An academic paper is any type of written document that you are required to produce to satisfy your course curriculum. Instructors often require written assignments for book reports, rhetorical arguments, or thesis and research papers. The outlines for academic papers are usually set by the course instructor and may vary from one instructor to the next. According to the April 2009 issue of "Teaching in Higher Education," despite the different topics or formats, academic papers require a certain degree of writing proficiency.
The process of revising and editing an academic paper may seem tedious, but it is incredibly important. This practice includes reviewing the written material and studying it for any mistakes. Mistakes can be in the form of grammatical errors, formatting errors, misspelled words, typos, paragraphs that do not transition smoothly and basic copy-editing mistakes. When mistakes are spotted, students can fix the mistakes before turning in the paper. By making corrections, the teacher will never see these mistakes and will not be able to deduct any points from your grade for those errors.
By rereading your academic paper, you may notice that sentences do not flow, paragraphs do not transition smoothly or that the argument is not communicated clearly. Before you turn in your paper you can rewrite it, or revise it, as many times as you want. This does not mean you have to rewrite the entire paper. If you find a section of the paper that can be reworded in a way that communicates more effectively, change the words around or recreate the sentence to your liking.
Once you submit your academic paper to your teacher, the paper is susceptible to his critique and comments. When you revise and edit your paper, you are taking preemptive action to ensure that mistakes are caught and corrected, and that your paper meets a certain standard of quality. It is still possible for teachers to catch mistakes even after you have revised and edited your paper. However, most of the time, teachers can tell the difference between a paper that has been revised and edited for quality and a paper that was submitted without revisions.
According to the June 2007 issue of "Educational Action Research," academic papers should reflect the writer's technical, grammatical, editorial and communication skills. Also, teachers grade academic papers based on the content of the material and whether the paper provides the required information. Students who pay attention to the quality of their written material will be rewarded with good grades.