Most would agree that editing is the least appreciated stage of the writing process. Whereas discovering, drafting, and revising are all generally thought of as creative activities, too often editing is dismissed as a dull, mechanical exercise in fixing mistakes--a job better left to fussbudgets with green eyeshades and red pens.

But such a view misses the point that editing is an essential part of writing, not just a cosmetic afterthought.

Strictly defined as "preparing a text for publication," editing involves adding, deleting, and rearranging words along with recasting sentences and cutting the clutter. Tightening our writing and mending faults can turn out to be a remarkably creative act, leading us to clarify ideas, fashion fresh images, and even radically rethink the way we approach a topic. Put another way, thoughtful editing can inspire further revision of our work.

So whether you edit on your own or with the help of others, take a look at our Checklist for Editing Paragraphs and Essays. Sure, it's designed to help you find and correct errors. But in the process it should also help you to write more effectively and creatively.

More About Editing:

• Top Ten Editing Tips for Business Writers
• Wolcott Gibbs's Theory and Practice of Editing
• Practice in Cutting the Clutter

You might be scratching your head trying to come up with a fresh idea for a personal essay--a narrative or an extended description. Or maybe you're in the habit of keeping a writer's journal, but today, for some reason, that empty page or blank screen seems to be glaring back at you.

Here's something that may help: a list of 50 brief writing prompts. Not full-blown essay topics, just hints, snippets, cues, and clues to prod your memory and get you started.

Take a minute or two to look over the list. Then pick one prompt that brings to mind a particular experience. Start writing and see where it takes you. If after a few minutes you hit a dead end, simply return to the list and try again.

1. Hidden away in the back of a drawer
2. What I should have said
3. Waking up in a strange room
4. There were signs of trouble.
5. Keeping a secret
6. All I have left is this photo.
7. It wasn't really stealing.
8. A place I pass by every day
9. Nobody can explain what happened next.
10. Staring at my reflection


11. Everyone else was laughing
12. On the other side of that door
13. Late again
14. What I've always wanted
15. A sound I'd never heard before
16. What if . . .
17. The last time I saw him
18. At that moment I should have left.
19. Just a brief encounter
20. I knew how it felt to be an outsider.


21. The one thing I'll never forget
22. Follow these rules and we'll get along fine.
23. It may not be worth anything.
24. Never again
25. On the other side of the street
26. My father used to tell me
27. When nobody was looking
28. If I could do it over again
29. Of course it was illegal.
30. It wasn't my idea.


31. I should have lied.
32. Then the lights went out.
33. Some might say it's a weakness.
34. Not again!
35. Where I'd go to hide out from everyone
36. But that's not my real name.
37. Her side of the story
38. Nobody believed us.
39. It was time to change schools again.
40. We climbed to the top.


41. Everyone was staring at me.
42. It was a stupid thing to say.
43. Under my bed, growling
44. If I tell you the truth
45. My secret collection
46. Footsteps in the dark
47. The first cut is the deepest.
48. Trouble, big trouble
49. Laughing uncontrollably
50. It was just a game to them.

More Ideas for Essays:

• 400 Writing Topics
• How to Write a Personal Essay
• Guidelines for Composing a Profile
• Preparing an Argument

Here's a question that will probably never appear on either of the two most widely used college admissions tests:

What do the letters "SAT" and "ACT" stand for?

The answer in each case is nothing.

Originally known as the Scholastic Achievement Test, the SAT became an Aptitude Test in 1941 and an Assessment Test in 1990. Finally, in 1994, the name was officially changed to SAT (or, in full, SAT Reasoning Test), with the letters signifying nothing. Two years later, American College Testing followed suit and changed the name of its test to plain old ACT.

How meaningful the tests themselves might be and what they actually measure are subjects of ongoing debate. One thing we do know is that your scores on the SAT or the ACT may determine whether you're admitted to the college of your choice. Another thing we know is that each test includes a timed essay.

Before the Exam

In the weeks leading up to the exam, the most important way to prepare for the essay is to write. "Practice writing different kinds of texts," is the advice offered by the ACT, "for different purposes, with different audiences in mind."

In addition, you should visit the ACT and SAT websites to understand what graders will be looking for.

• Tips for Taking the ACT Writing Test
  Along with some sensible advice on how to build your writing skills, this ACT page offers a brief guide to planning, writing, and reviewing your essay in the time allowed. Just as useful are the six sample essays, ranging from weakest (an unorganized collection of general statements) to strongest (with "ample, specific and logical" support for all main ideas).


• The Essay (SAT)
  This SAT page at the College Board website includes some "important reminders" (basically, use a pencil, stay on topic, and don't plagiarize). Like the ACT page, it provides a sample prompt with six sample essays. The top-rated essay is said to exhibit "outstanding critical thinking" as well as "clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas."

During the Exam

Composing under pressure (30 minutes for the ACT essay, 25 for the SAT) is probably not on your list of life's pleasures. Still, by the time you reach the testing center, you should be ready to write an effective short essay.

To help make sure that you use your limited time wisely, we've prepared a list of Ten Tips for Composing a Successful Essay for the SAT or ACT. The two most important bits of advice may also be the hardest to follow:

• Relax.
  When faced with a time limit, you may be tempted to try composing an essay before composing yourself. Resist that temptation. Breathe in, breathe out. Before writing, take a few minutes to read and think about the topic.


• Write to Inform, Not Impress.
  Write with the goal of showing what you know, not showing off. Don't use "big words" if you're unsure of their meanings. But do use specific words. And remember that lengthy sentences won't impress anyone if your key points are unclear.

You might also pick up a tip or two (at least indirectly) from this comic essay by Lubby Juggins, How to Write a Passing Essay for a Standardized Test.

Then, when you're done reading, start practicing. And please remember to drop us an e-mail when you're accepted to Yale on a full scholarship.

Essay Topics and Prompts:

• 400 Writing Topics
• SAT Topic: Social-Networking Sites
• SAT Topic: Sexuality Education in Schools
• SAT Topic: Keeping Up Appearances

In our Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms, you'll find a name for . . .

• a soundalike swearword that allows one to cuss without being offensive (such as the euphemistic frak popularized by the TV series Battlestar Galactica): minced oath


• a phrase that appears at the end of a sentence to sum up what has just been said--a kind of recapitulation like this: summative modifier


• a word that carries within it a synonym of itself, such as devilish (evil): kangaroo word


• an adverb--such as high, fast, and hard--that has the same form as its corresponding adjective: flat adverb


• a nonsensical piece of writing (most famously, perhaps, Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky"): amphigory


• a noise, gesture, word, or expression used by a listener to show that she's paying attention to a speaker (Uh-huh): back-channel signal


• an ambiguous headline ("Stolen Painting Found by Tree"): crash blossom


• the substitution of a title or descriptive phrase for a proper name--as when Sawyer (in the TV program Lost) addresses his hefty companion Hurley as JumboTron or International House of Pancakes: antonomasia

You'll find examples and explanations of these and over 1,000 other language-related words and phrases in our Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms.

More Words About Words:

• There's a Name for It: Twenty Weird and Wonderful Language-Related Terms
• Gadzooks! There's a Name for It (Part Four)
• Are You Crazy? There's a Name for It (Part Five)