7 Simple and Quick Editing Tips That Will Elevate Your Writing

Guest post by Matt Banner

It doesn’t matter if you’re a New York Times bestselling author or a blogger from Kansas, everyone has to edit their work. The first draft is always a mess of disorganized thoughts and uncertain tangents. Writing begins as chaos and ends with order. It has been this way since the dawn of time.

Saving time while also polishing your work is every writer’s goal. These seven editing tips will help you achieve that goal.

Present Your Best Work with These 7 Editing Tips

When your first draft is finished and it’s time to edit, use these seven strategies to ensure that you hit all of the right literary notes and end up with a perfect final draft.

1 Eliminate Empty Filler Words

Phrases like it takes, here is, and there will be take the focus away from the nouns in your sentence. They basically combine with other filler words like who and when to pad out your sentences.

Look for phrases like these and train yourself to correct them:

• It’s fun to blog – Blogging is fun
• There are many people who blog – Many people blog
• Here are some ideas for you to try: – Some ideas for you to try are:

If you’ve already described the subject, then it’s okay to use words like here, it, and there. For example:

I love to blog. It’s a really great profession!

2 Use Strong Verbs

Look out for words that lessen the impact of what you’re saying. Try to replace these phrases with powerful and concise verbs.

Some examples:

• He went around the world – He traveled around the world
• Give out free items – Offer free items
• Make up a new idea – Create a new idea

3Focus on Powerful Adjectives

When you’re describing something, don’t use words like really or very. Instead, use words that get the point across confidently:

• Really gross – Disgusting
• Really great – Phenomenal
• Very large – Massive
• Very pretty – Gorgeous

Even if you cut out those two words before your adjectives, remember to focus on telling your readers what something is as opposed to what it isn’t. Take a look:

• It’s not that fun – It’s boring
• She’s not ugly – She’s gorgeous
• Blogging isn’t hard – Blogging is easy

For example, take a look at this food blogging article. Descriptive adjectives are imperative for this type of blog.

4Trim Fat from Your Phrases

People read fast these days, in most cases skimming content without reading every word. Make it easier for them by keeping your sentences short and to the point. Look at these sentences and imagine them without the bolded words. See how they read better?

• Every single person should love blogging.
• But the real issue here is people love to talk.
• You’re going to have to remove the extra words.

5Avoid Nominalization

Nominalization is when a sentence has a weak noun where a stronger verb or adjective should be. These tend to include several other words that pad out the sentence.

• Give your blog posts a good proofread. – Proofread your posts.
• Interruptions are the cause of slow work days. – Interruptions cause slow work days.
• He has a high level of intelligence. – He is intelligent.

6 Don’t Overcomplicate Commas

Punctuation in the English language brings a lot of rules with it. Even the poor comma is subjected to countless rules and regulations. Shane Arthur over at Boost Blog Traffic has a great policy on comma usage:

Here’s a tip: Use commas sparingly, but if you leave one out and it makes the reader stop reading, then add another comma!

Read your sentences out loud, and if they sound odd, add a comma to clarify the ideas in place. Otherwise it all runs together, and your reader has to stop to reread the sentence.

7Use Noun Modifiers

When you combine two nouns in a way that the first modifies the second, you’re using a noun modifier. They are useful because they shorten sentences. Try these out:

• Tips on blogging – Blogging Tips
• Great advice on how to boost focus – Great focus-boosting advice
• Information regarding your award – Award information

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to get swept up in the editing process, but it’s important to present your best work every time. Share your own editing tips in the comments below!

---

Matt Banner is the author of On Blast Blog, a website that provides easy-to-read information on how to start and grow a blog. You can follow him via twitter @blastyourblog.

Six of the Best Holiday Books for Students

During the holiday season, students and everyday readers alike love to settle down with a good book, getting nice and cozy to escape the rush. Ideally this literary refuge takes place by a warm fireside, while the snow falls outside. While that might not always be possible, there are a few staples of holiday literature which are guaranteed to put readers in the mood for Christmas while providing some literary value.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

There’s no avoiding this classic novella, first published in 1843, in the world of holiday literature. A quintessential piece, A Christmas Carol is often the first story anyone reaches for to represent Christmas. Charles Dickens is often credited with crafting or popularizing the image of the modern Christmas in this tale. What gives A Christmas Carol true value is that it’s not just a story, but a fable. From the repeating structure to the strong moral message, this story is about changing our ways and learning the values of charity and humility, which have been themes of Christmas tales ever since.

Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien

“If you find that not many of the things you asked for have come, and not perhaps quite so many as sometimes, remember that this Christmas all over the world there are a terrible number of poor and starving people.”

J. R. R. Tolkien, best known for this epic fantasy tales like The Lord of the Rings, also produced a fantastic set of short Christmas stories that can warm cold hearts during the holiday season. These stories, in the form of letters, tell tales of various hijinks taking place at the North Pole. In typical Tolkien style, these adventures include fantastic creatures like elves and goblins, along with a charming take on European mythology. While reading about the misadventures of the clumsy Polar Bear, readers will get a taste for Tolkien’s classic literary style and a slice of whimsical Christmas magic.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

“What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?” said Snape softly. “Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade.”

The Harry Potter books have a notable Christmas feel, despite only mentioning Christmas briefly in each book. Even Harry’s first Christmas at Hogwarts, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, when Harry is alone at school without his family, is heartwarmingly poignant as he finds unexpected gifts. The Prisoner of Azkaban details Harry’s first trip to Hogsmeade, a village which could come straight from a holiday postcard. From the snow and decorations to the scarves and candy, this and other trips to Hogsmeade highlight the relationships (or lack thereof) that Harry has with his friends and family, as the holiday season does for us all. Along with the moral and adventure themes of the books, these scenes make great light reading for the holidays.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

“DO I DETECT A NOTE OF UNSEASONAL GRUMPINESS? said Death. NO SUGAR PIGGYWIGGY FOR YOU, ALBERT.”

Hogfather is a truly priceless item of holiday literature. This tale starts out as a little theatre of the absurd for comedy’s sake; Death (the iconic, skeletal Death with robes and scythe) must “fill in” for the absent Hogfather (an analogue of Father Christmas) and so hilarity ensues. On one hand, we have excellent comedy as the morbid Death attempts to emulate the jollity of Christmas. On the other hand, Pratchett’s talent for weaving heartfelt truths about the nature of humanity and magic into fantastical situations shines in abundance. This tale has a surprising amount to say about the meaning of Christmas, without ever mentioning it in the usual terms.

The Journey of the Magi by T. S. Eliot

“A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.”

This seasonal poem is a great example of holiday literature that doesn’t directly follow the usual pattern of Christmas iconography. The forty-three-line poem was written in 1927 and captures the religious air of Eliot’s work after his conversion to Anglo-Catholicism. The poem tells the story of the Magi from the Gospel of Matthew, who traveled to Palestine to meet the baby Jesus. This powerful piece therefore touches little on the modern concept of Christmas but has familiar themes of isolation and stark wonder. Reading this poem is like glimpsing the origin of Christmas, without the typical Victorian aesthetics or Nativity scenes we’re used to.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

“Always winter but never Christmas.”

Some of the best holiday stories are not directly concerned with Christmas, but rather capture the feel of winter and the themes of morality, adventure, and nostalgia. The second tale from The Chronicles of Narnia truly represents Christmas for many readers, and even features a cameo from Father Christmas, who brings magical gifts for the four travelers. This story sees Christmas from the point of view of English folklore. While it is often cited as a Christian tale (and of course all the more festive for it), there are themes which could be called pagan, or perhaps a missing link between the old world and Christianity, such as the way that self-sacrifice is handled as part of the cycle of nature.

Why Do We Need Style Guides?

If you don’t like to follow the rules, style guides are a necessary evil. They give uniformity and structure to writing and are an invaluable resource when writing papers in university; the skill of writing according to a style guide will also help you in your career. They teach you how to avoid plagiarism by correctly citing works that you’ve read and obtained information from.

Style guides outline the standards for writing citations and formatting a document. The rules vary among different style guides; the best one to use depends on which publication, organization, or field you’re writing for. Four of the most commonly used style guides in universities are:

APA Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: The standard for educational, social, and behavioral sciences Citations in APA style include the last name of the author and year of publication. APA-style documents almost always have a title page. Sources will be on a “references” page.

Chicago The Chicago Manual of Style: For arts and humanities Citations take the form of footnotes or endnotes. Chicago style doesn’t necessarily require a title page, but it does require a bibliography page.

MLA MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers: Used for humanities and literature writing Citations include the author names and exact page numbers. MLA style doesn’t necessarily require a title page. Sources will be on a “works cited” page.

Harvard Used primarily for scientific writings Citations include the last names of authors and years of publication. Sources will be on a bibliography page.

If you find style guides burdensome now, you may take comfort in knowing that the more frequently you reference them, the less likely you’ll need to do so in the future, because the rules may become part of your memory over time. Another option is to use a tool like Citation Machine that will do the work for you, but these tools aren’t flawless, so you may need to cross-check with a style guide anyway. No matter how you do it, what matters most is that you reference your work properly.

Grammar Basics: When to Use I or Me?

Mistakes with objective pronouns often occur when we have to choose between you and me and you and I. Because you is the same in both the subjective and the objective case, people get confused about I and me. The way to check this is to remove the second-person pronoun.

When he’s finished reading the book, he’ll give it to you or I.

If the sentence read “…he’ll give it to I,” we would know that “I” is wrong.

When he’s finished reading the book, he’ll give it to you or me.

To learn more about grammar and to help us celebrate National Grammar Day this March, visit our new resource page.

Do You Know the Correct Answer to Our Pop Quiz Question?

In a recent Grammarly Pop Quiz email, we asked readers how they would correct this sentence: I’m looking forward to purchasing tickets for the 2018 winter Olympics.

A: Capitalize the “W” in winter. B: Make “O” in Olympics lowercase. C: Accept the sentence as is.

44 percent of these readers gave the correct answer, A. Did you choose correctly?

Seasons are only capitalized when they’re used as proper nouns, as in the sentence above: The movie will debut in the spring of 2016. (Spring is not used as a proper noun and doesn’t need to be capitalized.) The Springfield Autumn Harvest Festival is my favorite event of the year. (Autumn is part of a proper noun in this sentence as needs to be capitalized.) This winter, I want to learn how to ski. (Winter is not used as a proper noun and doesn’t need to be capitalized.)

In poetry, the names of the seasons are capitalized when they’re personified. For example: It’s that time of year again, when Winter blankets all creatures with somniferous snow and whispers to them, “Rest, children, rest.”

If you’d like to receive our pop quiz emails and other fun emails about grammar and language, sign up for our mailing list in the sidebar!

How long did you study grammar in school?

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.

3 Quick Tips to Make Your Cover Letters Better

Guest post from Brie Weiler Reynolds

For job seekers, making a strong first impression is crucial. With employers spending so little time screening cover letters and resumes before deciding if your application will make it to the next round, it’s imperative to use that precious space well. Your cover letter acts as an introduction between yourself and the employer. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to make customized, quality cover letters to help your application stand out.

Employers and recruiters have spent countless hours screening job applicants in their industry, so they will quickly spot a poorly written or generic cover letter. Start off on the right foot with potential employers by making sure your cover letters are as perfect as possible. These three easy tips will help you ensure your cover letters introduce you to an employer in the best possible light.

Don’t start every sentence with “I.”

Because so much of a cover letter is focused on you, it’s very easy to inadvertently start every sentence with “I.” “I have a degree in physics,” “I’ve worked for 10 years in accounting,” “I’ve been working from home for five years.” But when someone else is reading your letter, this approach starts to sound very self-centered and can easily throw their attention off your qualifications and onto your grammatical choices. After you write the first draft of your cover letter, proofread and change most of your sentences to start with something other than “I.”

Avoid cliches and over-used phrasing.

Phrases like “Please find my resume attached,” “To whom it may concern,” “think outside the box,” and keywords like “organized,” “computer proficient,” “passionate,” “team player,” and “dynamic” add absolutely nothing to your cover letter. They’re so overused that employers read right past them, looking for any hint of originality in your writing. Use that valuable space to say something meaningful, rather than something everyone else is saying, too.

Stop run-on sentences in their tracks.

Make sure your sentences are short and to-the-point by eliminating any run-on sentences. You should have two to three sentences per paragraph, and three to four paragraphs for one cover letter. An easy way to spot run-ons is to read your cover letter out loud. How many times did you have to stop to take a breath? If you find yourself reading a sentence that turns into a paragraph all by itself, you’ve just found a run-on. Try breaking up those long sentences where you see “and” or “but,” as those are natural stopping points.

Small mistakes like these force the employer to pay attention not to your qualifications as a job applicant, but to your poor writing skills. Whether deserved or not, a recruiter may see these mistakes as evidence of a poor work ethic or an inability to perform the job. Be sure an employer has nothing to focus on except what a qualified candidate you are by writing cover letters that are well-proofed and grammatically correct.

Brie Weiler Reynolds is the Director of Online Content at FlexJobs, the award-winning site for telecommuting and flexible job listings. FlexJobs lists thousands of pre-screened, legitimate, and professional-level work-from-home jobs and other types of flexibility like part-time positions, freelancing, and flexible schedules. Brie provides career and job search advice through the FlexJobs Blog and social media.