{"id":51019,"date":"2021-12-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/?p=51019"},"modified":"2024-01-31T17:03:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:03:40","slug":"editing-your-college-essay-5-hurdles-and-how-to-clear-them-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/editing-your-college-essay-5-hurdles-and-how-to-clear-them-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Editing Your College Essay: 5 Hurdles and How to Clear Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"College
Can you catch them all? <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve finally finished a draft of your college essay. You\u2019ve mined your experiences in and out of school, brainstormed and organized your thoughts, and crafted it all into a compelling narrative. Now it\u2019s time to get down to the business of editing your college essay. You need to refine your draft, smooth over the rough edges, and polish it so it can shine. But how do you do that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not always easy to edit what you have written, in part because of the psychology of perception. When you read, you combine what’s on the page with what you expect to be there (Stockton). Although this happens all the time when you edit something you yourself have written, there’s an even stronger tendency to read into the text implied meanings, most of which remain unwritten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jumping this psychological hurdle requires creating some space between yourself and your writing, just as a runner needs space to clear a hurdle. Here are 5 hurdles to editing yourself along with practical advice on how to clear them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"College
Jump psychological hurdles by engaging in these practices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. When you read your essay, you insert what you meant<\/span> to say rather than what you\u2019ve actually<\/span> written.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you scan what you\u2019ve written on the screen, you tend to read over typos, automatically fix subject-verb disagreements, word order problems, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to clear this hurdle: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read what you\u2019ve written out loud. An attentive audience, such as a favorite plush doll, action figure, or imaginary friend, helps. When you hear what you’ve written with your ears, you become part of the audience as much as the writer. Reading aloud helps you detect omitted words, awkward phrasing, and odd constructions. You can also more easily detect cliches, wordiness, and lack of clarity (Loft).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. You\u2019re emotionally invested<\/span> in particular words or turn of phrase.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It took time, effort, and focus to eke out that essay. Sometimes it can feel like that\u2019s your life\u2019s blood spilled on the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to clear this hurdle:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If something doesn\u2019t belong, move it elsewhere. I keep a section called \u201cnotes\u2019 within the document I\u2019m working on (I have one going right now). By moving what doesn’t belong there, you have the option to return to that phrase, sentence, or entire paragraph and find another home for it elsewhere. It feels less taxing to move something you’ve written rather than just deleting it wholesale. FYI: I hardly ever end up using something I’ve moved into the notes section. Although it has nearly the same effect as deleting, it doesn\u2019t involve the emotional cost of \u201ckilling your darlings,\u201d as Faulkner supposedly put it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. You can explain what you want to say to someone else, but it’s<\/span> hard to get it down on the page<\/span>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How many times have you explained what you\u2019re writing about to a friend or adult only to hear yourself say a much clearer version of what\u2019s on the page? It\u2019s as if when the hands start moving over the keyboard or paper, there\u2019s a short-circuit in the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to clear this hurdle:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fix this disconnect between the speaking and writing process by using a voice-to-text feature on your device. It\u2019ll disengage the writing part of your brain and unleash your potential by directly accessing the speaking part. You’ll then generate a record of what you\u2019re saying. Don’t forget to look over what the voice-to-text algorithm recorded to make sure it caught what you said correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. It sounds off, but you\u2019re not sure how to make it \u201cbetter.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you suspect there’s something not quite right, you’re probably right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to clear this hurdle:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself some basic questions about the flow of the text. Focus on each element of the draft in turn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n