Essay Editing Tips

Hi,

As I am currently surrounded by what feels like hundreds of copies of essay drafts, I thought it would be a good time to talk about my tips for editing university essays.

1. Print it off

Yeah, I'm probably going to kill a lot of trees this year. However, I find that I edit so much better when I am not staring at a screen. Printing off essay drafts allows me to annotate by hand, which I believe is a much more effective way of working out what to say.

2. Expand on your draft

If you find yourself writing on your draft to expand on a certain point, actually write at the point in time what you are going to say. Often I have written the word expand, only to get to actually editing on screen and realised I no longer know what the hell past Abby was talking about. Writing on your draft at the time will make it much easier for you in the long run.

3. Highlight on Paper Drafts

In addition to writing all over paper drafts, I also find that highlighting on paper drafts can be a good way of checking if you've used enough secondary sources, quotes or analysis. I often drop quotes into my essay and then don't explain them fully. Highlighting the quotes I use can help to see exactly how much analysis is after each quote, which in turn makes my writing a lot better.

4. Reword Sloppy Sentences

Often when I am writing my first draft I just write what comes off the top of my head, often its not as academic as it will be by the time it is finish. Therefore, in my first couple of drafts I usually focus on rewording anything that either doesn't sound concise enough or just doesn't make sense. I use the general rule: if it doesn't make sense to me, how will it make sense to anyone else. I have essays before where I have reworded a good third of it, and it has definitely paid off.

5. Peer Review

Peer review is a great way of testing out where someone, other than you, can understand what you have written. It is also a good way of either reassuring you that what you have written is good enough, or it is a good way of giving you constructive criticism about which areas need to be improved. It is something that I have done, on and off, throughout my degree. However, I am definitely doing it outside of seminars and much more frequently this year. I also find that it is great to talk to a peer as they can often give a different type of advice than a lecturer would give.



6. Go for Tutorials

As much as tutorial aren't my favourite thing, they do have their uses. I often find that the best time to go is during the planning stage, usually just before I'm about to start my first draft. It is reassuring to see whether your argument is effective. I also find that they often talk about something, be that an idea or a secondary source, that I haven't previously thought about, and this can offer a different perspective to a piece.

7. Email a Section

Emailing them a section of your essay to your seminar tutor can be a great way to get some informal feedback about a particular part of your essay. As difficult as it may be, it is always best to send of the part that you're struggling with, or that you feel could do with some feedback. It can be so tempting to send off the best part of your essay, however, in the long run it is better to take the constructive criticism.

I hope this helps :)

Southwold Day Seven - Last Day and a Visit to Beccles!

On our last day in Southwold, we decided to make the most of it. We were up early and made use of our final day by the sea.

We had a lovely bit of brunch at Le Roc and then walked down to the beach for one last walk by the sea front.

However, that day it was so hot! As a family we can't really cope with temperatures above about 18 degrees!






So After a rest in the shade, we got in the car to start our journey home. We stopped off in Beccles, about just under 20 miles inland, for a walk and an ice cream.

Then it was finally time to head home.

Southwold Day Six - Trip to Bungay!

So on day six we decided to go somewhere we had never been before. Generally when we go on holiday to Southwold we tend to go to the same places. Therefore, it was lovely to visit Bungay, a market town on the border between Suffolk and Norfolk.

We just had a bit of an explore around. First stopping off at the local pub for a drink.

Followed by going in search of the castle.

Funnily enough along the way we got chatting to a lovely lady who coincidently also had a cocker spaniel called Poppy! She was honestly the cutest little thing!

We then walked back towards the centre of town, going past the buttercross.

All in all it was a nice place to visit and only took a couple of hours to explore.

Southwold Day Five - Late Night Walk

I think one of the things I will miss the most about staying near Southwold will be being able to go for impromptu walks by the sea.

A couple of nights this week, me and mum have walked by the sea as the sun sets.

 It's lovely as it's a bit quieter than during the day and at the moment it's not too cold.

Southwold Day Four - Southwold Pier

Today we took a trip down to the beach and walked alongside the sea, before walking along the pier.



I love Southwold pier and have so many happy memories of it as a child. Saving up 2ps to use at the slots and watching the craziest looking clock i've ever seen.



It is also lovely to look out at the loveliest view of the town and read all of the placks of messages that people have written over the years.

Also I wouldn't be an English lit student if I didn't love the artwork of George Orwell who's parents lived in Southwold.

Southwold Day Three - Trip to Aldeburgh

Day 3

Today we took a trip to the nearby town of Aldeburgh. It was nice to be somewhere different.

We grabbed some lunch and then walked along the coast.

When I was younger I generally used to prefer a sandy beach, but now I much prefer a pebbly one. It's just so much easier mostly because you don't have the whole sand in shoe situation!

It's crazy that Aldeburgh is not even twenty miles down the coast from Southwold and yet feels completely different.

Overtime that we visit Aldeburgh I love taking picture of this sculpture. It is so beautifully designed and stands out so clearly, yet it feels as though it simultaneous fits and is apart from the landscape.

After a while we took a break, much to Poppy's delights. She's absolutely mental and loves nothing more than finding benches for us. I think it's mostly so she gets a bit of a rest!