Different disciplines require different stylistic conventions & applications of grammar.  You can help students edit their work by providing them with a style & grammar sheet of the things you think are most important.  Limit your list to 20 items if you can.  Supply students with copies.  They can use this tool throughout the semester to do:

• peer review (discussing strengths/weaknesses in reference to assignment's instructions)
• peer editing (using a course grammar & style sheet)
• self-report on progress (discussing how well the writer has met the assignment's instructions and what improvements must yet be made)
• a "corrections to make" list, using an OWL or handbook to find errors in citation of sources


A peer edit: A polished draft of your project is due next week.  A classmate will read part of it, using our style & grammar sheet.  If your classmate identifies more than 3 problems in the first two pages, you must proofread and correct much more closely.  Your classmate will circle the problems and write the corresponding numbers of the errors from our sheet.  If you have not proofread and edited your final essay closely when you turn it in, I will return it.

Write a short editing exercise for your assignment.