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Description:

Okay, so we've all turned in an essay we wrote the night before in a desperate, caffeine-fueled fever dream... Ideally, though, there should probably have been some revising, editing, and proofreading involved.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:02

Writing the first draft of an essay can sometimes feel like climbing a mountain. [man attempting to climb up a mountain]

00:06

It takes a lot of thought, a lot of effort, and a lot of rope.

00:09

…Wait, it doesn't take rope? [man falling down the mountain]

00:11

Hm…maybe we've been doing it wrong…

00:13

Anyway, once you're done with that first draft, it's time to stop and admire the view, right? [boy admiring a scenic view]

00:18

Not quite.

00:19

Although finishing your first draft is an accomplishment, you still have three more

00:22

mountains to climb:

00:24

Mount Revising, Mount Editing, and Proofreading Peak.

00:29

Hope you brought a lot of energy bars. [3 mountains and energy bars appear]

00:30

The first stage is revision.

00:32

Think of it as the big-picture stage.

00:34

Instead of keeping your nose to the page… [boy revising in his room]

00:36

…it's time to zoom out and think about how you've organized your paragraphs, and all

00:40

the details, facts, and examples within 'em.

00:43

This is the time to focus on the main ideas of your paragraphs.

00:47

If you have any new facts or details that support that main idea, toss them in.

00:51

But if you find some facts or details that don't seem too relevant or important, throw

00:55

'em out.

00:57

We know, we know…"recycle! [a big stash of recyclable material]

00:58

Compost!"

00:59

Yeah, they're important, but you can check them at the door when it comes to revising.

01:04

Next up.. editing.

01:05

While revision focuses on content and organization…

01:09

…editing forces you to zoom in a bit, focus on language, flow, and clarity.

01:15

If the goal is to make your essay feel like a nice, gentle ride… [car driving close to the edge of a road]

01:18

… editing should help you deal with any outstanding potholes.

01:23

That means you'll be editing at the sentence level: rewording sentences that aren't clear…

01:28

…breaking down sentences so they flow better…

01:31

…making sure you have solid transitions…

01:33

…and rewriting sentences to avoid repetition.

01:37

Because no one likes repetition. [men fighting each other and officer hits one man with a baton]

01:39

Yup, repetition is something nobody likes.

01:41

And we mean nobody likes repetition.

01:43

Last but not least, we finish with proofreading.

01:46

If you thought editing was up close and personal… [boy in the subway as train goes past]

01:48

…then you ain't seen nothing yet.

01:50

Proofreading requires you to really dig deep into your essay, with the hopes of unearthing [man digging into the ground]

01:55

any lingering errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar.

01:59

That means even your capitalizations, quotations, and italics need to be in tip-top shape. [italics quotes and caps on the tredmill]

02:05

It might seem more detailed oriented and stressful than a meeting with the queen, but it's worth

02:10

it.

02:11

And trust us, if you happened to meet a member of the royal family with a dangling participle, [man meets a member of the royal family]

02:15

you'd never live it down.

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