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Banking on your friends to help with editing a piece you've written is one of the surest ways to get a pair of fresh eyes on it (yes, this can do wonders for your writing, especially when paired with an effective writing software). Of course, you'll normally have to do your own share of editing others' work if you want them to return the favor, so having a working guideline of what you need to do should help you work through their drafts in an optimal manner.
You can use this specifically for that purpose:
- Set aside anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour, depending on the length of the draft.
- Make sure to read the whole draft before writing a lick of comment. This helps ensure you consider the piece as a whole before making any recommendations.
- Avoid doling out your endorsements in the margins. Use a comment system of some sort (like a list at the end) to make it easy to read through your recommendations.
- Put yourself in reader's mode.
- Focus on high-level issues (content, reasoning) first; mechanics can be given their due later. The former will require an observant editor, while the latter can often be fixed to a decent degree by a good writing software.
- Refer to specific parts of the draft with your comments, avoiding blanket statements as much as possible.
- Find areas the writer can work on to improve the draft's clarity.
- Be sure to close by pointing out the main strengths of the work, along with the primary things that you feel will need to be addressed.
About this Author
Watch how innovative Effective Writing Software instantly can improve your writing on a daily basis and learn how advanced NLP technology can help you to write perfect emails, essays, letters or reports. Read more
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