Proofreading

Grammar, punctuation and spelling errors occur for several reasons:

1)      you are typing or writing quickly and make a mistake without noticing,

2)      you never learned the correct way and may have developed “bad habits,”

3)      you are overwhelmed with all the tasks required in a paper and can’t pay attention to everything at once – trying to develop a thesis, add complexity, keep the paper organized and get your verb tenses correct all at the same time!

When English is your second language, you are also doing many complex tasks at once -- applying rules of pronoun agreement, remembering vocabulary, remembering which verbs are irregular, etc.

No wonder errors creep into our writing!

The key to working on errors is to be careful and systematic. It is often tedious work, but you can eventually get to a point where you don’t have to think about it so much; you will automatically correct your errors as you go. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be perfect. If you fix your top three errors, you are probably fixing 80% of the problems.

General Suggestions for Proofreading

Evaluate the Situation

Decide how much time you can spend proofreading and how accurate the document needs to be. The more important the document, the more time you should spend on it and the more likely it is you should have someone help you.

Be as Systematic and Thorough as Necessary, Given the Situation

·        Put the writing aside for a few minutes, an hour, or a day so you can get a fresh perspective.

·        Know your errors. Keep a list of things you tend to miss and make a point of looking for them.

·        Proofread on a paper copy, not on the computer screen.

·        Check for one thing at a time. For example, read the draft, looking for spelling errors. Then read again, looking for semi-colon problems (or whatever you tend to miss).

·        Read your paper backwards, one sentence at a time. This will especially help you find fragments and run-ons.

·        Put a ruler under each line as you read it.

·        Read your writing out loud – slowly! You might hear the awkward sentences and notice errors.

Look It Up

·        If you have a question about a grammar rule as you’re reading, look it up in your grammar book (even great writers do this).

·        If you have a question about a misspelling, look the word up in the dictionary.

Use Your Computer

·        Use your computer’s search function to look for words you tend to miss. In Microsoft Word, this is “Find,” which is under “Edit.”

·        Use the spellcheck function carefully. When a word is highlighted as misspelled, slow down and pay attention to it. If you don’t know which word to choose, get out your dictionary.

·        Use grammar checkers carefully. They aren’t very good.

Tips for Proofreading for Specific Errors

Verb errors: Underline all the verbs in your paper, then check each one carefully for subject-verb agreement and tense. There are no easy ways to do this!

Fragments: Option 1: Read the last sentence of your paper out loud. Then read the second to last sentence out loud. Go backwards through your paper, checking to make sure that each sentence is complete. Often a fragment is a portion of a sentence that needs to be attached to the sentence before or after. You may catch this if you read your paper backwards. Option 2: Get to know the kinds of fragments you tend to make and look specifically for them. For example, you might tend to start fragments with the word “which.”

Comma splices: Circle every comma in your paper. Then look at each one and ask why it’s there. Remember that comma splices mistakenly join two complete sentences and a comma is not enough glue; often there is a subject (noun or pronoun) right after the comma. Example: I went to the store, they were out of milk.

Commas: Option 1: Circle every comma in your paper. Then look at each one and ask why it’s there. If you can’t find a good reason for a comma, take it out. Option 2: Identify the kinds of commas you tend to leave out. For example, many people leave out commas after introductory phrases. Read through your paper, looking only for introductory phrases and add the commas.

Usage Errors (there/their/they’re, etc). Use the “find” or “search” function in your word processing program to find the usage errors. For example, search for “there.” As each “there” comes up, double check that it’s correct. Do the same with “their” and “they’re.” The computer won’t correct the error for you, but it will help you find the words that might be wrong.