14 Proofreading with Color
IMPORTANT: An RQ section must focus only on answering its associated Research Question.
After you have written an RQ section, color code it to see how well you answered the RQ.
Instructions:
- Read the RQ section and highlight all wording that helps answer the RQ. Ask yourself, “Do these words answer the RQ?” If the wording answers the RQ, highlight it.
- If wording does not have highlights, delete it. Some connecting phrases will not have highlights, but everything else in the RQ Section should be highlighted. (If relevant, you might be able to move some deleted information to the other RQ section where it belongs.)
- As you revise and add content to the section, repeat the process of proofreading and highlighting to screen out information that doesn’t belong.
The image below illustrates color coding for RQ1. In an RQ1 Section, the majority of the wording should be highlighted yellow.
![Comparison of strong and weak RQ Sections.](https://pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/12296/2023/09/AA-color-samples-1-1024x842.png)