How to Edit and Improve Under Time Pressure
Use a fast, reliable edit routine to catch the biggest errors and polish your writing before time runs out.
Three Quick Passes (≈3 minutes)
- Sentence Ends & Capitals: underline end marks; fix run-ons; capitals for names.
- Homophones & Punctuation: their/there/they’re; its/it’s; commas for clauses and lists.
- Clarity & Power: replace 2 weak verbs; remove one repeated word; add 1 varied opener.
Scanning Patterns
- Scan line ends first for full stops and question/exclamation marks.
- Skim for capital letters at sentence starts and proper nouns.
- Circle repeated words; swap one for a synonym.
Fast Fix Bank
- Join two short sentences with a conjunction for smoother flow.
- Split one long sentence into two to remove confusion.
- Swap "very + adjective" for a stronger single word ("very cold" → "freezing").
Practice
- Take a past paragraph and do the 3-pass edit—note 3 visible changes.
- Set a 2-minute timer to fix homophones and one punctuation issue.