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Editing the body

Editing is not simply a matter of revising a pre-final draft. It is a process that inevitably accompanies the very process of writing itself. Editing the body, as it will be understood here, is a matter of ensuring that the body of your essay conforms to the requirements for a successful presentation of your thoughts set out in the preceding sections. At the same time, editing involves considering the extent to which your text is convincing as it stands. Let us first consider the questions to which you need to have a satisfactory answer before you can regard the body of your text as complete.

Physical presentation

  1. Is it clear, from my indenting, where the paragraphs begin and end?
  2. Are the paragraphs well-balanced in length and content?
  3. Have I ensured that no one-sentence paragraphs or ‘subparagraphs' have slipped in?

Body structure

  1. Is the overall structure of the body clear?
  2. Does the body have a clear direction?
  3. Does the body reach its high point immediately before the conclusion?

Paragraph structure

  1. Does each of my paragraphs have a topic sentence?
  2. Is the content of each paragraph covered by its topic sentence?
  3. Does each of my paragraphs have a climactic ending?
  4. Does each paragraph link up appropriately with the preceding and following paragraphs?

Only when you can confidently answer ‘yes' to all these questions can you feel sure that the body of your text requires no further editing as far as these matters are concerned. One question, however, must still be answered: have I been convincing? No matter how well organized the body of the text may be, the effectiveness of your argument may be undermined by either a lack or excess of emotional commitment. If the reader does not get the feeling that your writing is leading towards some conclusion to which you are personally committed as a writer, he is unlikely to be persuaded. He is equally unlikely to be persuaded by immoderate emotionally. Even if you feel very strongly about the issue at hand, it is important to remember that you are writing not to relieve your emotions but to communicate with your reader, an unknown individual whom you are inviting to take cognizance of your thoughts about a particular matter. The last question you must honestly ask yourself is thus: will the reader be convinced by the tone of my argument, or have I been too uncommitted, or too emotional?