Editor

When peer editing is lacking or you want to clean up your writing before submitting it to others, I have found an amazing software. Unfortunately, this doesn't substitute for opinions or ideas, but what this program can do is absolutely amazing.

I always thought of myself as being pretty good at grammar, but this program makes me look bad. I used this program before sending it to my editor. It helped take trivial issues out of the mix for the editor. It is called Editor. Pretty fitting title. It is made by Serenity Software.

It works with WORD as a tool to help show the mistakes and picks up mistakes that Word would miss.

Ex: She said, “Stop shouting, for goodness sakes!”
Editor correction: Spelling errors: You mean goodness' sake.

Ex: We lost up to thirty soldiers or more in the firefight.

Editor correction: Up to . . . or more is an illogical expression.

Ex: Stalling tactics only prolong the inevitable.

Editor correction: Nonidiomatic: You mean delay the inevitable.

Ex: Nothing in the world can stop progress.

Editor correction: Rash assertion: How do you know?

Ex: Global warming is an absolute fact.

Editor correction: Redundant: Absolute is meaningless here.

Ex: A certain amount of pollution is unavoidable.

Editor correction: A certain amount of is wordy. Some? <===It sometimes offers suggestions.

Sometimes when using the program you have to decide whether or not to use Editor's suggestions because you don't want to lose your voice in a paper. However, Editor can help identify cliches and idiomatic phrases that you may not have known and can save you if you are writing a formal or research paper.

Ex: Parents should spend quality time with their children.

Editor correction: Quality time is a jargon term.

Ex: The book was copyright 2004.

Editor correction: Commonly misused term: copyright in?

Ex: The discoveries tie in with earlier findings.

Editor correction: Tie in with is a slang phrase.

Everything I've taken is from their website, but when you download the trial, you will get a sample paragraph and can really see what the program can do. Like I said, it makes suggestions, but does not always mean they are right for your work, so you still should decide for yourself.

Here is the trial: http://www.serenity-software.com/pages/demo_page.html

Lots of <3,

Jess

Writing Papers

This is kind of off topic for me to write about. But I'm getting questions daily, so I thought this would be a great place to direct those questions, and you won't forget the info. :o)

I know students are really starting to get in the groove in their English classes right now. That being the case means the ever-anticipated papers. Isn't writing papers so much fun? Okay, I know it's not, but one thing it shouldn't be is hard. Teachers give you plenty of time to write a paper, so don't save it until the last day. If you have less time than this, that's okay just combine weeks. It can be done!

Making Papers Easy:

• Week 1: Create a thesis: This in all honesty should be the hardest part. A well-constructed thesis can make or break your paper. Before you begin writing your thesis, you need to do a simple outline of your paper. Just write down what you want to talk about under each body paragraph and before long you will see where you need to go with your paper.
• To write your thesis: Rewrite the topic of your paper and include a brief summary of each of your body paragraphs. If you will have a five-paragraph paper, then you should have three short statements in your thesis. (This is very basic Thesis Writing.)
• Example: Topic is describing apples. In each body paragraph, you will talk about the colors of apples, the taste of apples, and the health factor.
• Thesis: Apples can be described as colorful, tasty, and nutritious.
• Week 2: Write the Rough Draft. Spill your guts. Say anything and everything you want to say about your topic. Even if you stray off topic, that's okay. When you notice you have strayed, just get back on topic. The goal is to just get words down on paper. When you finish with your rough draft, put it away. Don't reread it right away. Tuck it in the back of your folder where you won't look at it for awhile.
• Week 3: Pull out that Rough Draft. (Hopefully, you didn't forget where it was.) Read it. Now, clean it up. This will create your first draft. Move around sentences that are out of order. Remove sentences that are off topic. You may need to change a body paragraph completely, and that's okay. You will most likely have a lot of damage control to do, but when you finish, you will begin to see what you want your paper to be. Just like with the rough draft, when you are finished put it away and don't look at it again.
• Week 4: Take out your last Draft and reread it. Now, tweak it. For your Final Draft, you should just be making minor changes. You may have more drafts if you have felt it necessary before you get to this stage. But at this stage, it should be minimal changes. This stage is making sure there are transitions from one sentence to another, grammar and spelling errors are handled, and the order of every paragraph is in the order to create the most impact on whoever is reading your paper. When you are finished, read the paper out loud. If it doesn't seem awkward in any way, shape, or form. Then, you have done the very best you can do and should be proud to turn it in to your teacher.

Another aspect that helps with writing papers is peer editing. As many eyes as possible reading your paper, can give you an advantage as long as your peer editor doesn't try to make the paper sound like something they would have written, because then you lose your voice. My next post will talk about a program that is great to use when you either don't have peer editing, or your peer editor is lacking abilities. 

Lots of Love.