Editing Advertisement Essays
After you've improved the appeals in your first draft, gotten rid of logical fallacies, and otherwise revised your advertisement essay, you are ready to edit your work. You'll look for problems with sentences, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, and spelling. The following activities will help you.
Editing for Pronoun Agreement
A pronoun is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word that the pronoun refers to is called an antecedent. Pronouns and antecedents must agree. This means that they must both be singular or they must both be plural. It also means that the gender should match. Here are some examples.
Tula doesn’t think she needs a seat belt.
(The pronoun “she” and its antecedent “Tula” are both singular and feminine.)
Nick forgot to wear his seat belt.
(The pronoun “his” and its antecedent “Nick” are both singular and masculine.)
Seat belts save lives if they are used properly.
(The pronoun “they” and its antecedent “seat belts” are both plural.)
Check for pronoun-antecedent agreement.
In each sentence below, underline the pronouns and the antecedents. If they do not agree, correct the error.
-
That linebacker should pay more attention to their diet. That linebacker should pay more attention to his diet.
-
Teenagers think that he or she can eat poorly and not get sick. Teenagers think that they can eat poorly and not get sick.
-
My friends believe they can eat chips for breakfast and lunch. My friends believe they can eat chips for breakfast and lunch.
-
Tess knows junk food affects their health. Tess knows junk food affects her health.
-
Sickly people may get well just by changing his or her diet. Sickly people may get well just by changing their diet.
-
Doctors tell patients to put fruits and vegetables on their plates every day. Doctors tell patients to put fruits and vegetables on their plates every day.
-
Those boys put too much food on his plates. Those boys put too much food on their plates.
-
Bev trusted his own diet plan. Bev trusted her own diet plan.
-
Many people try to watch his weight. Many people try to watch their weight.
-
Charlie always eats the food he takes. Charlie always eats the food he takes.
Edit for pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Reread your essay, making sure all pronouns agree with their antecedents. If you find any problems, correct them.
Editing for Subject-Verb Agreement
Just as a pronoun must agree with its antecedent, a verb must agree with its subject. Singular subjects take singular verbs. Plural subjects take plural verbs.
My brother calls our family van "Jeffrey."
(The subject "brother" and the verb "calls" are both singular. A singular noun rarely ends in s, but a singular verb often does).
His friends think Jeffrey is a rusty rattletrap.
(The subject “friends” and the verb "think" are both plural. A plural noun often ends in s, but a plural verb usually does not.)
When two or more subjects are joined by and, they are always plural.
Gabe and Sam say Jeffrey is the "tan man van."
(Though "Gabe" and "Sam" each are singular, when they are joined by and, they become plural.)
When two or more subjects are joined by or, the verb must agree with the last subject.
Eli, Aidan, or Gabe drives Jeffrey every morning to school.
(The word "or" separates the subjects rather than joining them, so the verb "drives" is singular to agree with "Gabe.")
Check for subject-verb agreement.
In each sentence below, correct any problems with subject-verb agreement. If the sentence is correct already, leave it.
-
We calls our Dodge Raider "Darth," so that it is "Darth Raider." We call our Dodge Raider "Darth," so that it is "Darth Raider."
-
A friend refer to her truck as "The Wheelbarrow" because her friends borrows her wheels to haul stuff. A friend refers to her truck as "The Wheelbarrow" because her friends borrow her wheels to haul stuff.
-
Hot rods from the 50's has names like "Greased Lightning." Hot rods from the 50's have names like "Greased Lightning."
-
I want a car named, "Never Gets a Ticket." I want a car named, "Never Gets a Ticket."
-
Claire and Quinn takes turns driving their parents' convertible. Claire and Quinn take turns driving their parents' convertible.
-
Either their parents or Claire fill the gas tank. Either their parents or Claire fills the gas tank.
-
Quinn does not have a job, so she let others pay for gas. Quinn does not have a job, so she lets others pay for gas.
-
Claire, Quinn, or Harry get to take the convertible to college. Claire, Quinn, or Harry gets to take the convertible to college.
-
People dreams of flying cars. People dream of flying cars.
-
A dream car is unlikely; a working reality like Jeffrey are what most people get. A dream car is unlikely; a working reality like Jeffrey is what most people get.
Edit for subject-verb agreement.
Reread your essay, making sure your subjects and verbs agree in number (singular or plural).
Editing in Action
When you edit, you check to make sure your essay is correct.
-
Before Edits
-
The editor fixes subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
-
After Edits
Edit with a checklist.
Read each line. When you can answer each question with a yes, check it off.
Punctuation
- Did I close each sentence with an end punctuation mark?
- Do commas follow four or more introductory words?
Capitalization
- Did I start all sentences with capital letters?
- Did I capitalize the names of people and places?
Grammar
- Do my pronouns and antecedents agree (All students need their own pencils.)?
- Do the subjects and verbs agree in number? (Birds sing; David whistles.)
Usage
- Did I use an appropriate level of language?
- Did I correctly use commonly confused words (affect/effect)?
Spelling
- Did I check for spelling errors?
- Did I use a dictionary or the spell checker on my computer?
Publishing Promotion Essays
When you publish your writing, you make it public. First, you need to make a clean final copy of your work. Then you should find ways to share what you have written with classmates, your teacher, your family, and your friends.
Publishing a Final Copy
Create a final copy of your advertisement essay.
Include your editing changes and read over your work a final time. (If you are working on a computer, spell check your work.)
Reflecting on Your Writing
Reflect on your writing.
Complete the following form to think about what you learned.
