Editing

Editing is one of the more challenging parts of the writing process. When you have been intently engaged with a piece of writing, it can be hard to take a step back and read your work like a reader would; in fact, many would argue that this isn’t possible which is why we need outside readers to provide their perspective.

Editing comes after the content and structure are finalized. In this stage of the writing process, you are interested in making sure that you have followed to standard English conventions (as this is an expectation of the reader). If you’ve intentionally chosen to use different conventions, it can be valuable to talk through your decisions with a reader to get their perspective. If your institution has a writing center, use this resource!

Consider asking your professors for feedback – when you do this, be sure to include the prompt at the top of the page and include the word count. This way the reader is aware of the constraints and can help make sure you’re responding to the prompt. Give people time to review; it might take them several weeks so make sure you build this time into your writing process. When you ask for feedback, but sure that you are clear in what you’re asking for.

If you’re editing on your way, one way to give yourself some distance from your writing is to slowly read your work aloud to yourself. In doing this, you are more likely to catch sentence-level mistakes such as misspellings, repeated words, or grammatical mistakes. Before you try to edit, give yourself a day or two break after revising. This distance is a healthy part of the writing process.

After you’ve engaged in a complete writing process and you’re ready for the final step, consider following this editing checklist. Did you:

• Follow the required format (such as font, size, spacing, headers, etc.)?
• Spell the name of the program, institution, and professor(s) correctly?
• Stay within the word limit?
• Double check your use of punctuation? For more guidance on English punctuation conventions, consider looking at Purdue Online Writing Lab’s (OWL) resources.
• Read your work aloud to catch confusing phrasing, repetitive words, misspellings, missing words, missing punctuation, etc.?

However, you choose to engage in writing your SoP, give it the time it needs. This might take several months, and that is a very normal amount of time; you won’t be actively writing during, but remember that your story is worth tell – give it the time and space it deserves.