Chapter four teaches the most common mechanical errors so you can eliminate them from your writing. Troublesome parts of speech, issues such as noun-verb agree¬ment, and punctuation problems are explained. | Revising Editing and Proofreading CHAPTER 5 HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS 59 reader into the scene see Chapter 2 for a review of pinpointing or replacing vague language with words and phrases that are more specific . Some of my earliest memories are of sitting behind the counter in my family s feed store. I would listen to the ring of the cash register and watch as my mother carefully entered the sale in a large book. I became fascinated with the rows of numbers a fascination that continues to this day as I plan a career in accounting. The goal of editing is to make certain your essay works well on the sentence and word level. By checking and correcting your writing this closely you will eliminate words and phrases that don t work as well as unnecessary verb tense shifts and confusing pronoun usage. Your writing will be fresh original and clear and there will be enough variation to keep your audience interested. STYLE GUIDES Writers and editors use style guides to help maintain consistency and to conform to formatting standards. These guides explain everything from how to write a bibliography to how to indent paragraphs and when to use commas. The three most popular and frequently used style guides are the MLA Modern Language Association Chicago Manual of Style and APA American Psychological Association . If you have not been directed to use one of these guides or a similar one you may consult one to answer any style questions that come up during the editing process. In addition to using existing style guides some writers and editors create their own style sheets that are specific to the project they are working on. These sheets are simply lists of key words and phrases that are repeated in the writing. For instance if your essay is about former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto you want to be sure you spell her name correctly each time it appears. Including it on a style guide gives you an easy reference. You might also include the following on a style sheet .
