Editing & Revising — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A peer editor is a classmate who reads your writing and suggests improvements.
A peer editor is a classmate at your same level who can offer a fresh perspective on your writing and catch mistakes you might have overlooked.
2. When giving feedback, it helps to start with something positive before suggesting changes.
Starting with a positive comment builds the writer's confidence and makes them more open to hearing constructive suggestions for improvement.
3. Reading your draft aloud to yourself helps you hear mistakes your eyes might miss.
Reading aloud forces you to slow down and hear awkward phrasing, missing words, or run-on sentences that your eyes tend to skip over when reading silently.
4. A revision checklist is a list of questions a writer answers to check their own work.
A revision checklist guides writers through important questions like "Does every paragraph have a topic sentence?" so they do not skip any key editing steps.
5. Waiting a day before rereading your draft gives you fresh eyes for spotting errors.
Taking a break from your writing lets your brain reset, so when you return you can spot errors and weak spots you were too close to notice before.
6. Constructive feedback focuses on how to improve writing rather than just pointing out mistakes.
Constructive feedback offers specific suggestions for improvement, like "Try a stronger verb here," rather than simply saying "This is wrong."
7. Highlighting every transition in a paragraph helps a writer see if ideas connect logically.
Highlighting transitions reveals whether your ideas flow logically from one to the next or if gaps exist where a connecting word is needed.
8. Underlining the topic sentence of each paragraph checks whether every paragraph has a clear focus.
The topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph, so underlining it quickly shows whether each paragraph has a clear, focused point.
9. A writer should consider all suggested changes before deciding which ones to accept.
Thoughtfully considering each suggestion helps a writer decide which changes genuinely strengthen the piece, since not every suggestion will fit the writer's purpose.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
"Your opening paragraph really hooked me as a reader."
→ Positive feedback about a writing strength
Feedback about word choice and repetition
"I noticed you used 'said' five times — try varying the dialogue tags."
→ Feedback about word choice and repetition
Feedback about paragraph organization
"This paragraph seems out of order — try moving it after your introduction."
→ Feedback about paragraph organization
Feedback pointing out a grammar error
"You have a comma splice in the third sentence."
→ Feedback pointing out a grammar error
Positive feedback about a writing strength
Correct matches: "Your opening paragraph really hooked me as a reader." → Positive feedback about a writing strength; "I noticed you used 'said' five times — try varying the dialogue tags." → Feedback about word choice and repetition; "This paragraph seems out of order — try moving it after your introduction." → Feedback about paragraph organization; "You have a comma splice in the third sentence." → Feedback pointing out a grammar error.