Editing complex writing

English · C2

The rule

Check the overall argument before individual spelling errors. Each paragraph should serve the task. Remove needless repetition and clarify references and transitions.

Example

A useful paragraph moves from a claim to explanation, evidence and relevance.

Practice

1. What should you check first?

  1. The overall logic
  2. The rarest vocabulary
  3. Every comma in isolation
  4. How to make all sentences longer
Answer and explanation

The overall logic

Structure and argument come before minor details.

2. An unclear pronoun should be…

  1. Left mysterious
  2. Clarified by naming its referent
  3. Multiplied
  4. Ignored
Answer and explanation

Clarified by naming its referent

The reader needs to know what the pronoun refers to.

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