Editing Made Easy

If you missed the gifts given for Day 9, you can still access these resources:

Podcast Episode 333: Letter to the Editor

“How do I grade my student’s writing?” is a question that IEW receives often. Marking and grading writing can be overwhelming. On the ninth day of IEW’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giving, we have given the gift of editing made easy.

What is an editor? Andrew Pudewa poses this question in the first gift, a video segment from the third lesson in Structure and Style for Students: Year 1 Level A. One of the students answers, “Someone who checks your paper.” Andrew affirms the answer and then provides more clarity on the editor’s role. To hear his response, you can request the first three lessons here.

A free helpful resource for you to learn more about the role and responsibility of being your student’s editor is “Letter to the Editor” (Podcast 333). The show notes for the podcast also link to a sample letter that your students can give to their prospective editors.

The Four Deadly Errors of Teaching Writing is my favorite resource to share with others when parents and teachers question the editing process. In this presentation Andrew Pudewa discusses ways that teachers and parents can avoid overcorrecting. He also encourages educators to prepare assignments with clear expectations that make editing much easier. Publishers provide submission guidelines for prospective authors. We can do no less for our students. Help them be successful!

In the free resource “Marking and Grading,” Andrew Pudewa delves into the important distinctions between the two. After reading this article, I learned to ask my children to “bring me your paper so I can edit it” rather than “bring me your paper so I can correct it.” I correct math. I edit writing. It is less intimidating and assumes there will be changes to make. Even now, my college kids will occasionally ask me for editing assistance on their papers.

If you struggle with knowing what to look for when you edit, such as run-on sentences or places that need a comma, completing one or more of the Fix It! Grammar courses alongside your students will provide excellent training in spotting these more complex errors. You can request the first three lessons here.