The Importance of Revising and Editing our Text
The Importance of Revising and Editing
The importance of revising and editing, why? Well, we all know that “revising” is an ongoing process of rethinking the paper, including reconsidering our arguments, refining our purposes, reorganizing our presentation, etc., from a critical, fresh perspective, while “editing” is a process of correcting and adapting the text of reports, articles, letters, essays, newsletters, and emails, to name a few.
Reasons for editing and revising
Have you ever received messy, full-of-mistakes or inappropriate-toned messages? I assume your answer is “Yes”. So, it is clear that before writing an email, a letter or a document, we have to definitely focus on the importance of revising and editing our text. I think we are supposed to edit and revise our works for a variety of reasons, for instance:
- The first version or draft we write is unlikely to be perfect.
- The content has to be created as clear as possible for our readers in order to avoid any misinterpretations.
- Long documents can make readers to lose their interest in the text. Thus, we have to be as concise as possible to be sure that everything is consistent.
- There may be some spelling and grammar mistakes to be corrected.
- The tone and/or mood of our text may differ from the one we planned at first.
Dealing with work and social related issues
As for me, no matter what type of document we write, it is crucial to think in terms of the communication barriers. Thus, understanding the concept of the successful communication and writing a clear and concise document is important for dealing with work and social related issues. That’s why I’m highlighting the importance of revising and editing our text.
Barriers
A barrier is anything that gets in the way between the writer and the reader; therefore we have to pay attention to some important aspects when we write, namely:
- Structure: a hard-to-follow structure is an excuse to stop reading.
- Appearance: people do not enjoy reading a messy document.
- Content: too little or too much information can make readers confused or irritated.
- Headings: readers may not find their way around if there are no headings.
- Appropriate language: too technical, jargon or old-fashioned language discourages readers.
- Words and sentences: it is essential to avoid complex or long words and sentences. It would be just a way to impress others.
- Spelling and grammar: the text has to be grammatically and mechanically correct, since errors will make readers unlikely to trust your facts, analysis, figures, as well as create a sense of carelessness and shallowness.
Making our document interesting
To my mind, an accurate, well-written, smooth, clear, and simple text makes our document interesting for readers. The need to develop good writing skills is mainly highlighted by the fact that living in the Information Age, it is common to build business relationships with guests, visitors, customers, and suppliers by means of written communication; therefore the words we write become the true representatives of our businesses and ourselves. So, let us make sure that our text is sending the right message about us.
by Severino Ricci
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