StudyBlog

I met with a student recently, who asked me about good strategies for proofreading. She told me that, try as she might, she had trouble catching all the mistakes in her typed papers and reports, and needed some guidance. Since this is the sort of educational topic that will benefit everyone, I thought I would list my suggestions here as well. Hope these help!

First, I recommend, if at all possible, printing out your paper and proofreading it that way, rather than trying to correct it on your computer screen. There’s just something easier about the tactile page, and the chance to mark up your work with a colorful pen. The physical page gives you an opportunity to draw arrows, circle things, write notes to yourself in the margins, and generally keep track of any of the side-thoughts that might arise during your proofreading process. I’ve found this strategy to me especially helpful for long, multi-page assignments, where the list of things you will need to fix is potentially much longer.

Second, I recommend doing several different passes reading through your assignment, each with a different focus: One for grammar and spelling, one for punctuation, one for making sure your sentences work well together, etc. Take your time as you run through your work, and really zero in on the particular aspect of your work that you are focusing on. Be sure to take breaks to refresh your mind between passes!

Third, I highly recommend that you consider reading your work out loud, at least once. You’ll pick up on many mistakes that you might have otherwise missed. There’s also something about hearing it aloud that helps you determine if the prose you’ve written flows the way you intended.  You can hear how your written words will sound to other people.

I’ve been told that reading your work backwards, sentence by sentence, is very helpful. Although I haven’t utilized this strategy much with my own writing or with my students’, it’s probably worth passing along.

Finally, having someone else proofread your work is an excellent idea. A fresh set of eyes can be so helpful! But don’t let the someone else reading your work stop you from doing your own proofreading – a very valuable tool for correcting and improving your writing!