- Have I checked to make sure the spell checker did not change any words to words I did not intend to write?
- Have I looked closely at my sentences to see if any words are missing?
- Did I review the rules for commas before editing for commas?
- Did I review other rules for punctuation before editing for punctuation?
- Is there something missing anywhere? Are all of my sentences complete?
- Did I include citations for all of my borrowed information?
- Have I tried reading my essay in reverse, from the last sentence, to help see each sentence on its own?
- Have I tried reading my essay out loud to see how it sounds?
Remember, your spell checker and grammar checker on your word processing program are valuable tools, but they miss a lot! Pay close attention as you run both your spell checker and grammar checker, questioning them as you go.
Once you have finished running these programs, it’s time for you to get to work as an editor. The Editing Checklist found below will help you focus on some key issues as you edit. There are two versions of the checklist below. The first is a printable PDF version, and the second is an interactive PDF version. In some browsers, you may need to download or save this file to be able to utilize all of its functionality.
