums, bandicoots, koalas,
wombats and kangaroos.
 Check Punctuation –
Full stop
 Fortemperatures above 1100k, the four
fuels examined had about the same
ignition delay where the ignition delay
was defined as the time to recover the
pressure loss from fuel evaporation, in
spite of the large variations in ignition
delay among the four fuels at lower
temperatures.
 Correction

 Ignition
delay is the time required to
recover the pressure loss from fuel
evaporation. Despite the large
variation in ignition delay at lower
temperatures, the four fuels had
about the same ignition delay for
temperatures above 1100k.
Video: What to look for when proofreading
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuNjIR0a3kc
o If your team is not certain about technical
aspects of your paper, consult your tutor…

Do not upload the unedited draft for the final

submission to Turnitin.
 Important question to ask:
 Did we examine our team’s
similarity index when our revised
draft was submitted to Turnitin?
This should help you to determine
whether you used information from
sources appropriately.
 If you paraphrased or summarized
ineffectively, you may have
instances of patch writing; if so, fix
it.
 Example of patch writing
The use of sentence patterns that closely imitate the
original source when paraphrasing and summarizing.

The acute and short-term consequences of having

one’s attention distracted away from ongoing tasks is
an obvious locus of concern in relation to smartphone
habits, but there is also growing fear that the
increasingly regular interactions we have with
smartphones might also have a more lasting impact on
the basic capacity for focused and sustained
attention. At this point, very limited empirical evidence
lends backing to this concern. Given the lack of
longitudinal research in this domain, the best data
available are derived from correlational studies (Wilmer
et al., 2017).
Other important questions:
 Did we use accurate in-text citations
guided by the APA documentation style
when we developed each section of our
scientific research paper?
 Did we compile an accurate list of
references as guided by the 7th edition of
the APA documentation manual?
 Are ALL the sources listed on the
reference page cited in-text?
Did we pay keen attention to:

 Alphabetical order
 Accurate publication information
 Appropriate use of indentation
 Appropriate use of italics
 Appropriate use of capital letters
 Appropriate use of punctuation
N.B. Use the resources on APA documentation
to guide you.
 The final thought

Pay keen attention to and apply all the

principles you learned from Week One and
you will be well on your way to writing an
‘A’ paper.
 References
Abdul-Raheem, J. (2018). Cultural humility in nursing education.
Journal of Cultural Diversity, 25(2), 66-73.
Alley, M. (2018). The craft of scientific writing (4th ed.). Springer.
Meires, J. (2018). The essentials: Here’s what you need to know
about bullying in nursing. Urologic Nursing,38(2), 95-97, 102.
https://doi.org/10.7257/1053-816X.2018.38.2.95
Muth, M. (2006). Researching and writing. Bedford/St. Martins.
QUESTIONS?