Write On!, 1021 WYBJ, Vol. 44 No. 5. 58

• Author: John H. Ridge, J.D., Ph.D.
• Position: Vol. 44 5 Pg. 58

Write On!

No. Vol. 44 No. 5 Pg. 58

Wyoming Bar Journal

October, 2021

Developing Effective Editing Skills

Part 3

John H. Ridge, J.D., Ph.D.

Fort Collins, Colorado

In Part 1 of this article series we introduced the six stages of effective editing: (i) familiarization, (ii) organizational editing, (iii) stylistic editing, (iv) grammatical editing, (v) proofreading, and (vi) rule compliance.¹ Part 1 also included a discussion of the first stage. In Part 2, we continued with the second and third stages.² In this third and final article in the series, we discuss the remaining three stages and conclude with an editing checklist.

Stage Four: Grammatical Editing

While not the most difficult stage of editing, grammatical editing can be the most tedious. The success of an editor at this stage depends in large part on the editor’s familiarity with the grammar guides discussed in Part 1. Good editors build in time to read these guides on a regular basis.

At this stage, we are looking for mistakes in grammar and punctuation. Some of the common grammar errors to look for include subject-verb agreement, nominalizations...