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Proofreading your writing can help a writer pick up mistakes such as missing words, misspelled words, grammatical errors, and confusing ideas or lack of flow. Asking a capable friend or classmate to proofread your writing is a good option if spelling and punctuation are not your strongest skills. They may also be able to determine if your language is suitable for the intended audience.
Follow these steps when proofreading:
STEP #1 - Read it aloud
Pick up missing words, grammatical errors, confusing statements and run-on sentences.
STEP #2 - Check for commonly misspelled words
You’ll know which words you regularly misspell, so keep a special eye out for those. Run a spell checker over your text, keeping in mind its job is to find misspelled words, not incorrectly used words (e.g. desert instead of dessert).
STEP #3 - Check punctuation
Check your use of capital letters, commas, quotation marks and any other punctuation marks used.
STEP #4 - Give it some time
Having a break between writing a piece and proofreading it can give you a fresh set of eyes. We can often overlook missing words and errors because the text is so familiar.
STEP #5 - Print a hard copy/change font
Printing out a hard copy of your writing or even changing the font can help you find errors.
STEP #6 - Read it backwards
This helps you focus on each word individually, and stops your brain from auto-correcting your mistakes.
Here's a website where you can check your proofreading skills:
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