How To Edit Your Content Before Submitting

All creatives should review their work for factual errors and grammatical mistakes before submitting it. Do not rely on editors or QAs to make corrections. When you submit work with mistakes and errors, it can affect your grade and lead to fewer assignments. 

What To Remove

Content should always be direct and concise, so cutting content is often necessary. Only include relevant, valuable material. Remove any blocks of text, sentences, phrases, or words that:

• Reiterate an idea that you have already stated.
• Offer common knowledge or filler content.
• Are unnecessary or irrelevant.

Review these tips for eliminating wordiness for specific ways to eliminate unnecessary words from your content.

What To Edit

Check all of the following editing guidelines before submitting:

Check the Requirements

• Match the word count.
• Match any special client direction.
• Ensure proper use of all given fields.
• Match all linking requirements.
• Match all keyword requirements.
• Match all image requirements:
  • Number of images.
  • Proper citation.
  • Correct quality, size, and alignment.

Improve the Content

• Whenever possible, remove passive language.
• Maintain the same tense throughout the content.
• Shorten long, run-on, or complex sentences.

Check the Formatting

• Format paragraphs with Paragraph text.
• Format with the proper heading hierarchy, starting with Heading 2.
• Remove all line breaks, including at the end of the content.
• Ensure paragraphs have at the least two sentences, with at least three sentences being preferred.

Check the Mechanics

Make sure your content adheres to basic writing mechanics and English rules, including:

• Spelling.
• Title and subheading capialization.
• Grammar:
  • Use the correct subject-verb agreement.
  • Modify phrases properly to refer back to the word they define.
• Punctuation:
  • Incorporate proper comma use.
  • Do not separate a compound noun or verb with a comma.
  • For help with comma usage, please refer to these quick comma rules.

Review the CopyPress Writer Assignment Editing Checklist

Tips for Catching Editing Mistakes

Take a Break Before the Final Read-Through 

Before submitting a completed assignment take a break from the assignment for at least 10 minutes. Return to the assignment and read through it one more time before submitting it. You will likely catch mistakes that you didn’t notice before the break.

Get Automated Assistance

In addition to using the proofread check in Dante, we expect you to use online programs that will help catch errors in your content. While these programs aren’t always perfect, they may help you notice overlooked errors. Grammarly is an automated proofreading program that offers a plugin to check your content in Dante.