READING IT RIGHT

Feedback comes in three distinct styles.
Line by line
When to use: When you have enough time to review and input the suggested changes.
Benefits: You have more control over the edits, improve the document, and break your bad habits by correcting the problems line by line.
Drawbacks: Inputting the changes takes time.

This popular type of editing evolved from the old days of teachers’ comments that landed in inky stains across paragraphs or even Editing Marks

Editing marks can save a lot of time and space — if you and your editor agree on what they mean. Otherwise, you might as well ask a twoyear-old to scribble all over your technical report. Here are the most commonly used editing marks. Share this page with your editor.
pages, in remarks in the margins and questions scrawled between lines. Some editors draw little frowning faces at particularly difficult passages. The benefits of this kind of editing are many. For starters, you can see your original writing and the corrections at one time. This gives you the opportunity to compare in a quick before-andafter fashion.In addition, this editing style usually contains explanations for the changes. At times, the comments can be cruel, with little “huh’s?” in the margins and lines such as “This doesn’t make any sense,” and “Do you really expect the reader to know what you’re talking about here?” At other times, of course, they can be encouraging and constructive.Here is a sample edit of a newsletter article:
Rewrites
When to use: When you don’t have time to input changes and your editor is a better writer than you are.
Benefits: A better piece at no time cost to you.
Drawbacks: Even if you read the revision, your skill won’t improve significantly.
Frequently, rewrites seem ideal. You simply hand your documentover to someone else; that person reads, types a little of this andthat, and — instant improvement. Meanwhile, you can be writinganother letter, getting a cup of coffee, or doing virtually anythingelse that interests you.In terms of improving your writing style, however, rewrites are alittle like hiring a personal trainer to help you exercise, then snuggling up on a couch and watching the trainer work out. You simplycannot improve your style by rereading someone’s edits of yourwork. On the other hand, your schedule might be sealed tighterthan a peanut in a shell. In this case, go ahead and ask for a rewrite.just make sure that your editor is
• a good writer
• familiar with the content
• flexible enough to complete the rewrite by your deadline
Here’s a rewritten version of the paragraph from the line-by-linesection:

Today, the company announced that Sheila Abbot will bejoining the Human Resources Department as Vice President starting January 3. A graduate of Radcliffe College and Ohio State, where she received a master’s degree, Ms. Abbot workedin the Human Resources Departments of Maxwell Company andThompson & Chardes. Sheila said she was thrilled to be in asdynamic and exciting a company as ours.

Critiques
When to use: When you haven’t had feedback for months or moreand have at least four or five finished documents.
Benefits: Better insights into your overall habits.
Drawbacks: You won’t have the opportunity to implement changes.

Here’s the big one — a critique that sweeps through your document like a gardener’s hoe, turning up your good habits and bad.
Your job seems simple, at first. Read through the suggestions, grasp the ideas, and learn. But learning passively is never enough. You must apply the suggestions and return to them each time you write until you break your bad habits. Also, be sure to remember these critique dos and don’ts:

Don’t read your critiques to determine whether you are a good or bad writer.

Do look for individual problems you can realistically address.

Don’t view suggestions as judgments.

Do see weaknesses as mechanical problems, which, with consistent and focused tweaking, you can fix.

Don’t simply put the critique away once you finish reading it.

Do make a list of your bad habits from most to least prevalent and edit according to those.

Don’t accept unsubstantiated opinions.

TRY THIS! In a file, either paper or electronic, save all your first drafts for at least a month and monitor your growth. Try again a month or two later. Perhaps review your findings with your editor. You may feel comfortable with your growth, or you may want to chart a course so you can improve even faster.
Do ask for examples that will both support and illustrate the comment.

Don’t focus most of your attention on negative comments.

Do recognize that positive comments are as valid as negative ones.

Here is an example of a good editor’s critique:

Your writing contains enough specific information to make the message interesting and believable. It would bestronger, though, if you cut extra words. In the articleabout Sheila Abbot, for example, you write: “It wasannounced by the company today that the human resourcesdepartment will be welcoming a new Vice Presidentwhose name is Sheila Abbot.” Your shorter, more interestingmessage would read: “Today, the company announced that Sheila Abbotwill join the Human Resources Department as Vice President.”