How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Preparing to edit your work
How to edit your own work
Other topics in scientific communication

There is no great writing, only great rewriting.

—Justice Louis Brandeis

Preparing to edit your work

If you have reached this point in the book, or if you turned immediately to it, you probably know that good writing is much-revised writing. But how should you approach editing your own work? What should you look for? Is there anyone who can help? This chapter addresses these questions. In doing so, it reviews some key points from earlier chapters, such as about features of good scientific writing.

First, though: Why edit your own work? Doing so can increase the likelihood that your paper or proposal will be accepted. It can decrease the amount of revision that reviewers and editors request. It can minimize editing by others—and thus minimize the chance that inaccuracies will be introduced. Most important, it helps ensure that you communicate effectively with readers. Also, some journals now provide little copyediting; they do little or no polishing and sometimes require authors whose papers are deemed unpolished to obtain editing on their own. Thus, editing one’s own work before submission may be even more advantageous than before.

Challenges in editing one’s own work include gaining distance and objectivity. Letting time elapse and changing the physical appearance of your work can help. If feasible, set your writing aside for at least a few hours. You might then be able to approach the piece much as a reader would. Perhaps also change the look of the piece (Hancock 2003) to aid in encountering the writing afresh. For instance, if you have been viewing the writing on a computer, print it out. Or change the typeface or margins. Maybe print the piece on colored paper. Such changes can assist in viewing your writing with new eyes.

Also, use your ears. Read your draft aloud. In doing so, you may notice more easily where words are missing or wording is awkward.

Once you are ready to edit, in what order should you proceed? The choice is yours. Some authors start by considering large-scale aspects, such as overall content and organization. No need, they say, to bother with details right away since parts of the writing might be deleted anyway. Other authors start by polishing the language so they can see the piece more clearly before considering larger-scale changes. Such polishing can start with the text or with elements such as tables, figures, or references. Regardless of the order you use, thoroughly editing your work (or anyone else’s) usually entails more than one round. The final round should proceed from beginning to end, so you can better notice problems in the order of items.