How do you edit a draft? 

1. CONTENT:   Do you need to expand the ideas in this sentence? If YES, answer one of the following questions to inspire the expansion:

   • Who? 

   • Where?

   • When? 

   • Why? 

   • How?

But what if you don't know whether or not to expand an idea? How do you decide? Great question. The answer? Use logic! If you think that a person reading would have a reasonable question, then answer their question. 

2. LANGUAGE:   Do you need to clarify the ideas that you have set forth? If YES, consider these steps: 

   • Read sentence by sentence and ask, Can I combine these sentences and still communicate the full idea?

   • Then read word by word and ask, Are the words I chose relevant, accurate, and detailed so that I communicate my full idea? 

   • If these questions indicate that more work needs to be done, then you know what you need to do :) It's NOT easy and it is VERY time-consuming but you CAN do it and your hard work WILL pay off! 

3. FINALLY:  When you think you have the content and language as you want it, you must do a full check of all the "little things," that I would argue are not little at all: 

   • Check spelling

   • Ensure proper punctuation

   • Ensure proper capitalization

   • Ensure proper spacing, font size, and alignment