Editing Research Reports
After revising your report, you need to edit it to correct any remaining errors. You'll look closely at sentences, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, and spelling. The following activities will help you edit your research report.
Editing In-Text Citations
Always place in-text citations in parenthesis at the end of a sentence but before the end punctuation. In a direct quote, citations come after the closing quotation mark but before the end punctuation.
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Correct: Ride wished the science part of her mission got more attention (Hurwitz 28).
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Incorrect: Ride wished the science part of her mission got more attention. (Hurwitz 28)
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Correct: “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars” (Macy 5).
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Incorrect: “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars (Macy 5).”
Cite sources correctly.
Insert the citations in the correct places in each sentence. One example is provided.
- Thurgood Marshall changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement. (Smith 18)
- Marshall believed in justice for all people. (Smith 24)
- “Every day we live with the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall.” (Feldman 45)
- In grade school, he had to memorize the Constitution as a punishment for goofing around. (“Biography”)
Thurgood Marshall changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement (Smith 18).
Editing for Presentation
Unless your teacher has special instructions, follow these tips to format your paper before you share it with others.
- Use 12-point, black type.
- Double space each line, including the heading and works-cited page.
- Write your name, your teacher’s name, the class subject, and the date in your heading.
- Center your title.
- Write your last name and the page number on the upper right corner of each page. This feature is called a running heading.
Format your paper.
Format the first page of your research report. Use the labels as a guide. (Delete the labels after you write your selections.)
First Page
Editing in Action
When you edit, you check to make sure your report is correct.
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Paragraph Before Edits
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A proper noun is capitalized, a run-on sentence is fixed, and citation punctuation is corrected.
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Paragraph After Edits
Edit with a checklist.
Read each line. When you can answer each question with a “yes,” check it off.
Punctuation
- Have I used correct end punctuation after all of my sentences?
- Does the end punctuation come after citations?
- Do commas and quotation marks set off exact words from sources?
Capitalization
- Are all proper nouns capitalized?
- Did I start all sentences with capital letters?
Grammar
- Do my subjects and verbs agree in number? (Sally and her team were heroes, not Sally and her team was heroes.)
- Are sentences complete (no fragments or run-ons)?
Usage
- Are book titles italicized or underlined?
- Did I use an appropriate level of language?
Spelling
- Did I check for spelling errors?
Publishing Research Reports
When you publish your research report, you make it public, sharing it with others. First, you need to make a clean final copy of your work. Then you should find ways to share what you have written with your classmates, teacher, family, and friends.
Publishing a Final Copy
Create a final copy of your writing.
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.
