The document outlines 5 steps for effectively editing a paragraph: 1. Walk away from the paragraph to gain perspective before editing. 2. Imagine you are the intended audience reading it for the first time and evaluate if it makes sense, holds interest, and includes all needed information. 3. "Slim down the fat" by shortening sentences, simplifying words, and adding white space for readability. 4. Check for errors in spelling, grammar, formatting, and passive voice. 5. Print the paragraph and read it aloud to catch additional errors and needed changes before finalizing.

1. steps of editing a paragraph

2. Step One:
Just walk away
• We all know that when we’re too
close to things, we don’t see them
clearly. This can be good for
relationships, but hazardous for the
editing process.
• That's why you need to get a little
distance. So after you wrote your
paragraph, set away from the
computer to clear your head.

3. Step Two:
Imagine you’re not you.
Instead, imagine you’re the intended
audience reading your document for the first
time. The big questions you want to answer
here are:
– Does it make sense? Would the reader
understand what you’re trying to say?
– Does it hold your interest from start to finish?
– Does it include all the information you need
(e.g., important numbers, facts, or events)?

4. Step Three:
Is your writing FAT?
Here are three ways to lose the fat:
– Avoid long sentences: If any are longer than 25 words or
so, consider turning them into two sentences or
removing any unnecessary words.
– Slim down the words: Replace long words and phrases
with short ones. In other words, why say “ascertain the
location of” when you can just say “find”?
– Remember that black flatters figures, but white flatters
writing: Nothing is more daunting to a reader than a
dense block of text. So you add some breathing room
with white space between paragraphs, bold subheads
and (where appropriate) bullet points.

5. Step Four:
Listen to your high school
English teacher
Actually, your writing is not the same as the writing
of your old English teacher. Here are a few major
points we can all agree on:
– Good writing is error-free. This means perfect spelling and
no typos.
• Check for the correct use of homonyms like "to/too/two",
"their/they’re/there", etc. Spell checker doesn’t always make
those distinctions.
• Confirm you’ve spelled all names correctly. This mistake can
be particularly embarrassing.
– Good writing avoids the energy-draining passive voice.
Write "Bob threw the ball". Not "The ball was thrown by
Bob".
– Good writing is formatted correctly. Check your margins,
use of spacing and consistency in style of headings — font,
bold or not bold, capitalization, etc.

6. Step Five:
Now clean it up and read it
again. Out loud.
After you’ve made your editing (don’t
edit onscreen!), print your document
and read it again. If you’re in a crowded
office, whisper instead, but don’t skip
this step. You’ll be amazed at how
much you’ll catch.
http://www.bloger.com/5-steps-for-editing-your-own-writing.htm