After you have finished your revisions and you are confident about them¹⁰, you can start editing your text. In this stage, you deal with your text on a smaller scale, i.e. on the sentence level¹¹. You consider whether you convey your meaning accurately, clearly, and concisely. When you are editing you mainly focus on grammatical errors, spelling, and writing style¹⁰ rather than reorganizing and rewriting your content^{4, 8}. Editing works best if you read over your text multiple times and focus on a different issue every read.

On the sentence level, you generally need to check if you have followed all guidelines for writing style (see Writing style and conventions). This means improving sentences that do not have a good flow⁸. You also need to check if the different sections of your text run over into each other smoothly⁸. If this is not the case yet, you can add linking words or phrases.

If you are struggling with how to correctly phrase your ideas in specific parts of the text, take a look at the Academic Phrasebank from the University of Manchester for example sentences. Check if certain words are repeated too often in a single paragraph for example, due to limitations in your vocabulary. You can use a thesaurus to search for synonyms to make your text more diverse. Also check if you are often using superlatives in your text (e.g. crucial, important, essential). This decreases their value and makes your text less trustworthy. Use these words sparsely so they stand out more, and always explain why something is important/crucial/essential etc. For more information on writing style, syntax, word use, and grammar, go to Writing style and conventions.