EDITING IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR -- ERROR SPOTTING , CORRECTING ERRORS AND PUNCTUATING A SENTENCE OR PARAGRAPH

English Grammar Editing 
- Error Spotting, Correcting And Punctuating.

Editing  starts with the inception of thoughts about writing in writer's mind. The writer first of all forms a thought in his mind to write something and then translates that idea into sentences to bring it on paper. But consciously or  unconsciously he then  starts thinking  of writing it in a better way. Thus in a way editing starts when writing itself starts. By the time the thoughts or concepts in the writer's mind come into a written form they already have undergone the process of editing.

Generally a writer notes down what comes to his mind about the topic. He  goes through it and rethinks about the concept. He brings a better version of it in his mind and puts it down by correcting or improving the previous written- version. What a writer writes in the first go is called a draft. The writer  reads this draft again and it may go for a number of times. He, during this process, goes on improving the version of his writing. This is called on-going editing.  

For editing a given draft sentence or paragraph, one has to know what the writer thought while writing. His thoughts should synchronize with those of the writer. One should also know the way of presentation of thoughts required by the writer. Only then a writing can be edited.

A writing involves use of words and phrases in the way as the writer wants to impress upon the reader. So a  proper use of language and words is very essential to know while editing a writing. Vocabulary is the key ingredient required for editing. A complete knowledge about the subject or topic and its terminology is very essential for editing.    

Before editing one should read and re-read the given sentence or paragraph to bring home the basic idea contained in it from the point of view of the writer.

For the purpose of the examination certain key points are necessary to know while editing  a given passage or a sentence. It is essential to know about the subject and the language used in the passage. One should try to understand the idea contained in the passage and the meaning of the words used in it.

First of all  a casual reading from beginning to the end of the paragraph should be given. This gives a sketchy idea of the subject matter. To make the idea clearer the passage be read again until it is well understood. Locate difficult words and know their meanings. If a word is not clear try to know its meaning by linking it with other words and find out the underneath thought meant to be conveyed by the writer. Make sure that appropriate words are used according to the subject contained in the passage. Sometimes similar words with different meanings are used to confuse the candidates. Replace such words with the correct words. Punctuate the passage as and wherever required. After making corrections read the passage again and try to note if there is still any amendment or improvement required in it. Vocabulary is the main tool that helps in the process. Besides practice paves the way for an effective form of editing.  

To sum up steps for editing English Grammar

• Good Command over English Language.
• Know Purpose of Editing.
• Knowledge of style of Editing.
• Proper grasping of the subject.
• Thorough Reading
• Spotting of Errors

Here follow some exercises for practice of candidates. 

ONE

The following sentences have not been edited. There is one error  in each sentence. Point out the error, write the incorrect word and the correction against each sentence. Underline the word you have supplied. One is done as an example.

1. His house is far from my.                           my - mine.

2. She told her mother that 
    she will not be able to visit her uncle that day.
   
3. He will not go to the office if it will rain tomorrow.
     

4. The reason why he failed 
     is that he did not work hard.

5. I as well as my brother is
     at fault.

6. He has left this house yesterday.

7. The teacher forbade the students not to disturb him.
    
8. He put me out with a lame excuse.

9. She and her  younger brother enjoyed himself in
our company.

10. The patient is too weak that he cannot walk even.
      

SOLUTION

1. His house is far from my.	my - mine
2. She told her mother that      she will not be able to visit      her uncle that day.	Will - would
3. He will not go to the office      if  it will rain tomorrow.	Will rain - rains
4. The reason why he failed       is that he did not work hard	Why - that
5. I as well as my brother is      at fault.	Is -am
6. He has left this house yesterday.	has left - left
7. The teacher forbade the students not to disturb him.	not to - to
8. He put me out with a lame excuse.	Put me out- put me off
9. She and her  younger brother      enjoyed himself in our          company.	Himself - themselves
10. The patient is too weak that       He cannot walk even.	Too - so

TWO

The following paragraph has not been edited. There is one error  in each line. Write the incorrect words and the correction against the correct question number. Underline the word you have supplied. One is done as an example.

 Once a king rules in a state. The king      rules in - ruled over 

was very cheerful and his queen always        

remained very sad. She always remain          

in a pensive mood most sitting in her            

chamber. This made the king worry and

he tried to find out the reason for her

sadness. The queen's maids also attempt

to make her happy but no avail. The

king made a announcement in his state

that he will give a huge amount as a prize

to the person who make the queen happy.

Many people came and try but none 

was successful. One day a sage came by

the king and told him that he wants to 

try  make the queen happy. The king gave

to him his permission. The sage brought

a number of small children with himself.

As the queen saw those children she start

playing with theirs. She spent a lot of

time with them. She felt very happy with

their accompany. She did not want to 

leave them. This gave immense enjoy to

both the king and queen because they

had no issues of their own. The king 

thank the sage and gave him a lot of 

money as reward to his act.

SOLUTION

Once a king rules in a state. The king	Rules in  -  ruled over
was very cheerful and his queen always	And -but
remained very sad. She always remain	Remain- remained
in a pensive mood most sitting in her	Most - mostly
chamber. This made the king worry and	Worry - worried
he tried to find out the reason for her	For - of
sadness. The queen's maids also attempt	Attempt - attempted
to make her happy but no avail. The	no avail – to no avail
king made a announcement in his state	A - an
that he will give a huge amount as a prize	Will - would
to the person who make the queen happy	Make - made
Many people came and try but none	try - tried
was successful. One day a sage came by	By - to
the king and told him that he wants to	Wants -wanted
try  make the queen happy. The king gave	Make - to make
to him his permission. The sage brought	to him - him
a number of small children with himself. As the queen saw those children she start	himself - him start - started
playing with theirs. She spent a lot of	Theirs - them
time with them. She felt very happy with	With -in
their accompany. She did not want to	Accompany - company
leave them. This gave immense enjoy to .	Enjoy - joy
both the king and queen because they	And queen – the queen
had no issues of their own. The king	Issues - issue
thank the sage and gave him a lot of	Thank - thanked
money as reward to his act.	To - for

THREE

The following sentences have not been edited. Each line contains  one error . Spot the error, write the incorrect words and the correction against the correct question number. One is done as an example.

Elimination for child labour is undoubtedly   for -of
one of the biggest challenge facing our 
country. Various article of the constitution
prohibits  the employment of children in
factories. Under Article 24, it has stated
that no child below the ages of fourteen
shall be employed in any factory.Once 
a person asked a miner boy working 
in a factory why he works there
 and if he does not know that law
 does not permit that. He politely
 replied that he not knows laws
 but he knew that he works
because he needs money. 
His father does not have money 
enough to run family expenditure.

SOLUTION

Elimination of child labour is undoubtedly           for -of

one of the biggest challenges facing our

 country. Various articles of the constitution

prohibit  the employment of children in 

factories. Under Article 24, it has been stated

that no child below the age of fourteen

will be employed in any factory. Once 

a person asked a minor boy working 

in a factory why he worked there

 and if he did not know that law

 did not permit that. He politely

 replied that he did not know laws

 but he knew that he worked

because he needed money. 

His father did not have money 

enough to run family expenses.

FOUR

The following sentences have not been edited. Each line contains  one error . Spot the error, write the incorrect words and the correction against the correct question number. One is done as an example.

There lived a old woman in                             a- an

a small village. She lived lonely

at her house. Her children lived

separate in a nearby city after

she lose her husband a couple

of year ago. She earned her

livelihood from doing odd

domestic jobs in people

houses. She was content for

her lot. She had been always

very cheerful. She is always

went for the village temple

daily in the morning everyday.

 She never demand 

nothing from God. One day

the temple preest asked her

why she comes to the temple

daily. She replied that she comes

to telling the God that His

selection is excellent when He

selects her for His all favours.

She came to thanks God also.

SOLUTION




There lived an old woman

 in a small village. She lived alone 

in her house. Her children lived  

separately in a nearby city after 

she  lost her husband a couple 

of years ago. She earned her

 livelihood by doing odd 

domestic jobs in people's 

houses. She was content with 

her lot. She was always 

very cheerful. She is  always

 went to the village temple 

daily in the morning everyday. 

She never demanded 

anything from God. One day 

the temple priest asked her 

why she came to the temple 

daily. She replied that she came

 to tell the God that His

 selection was excellent when He 

selected her for His all favours. 

She came to thank Him also.