An Editing Checklist

This paper belongs to:   ______________. I read and edited this paper: __________________________

1. First, read the entire paper. 
Don’t worry about writing comments or circling mistakes. Just simply read the entire paper, so that you can begin to understand what the writer is trying to accomplish.

2. Now, read the paper again more slowly. 
a. Circle any words that seemed misspelled. Write “sp?” beside them.

b. Underline any verbs that seem to be in the wrong tense.

c. Highlight (or underline) any sentences or phrases that don’t make sense. Write a “?” in the margin.  Please make sure that the writer never ever uses "I" as in "I think that..."

3. Next, look for punctuation problems.
a. Check for run-on sentences. (Sentences that should be two sentences.) Write “run-on?” beside these sentences.

b. Did the writer correctly "punctuate" the title of the text? For example, Of Mice and Men or Of Mice and Men. (Not both.)
c. Check the punctuation of the citations. Does it look like one of these examples?
George angrily yelled, "'Let Lennie alone!'" (87).

Paul explained, “Kemmerich could not stop crying” (17).

The speaker describes that “Beowulf puffed out his chest/ Like the bull-chested warrior he was/And declared, ‘I am the greatest warrior--ever’” (l.12-14).

4. Then, check for formatting issues.
a. Is the paper double-spaced? (1.5 spacing is all right as well...)
b. Is the paper written in 12-point font, Times-Roman? (not size 14 point)
c. Is there a proper title for this paper? 
(Not “One-Pager;” also the title should not be underlined, bolded, italicized, in quotations marks or in a larger font)
d. Do the margins seem like one inch? (The automatic (default) margin on most school computers in 1.25 inches, so double  check.)
e. Are there page numbers on each page (if the paper is more than one page)?
f. Is the heading single-spaced? It should contain only the student’s name and the date.

5. Advice:
	What one thing should this writer make sure they do, before they turn in the final draft?