A polished sentence can still change your meaning. Compare "I may finish the draft on Friday" with "I will finish the draft on Friday." The second sounds more definite, but it removes the uncertainty in the original.
Before accepting an edit, identify what must remain true: who acts, what happens, when it happens, and whether a condition applies. For "If the room is free, we can meet there," the room's availability is essential.
Inspect small words with large effects
Changing "some participants" to "all participants" expands the claim. Changing "could" to "must" can turn a suggestion or possibility into a requirement. Replacing "before Friday" with "on Friday" changes the time relationship.
Practice with this original: "I have not checked the new timetable, but last term the class began at six." A revision saying "The class begins at six" is shorter and less accurate. Keep the boundary between remembered information and a current confirmed fact.
Ask a partner to edit three sentences and explain any meaningful changes. You can accept a change if it reflects your intention, or restore the original condition when it does not. This is especially useful when reviewing suggestions from software. Treat fluency and accuracy as separate questions: does the revised sentence read naturally, and does it still say what you intended to communicate?
