Editing looks at how the writing looks. Do you have errors in your writing? Did you use the right words? Are your sentences appropriate? How do the words look as you read them on the page? “During editing, the paper is fine-tuned for specific content, as well as organization and style at the paragraph and sentence level.”
Revising looks at how the writing sounds. Is it readable by the audience that will be reading it? Did you get your message across? Does it make sense? Are you objective? Is your writing clear? Is your content relevant? “During revising, the rough draft is evaluated for the larger issues of general content, organization, and tone, by adding, deleting, and organizing information as necessary” (http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/style_purpose_strategy/revising_editing.html).
Most people complete these two steps at once, but, your
writing will be better if you do this in two separate steps. Yes, it creates more work, but it greatly
improves your writing. And that’s your
ultimate goal, to make your writing better.
When editing and revising, here’s an image to help you edit
and revise:
It’s important to remember, that whenever you revise and
make changes, you need to go back and edit your revised work.
Remember, editing checks how your writing looks and revising
checks how your writing sounds. You need
make sure that your writing looks good and sounds good. Errors can cause people to stop reading your
work and disrespect you as a writer.
