Whoever has gone through the ecstasies and agonies of writing an essay knows the satisfaction (and often the sadness) of finishing. Once you have done all of the work of finding out what you want to express, arriving at an arguable and thesis that is interesting analyzing your evidence, organizing your thinking, and contending with counter-arguments, you may possibly feel that you have nothing left to accomplish but run spell-check, print it out and await your professor’s response. But what spell- check can’t discern is exactly what readers that are real think or feel if they read your essay: where they may become confused, or annoyed, or bored, or distracted. Anticipating those responses could be the job of an editor—the job you take on as you edit your own personal work.

As you proceed, keep in mind that sometimes what may seem like a small problem can mask (be a symptom of) a more substantial one. Read more