Created by EJ Belcher
Last updated December 2003
Of Writers & Editors:

                      http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~mllille/mu/supplement/triangle.htm
the trick of self-editing for students

Self-editing provides a challenge for many students, because they are emotionally attached to their pieces – either liking or loathing it.  They view themselves as the writer, rather than the critic.  In “The Web Content Style Guide Excerpt:  Writing for the Web:  Part 9” Gerry McGovern instructs writers to compartmentalize by “splitting” themselves and moving to the role of editor, because “[t]he editor’s motivations are very different from a writer’s.  The editor must be an advocate for the reader, not for the writer.  Uppermost in the editor’s mind is the question of how easily the reader will be able to grasp what the writer is trying to say” (1).  Theresa Zawacki, the director for the George Mason University Writing Center, refers to this concept as “writer/based” versus “reader/based” prose, saying that while the writer does not necessarily think about an audience, the editor must think about the reader’s ability to understand a text.  This directly relates to the Rhetorical Triangle (see above), in which the author and audience are linked through the message of a piece.

In “Evaluating Your Writing Objectively,” Linda Adams and Emory Hackman construct some clear and concise advice for writers that includes tackling the work with a positive outlook:
        Normally, we approach a critique like this by looking for things that are 
        wrong.  But if you do that, you set up a wall that seems insurmountable. 
        You feel as if you couldn’t possibly fix all the problems you seem to be 
        finding [. . . .]  But if you don’t look for things that are wrong, what do you 
        look for?  Places for improvement [. . . .]  Then the evaluation becomes a joy, 
        a challenge, a positive experience that you can use to improve your writing 
        skills.  (1)
This “new” person should be detached enough from the piece to honestly evaluate the clarity and necessity of words and sentences, asking themselves if something can be restated in a shorter or simpler way.  For example, why write "necessitates" when "needs" will suffice?  Why not use "because" instead of "due to the fact that"?

Global Development Network (GDN) hones Adams and Hackman’s general comments into more specific guidelines, suggesting, “Write for your audience, not for yourself or your organization.  Avoid superlatives and vague claims.  State nothing as a fact without presenting evidence.  Don’t boast, exaggerate or self-congratulate.  Avoid advertising talk or ‘marketese’ such as ‘greatest thing since…’ and ‘state-of-the-art…’.  Present facts clearly and users will decide for themselves what is useful” (2).