Writing Tip #28: Proofreading

Professional proofreaders go though papers several times, checking for different things each time: logic and coherence on one pass, with special attention to beginnings and ends of paragraphs; sentence flow and sense on another; a pass for grammar and punctuation (check for your personal gremlins!); a read-aloud pass for style and sound; and a pass for consistent use of names, numbers, references, and so forth. Proofread your essay more than once, and take your time.

Physically isolate lines of type so that you can look "at," not "through" them, and so that you can monitor your own speed to make sure you're not proofreading too fast. In hard copy, use a straightedge of plain, unmarked cardboard in a neutral color, placed under the line you're looking at, and move it SLOWLY down the page; on the computer, set your screen window to a depth of one line, and scroll the text through it SLOWLY. Some students find it helpful to proofread backwards, from the bottom of the page to the top. And some students proofread aloud and backwards, one word at a time. Do whatever is necessary to achieve good results.

Reserve a separate, slightly faster pass for scanning for the kinds of things that will "jump out" at you visually, once you've practiced looking for them: capital letters, hyphens, numbers, italics. By using colored felt pens, you can illustrate these visuals with color. This pass is especially important for long research papers involving lots of proper names or foreign words and phrases, numerical data, and references. Different academic fields have different rules for these conventions; check the appropriate style manual, but above all, maintain consistency.

Check your writing handbook if you have questions, or if comments on your drafts noted problems in punctuation or sentence structures. Particularly pay attention to the most common grammatical errors: subject-verb agreement; noun-pronoun agreement; misplaced or dangling modifiers. If English is not your first language, add to that list: article misuse or omission, preposition misplacement or misuse, relative clause placement, singular-plural agreement, verb tense misuse.

Read your paper aloud for style and sound. Better yet, have someone else read it aloud while you follow along on a paper copy of the text. Every time the reader stumbles, make an X over the word; afterwards, you can go back and figure out what tripped the reader. Also listen and watch for places where the reader corrects unconsciously, saying something different from what is actually on the page. Two-person proofreading teams used to be standard practice in all respectable publishing houses, and they're still useful-especially for writers who are not native speakers of English (the person reading aloud should be a native speaker).

Before you submit your finished paper, be sure it's as persuasive, well-supported, well-documented, and well-written as you can make it. Enjoy the process; your writing is your expression of self. Put your best self forward.