Editing is the process of revising the content, organization, grammar, and presentation of a written work. While most people associate editing with fixing spelling or grammatical errors, it is actually a much more broad process.

For example, in fiction, an editor might rewrite a scene to improve its flow or clarify the meaning of a character’s speech. Or, a film editor may use a cutaway or insert to provide a different perspective of the same event.

The main goal of editing is to ensure that your writing is clear and understandable. To do this, you will need to examine both the big picture and the small details of your work. Some of the larger issues that need to be addressed include ensuring that your story flows well, ensuring that your writing is concise, and making sure that your writing is organized. Other, smaller issues that need to be addressed during editing include checking for consistency and ensuring that your writing follows the appropriate citation format.

In addition to addressing large-scale issues, editing is also an important time to check for continuity errors and other small mistakes. These can easily slip by if you are overanalyzing your work or getting distracted during the editing process. This is why it’s often helpful to have another person review your work during this stage.

It is also a good idea to read your editing work out loud. Doing so will help you hear how your words sound and identify any awkward or unclear phrases. It will also help you spot any pacing problems or inconsistencies in tone. Finally, it is important to consider your audience when editing. If your writing is too snarky or casual, you may be turning off the level-headed readers that you want to attract.

The most common way to edit a Wikipedia article is by using the VisualEditor. This tool allows you to edit pages without having to learn wikitext markup. For instructions on how to use it, see Help:VisualEditor. You can also edit a page directly by changing the wikitext using the textbox at the bottom of the page. If you are unsure what you should change, you can click Show preview to see a list of the changes that you will make before clicking Save Changes. To undo a change, click Revert to previous version. You can also use the History tab to view past versions of a page and to revert back to any one of them. If you are a new user, it is recommended that you create an account to keep track of your edits. If you have a Wikipedia account, you can log in to the VisualEditor using your username and password. To create an account, see Register at Wikipedia. If you do not have an account, you can still edit the page by using the regular edit box on the upper right corner of the page. This will display a preview of your changes before you commit them to the wiki.