Editing and Proofreading

Editing your work is an important skill to master no matter where you are in your academic career, so let's take a few moments to discuss what you should be looking for as you edit your work.

• Spelling and grammar. For the most part, you're going to be typing your papers, so you have the advantage of built-in spelling and grammar checkers. Your teacher is going to a lot less forgiving of obvious spelling errors in your type-written work than in your hand-written work. It's also important to note that as you get older, your teacher's standards are going to climb higher and higher. The quality of work you produced in first grade is simply not going to fly in fifth. As you learn more about writing, grammar, and spelling, your academic advisors, tutors, and teachers are going to expect your work to reflect this progress. 
• Watch out for common spelling mistakes and tricky words. I personally have trouble spelling the word 'apocalypse,' which is unfortunate because I end up needing to use it at least once or twice a day. Thankfully, I have my word processor and spell check to help me out. Confession: about 10% of this page was underlined in red before I went back and fixed it. The lesson there is that you don't need to be a perfect speller to write well and be understood. You just need to edit. 
• Try not to confuse then/than, too/to/two, their/there/they're, and affect/effect. 
• I'm not sure how other programs work, but in Word grammar mistakes are underlined in green. However, Word often suggests imperfect replacements for errors and commonly marks perfectly correct grammatical arrangements as errors. When it doubt, read the original sentence and the suggested corrections aloud to see what sounds more natural.
• Read your work aloud, especially if you are a native English speaker. If it sounds strange, awkward, or just plain wrong, you want to fix it. Also ask yourself, 'Does my essay flow well? Does it make sense? Did I use transitions between paragraphs? Did I avoid run-on sentences? Can I make anything clearer or more concise? Is there a better way of saying this? Did I use enough detail and add enough examples? Did I prove the point I was trying to make? Did I complete the task?' If you find any errors, be sure to fix them before turning your work in to your teacher, especially if your teacher is expecting a polished final draft. 
• Remember that the purpose of writing is ultimately communication. If you want a good grade, you need to write something that your teacher is going to be able to understand easily. If you go back to your work and find out that something doesn't make sense to you, your teacher isn't going to stand a chance at figuring out what you meant to say. 
• Also remember that you're going to want to write in a fairly formal tone. Try not to use contractions (don't, wasn't, etc) or slang words. Text speak is also a definite no. You're writing for your teacher, not your friend. 
• You might want to ask for a copy of the rubric your teacher is going to be using to grade you. Try to take a step back and look at your work objectively. Put yourself in your teacher's shoes and ask yourself what grade you would give your paper. Be brutally honest, and correct for any favoritism you might be showing towards yourself by knocking off five points (or a half a letter grade). Then ask yourself if you'd be happy with the score you gave yourself. If you gave yourself an 85 or above, fantastic. If you gave yourself a 70, you might want to go back and edit some more. If you gave yourself anything less than that, you might need to ask a parent, guardian, older sibling, tutor, classmate, or teacher for help. 

Today's Lesson: Making Your Writing Come Alive

Let's pretend for a moment that my imaginary teacher just told me to write a few sentences about my favorite memory. After a minute or two of contemplation, I decide to write about the time I got my first dog.

So here's my first draft:

When I was in second grade, I got my first dog. My mom took me to the airport to pick her up. Then we brought her home. We named her Sophie. 

Not bad, but not good, right? It's a little dry, and a little boring. If this was my final draft, I'd probably put my readers to sleep. Let's try again. This time, we're going to add a little more detail.

When I was in second grade, I got a brand new puppy. My mother picked me up early from school so we could pick her up from the airport. After wandering around the terminals for what felt like forever, we found the domestic cargo building. From there, my puppy was only a quick signature away. Her crate was a little stinky from the long flight, but I was too excited to care. We brought her home, washed her up, and decided that out of all the names we'd considered for her, 'Sophie' was the best fit. 

That's quite a bit better. Notice that I also varied the sentence structure and used compound sentences. I also added a bit of emotion and flair. By combining all of these strategies, my writing seems a bit less generic and has a better shot of keeping my reader's attention.

If you want to be really fancy, you might want to try switching it up even more. My imaginary teacher's imaginary prompt was vague enough to allow me to get a bit creative. Let's try changing the point of view by writing this memory up as a journal entry.

Dear Journal,

Guess what? My puppy arrived all the way from Washington today! Mommy took me out of school at lunch-time so we could go pick up our new puppy. I was too excited to eat much, but Grandma made me chicken cutlets so it was hard not to eat. After lunch, we headed straight for the airport. Mom got a little lost so it took us forever to find the domestic cargo building, but we ended up in the right place eventually. 

I could barely stand still as we waited in line for our puppy, but the wait was worth it once I saw her. She was stinky, wet, and dirty from the long flight, but she was so, so, so cute! I took one look at her and fell in love. We had decided to call her Chloe, but the moment I opened my mouth, "I love you, Sophie!" popped out instead. Oops. 

After two long baths, Sophie was finally clean and free to explore her new home. I think she likes it here. I spent most of the afternoon playing with her, but she's taking a nap right now and Mommy says I should let her rest. Oh well. Anyway, I should go check on her. Bye, Journal!

This one is even more detailed and interesting, and it's a lot better than my boring first draft. You might notice that I changed some minor details from draft to draft. When you're writing creatively, it's perfectly alright to embellish your work like that. Just don't try that when you're writing a history paper. While it might be fun to re-imagine the American Revolution as a giant food fight, that is definitely not what happened and you'll probably get a big fat F for your efforts.

Khan Academy

A while back, one of our readers suggested that we add Khan Academy to our list of resources.

Khan Academy offers an amazing variety of learning resources. Students can brush up on their math or science skills, learn about economics and finance, dive into the world of computer programing, prep for the Big Test, or access partner content offered by world-renowned museums.

Khan Academy is an awesome resource for learners of all ages. Kindergartners through college students can benefit from using Khan Academy, as can their caregivers and teachers. Adult learners can enjoy these resources as well. Whether you're 5 or 125, Khan Academy will help you learn something new.

Give Yourself a Science Head Rush!

Head Rush is a series of short clips hosted by former Mythbuster Kari Byron. Ms. Byron makes science explosively fun for learners of all ages. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and learners will walk away from each video excited about science and armed with the knowledge of a scientific principle they may have been previously unaware of. While these videos can absolutely be enjoyed by anyone, I'd particularly recommend them to young girls. It's vital to get young women interested in and excited about science due to the severe gender imbalance in many scientific careers. In some fields, the ratio of women to men is as low as 1:9. If you're the parent or guardian of a little girl, we'd recommend introducing her to the joys of science at a young age.

A Tudor Feast Documentary

Take a peek at this fascinating documentary in which a team of expert historians attempts to recreate an authentic Tudor feast using a real period kitchen, locally caught and sourced food, and none of the conveniences of modern culinary technology. It'll give you an interesting glimpse into the pre-refrigeration, pre-super-market, pre-running water, pre-electricity past.

Black Death Documentary

This documentary explores the first outbreak of Bubonic Plague in Europe from 1347 to 1350. It provides an overview of the symptoms of the disease, its spread through Western Europe, and society's reaction to the pandemic.

While this documentary is a good starting place to learn about the plague, it is in no way comprehensive. If you're interested in learning more about Bubonic Plague, you should research the Justinian Plague (the first major outbreak of the Bubonic Plague) as well as the frequent and devastating subsequent outbreaks that would continue plague Europe through most of the last millennium.

Please note that this documentary labels the Bubonic Plague as the 'worst event in European history.' While the Black Death was the most devastating pandemic ever to sweep across Europe, both myself and my co-partner firmly believe that several historical events, including the World Wars and the Crusades, would be far better contenders for that grim honor.

As this documentary discusses disease and mortality in vivid detail, I would not recommend it for elementary schoolers, and I would advise that parents of middle schoolers exercise caution before allowing their children to watch it.

Learn About the Internal Processes on Planet Earth

The following documentaries, produced by the BBC and narrated by Richard Hammond, are incredibly informative, interesting, and easy to understand. If you've ever wondered how our planet works, take a look.

Richard Hammond's Journey to the Centre of the Planet

Richard Hammond's Journey to Bottom of the Ocean

The following two documentaries give you a glimpse into how solar systems and planetary bodies are formed.

Richard Hammond Builds a Planet: Part 1 and Part 2

Language Learning Tips

If you're an American high school or middle school student, chances are that you're going to be required to take foreign language classes. Here are some tips to help you along.

• Immerse yourself in the language. Set your computer's language to whatever language you're trying to learn. Just make sure you remember the settings path you took in case your new toolbar has you completely stumped. 
• Listen to foreign language songs. Lots of high school students in American learn Spanish as their second language. The good news is that Spanish is all around us! You can probably find a Spanish-language radio station in your car, and when you do, be grateful you're not learning Swedish. 
• Watch TV programs in Spanish. (For ease of writing, I'm just going to assume the reader is learning Spanish. Substitute the language you're learning if that's not true.) Don't watch the news, though. Most of the time, reporters talk way too fast. I can barely keep up with news broadcasts in my native language! Try watching a soap opera or, better yet, a children's show. Just think of it this way: you'll be learning Spanish the same way a baby in Mexico, Spain, or most of South and Central America would. 
• Read children's books in Spanish. You might be able to find some bilingual books at your local library, depending on the Latino population in your neighborhood. 
• Label stuff. The whole point of learning a language is to communicate. That'll be hard if you don't know the words for common objects and rooms around the house. 
• Go to a news site from Mexico, Spain, or any number of Spanish-speaking nations. Don't cheat and let Google translate the page for you; read it in the original Spanish and use your dictionary only for unfamiliar words. 
• Do a little bit of practice every day, even if you don't have Spanish on Thursday's or on the weekends or on holidays. Consistent practice leads to consistent results. If your goal is fluency, you're going to need to work hard. 

Concentration and Quiet

As a student, your number one responsibility is ensuring that you complete your school-work and learn what your teacher teaches you. This can be difficult if there are too many distractions when you're trying to do your homework or study.

Some students have noisy siblings or pets. This can be a definite problem, but don't get angry with your dog or yell at your little brother just yet. If noise is a problem in your study space, there are several solutions.

• Earplugs are my go-to life-saver for blocking noise. You can get a jar of fifty pairs at the drug store for around ten dollars. The ear plugs are reusable, but I'd suggest replacing them every other week or so to avoid infections. 
• If you have a pair of headphones, crank it up! I don't mean to blast the latest pop hit. That could be a distraction all by itself, especially if you're going to be dancing around in your chair when you should be writing your English essay. Here are a few alternatives:
• Rain sounds. 
• Jungle sounds.
• White noise.
• Heartbeat sounds. (This one is great if you're nervous about an upcoming test or assignment, as it is very calming.) 

Maybe noise isn't the problem, though. Maybe you can't focus because there is just too much happening around you. Try to set up a calm, quiet, peaceful study space away from the hustle and bustle of siblings running around, pets hopping about, and caregivers preparing dinner. This is especially important as you get into middle school and high school. 

No one can focus well on an empty stomach. Have a snack before you start. 

If you've been hitting the books for more than two hours, it's time to take a break. Get up. Do some stretches. Take a few deep breaths. Go outside for some fresh air. Rehydrate yourself. Wash your face to energize yourself. You might even want to spend a few minutes cuddling your pets or catching up with your siblings/caregivers. Just don't make the mistake of logging onto social media during your break. Before you know it, you'll look up and it'll be an hour later and you'll be way behind schedule. 

And finally, if you're falling asleep at your desk and you can't stay awake another minute, take a short nap and set your alarm to go off in fifteen or twenty minutes. Just make sure it's out of arm's reach so your power nap won't turn into an early bedtime. 

Book Recommendation: The Moomins Series by Tove Jansson

The co-creator of this blog is probably going to laugh when she sees this post, but I would nevertheless like to recommend a series of children's books that is very near and dear to me. The Moomins series was begun in 1945 by a Swedish-speaking Finnish woman. The series details the often quite whimsical adventures of a family of hippopotamus-shaped creatures who live in a fictional place in Northern Finland called Moominvalley.

I would recommend this series primarily to elementary school students and older students struggling with reading comprehension; however, the Moomin books are written so that they can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I know of adults living in Scandinavia and in Finland who often revisit the beloved stories they enjoyed as children. I myself didn't discover the Moomins until my junior year of high school, but I found them rewarding nevertheless.

The Moomins series can teach American children a lot about Nordic culture and also serve as a gentle reminder to respect all of Earth's living creatures, from plants to animals to the waters and forests they call home. The prose is also quite beautiful, and often evokes vivid mental images of glowing sunsets and magical nights. For a better idea of what I'm talking about, see the quotes I've included below.


“Now dusk fell again. It spread very slowly and carefully, to give the day ample time to go to bed. Small clouds were strewn all over the western sky like dabs of pink whipped cream. They were reflected on the ocean, which rested calm and smooth and looked quite harmless.” - Moominpappa’s Memoirs

“The sun had set, but now in June there was of course no darkness to speak of. The night was pale and dreamy and full of magic.” - Moominsummer Madness. 

“The sand was raked into smooth little ripples under the clear, green water, and the rocks were warm in the sunshine. The wind had gone home to sleep, and there was no horizon to be seen, only a great transparency of light.” - Moominpappa’s Memoirs

“One evening the western sky was on fire with the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. It was a tumult of red, orange, pink, and yellow flames, filling the clouds above the dark and stormy sea with smoldering colors. The wind was blowing from the south-west towards the island from the sharp, coal-black line of the horizon.

  

As she gazed at the sky, the evening light crept up the wall, lighting up the flowers in her garden. They seemed to be alive and shining. The garden opened out, and the gravel path with its curious perspective suddenly seemed quite right and to lead straight to the verandah. Moominmamma put her paws round the truck of the tree; it was warm with sunshine and she felt that the lilac was in bloom.” - Moominpappa at Sea.