What To Look For When Proofreading An Essay

Writing an essay involves many steps, from selecting a topic to researching, writing, editing and proofreading. By the time you get to the final step, you are likely completely done with the idea of ever looking at your paper again, let alone going through it word by word, but regardless of how much you have edited, proofreading is an important step in ensuring that your essay is well written and grammatically correct. While many people make the mistake thinking that proofreading is the same as copy editing or editing, it is actually the final step in editing essays.

When you proofread, you’re not looking for content errors, or inconsistencies in the writing, but rather you are checking that all your spelling is correct (and yes, spell correct is a life saver, but if you mistype a word with another correctly spelled word, it may not catch it), all your grammar makes sense and all your punctuation is right. You don’t proofread until all your other edits and writing are complete – it should be the final stage in your essay writing.

Before you begin your final read through, take a bit of time away from your essay. You’ve likely been immersed in it, and a bit of distance is helpful before you go through it one last time, particularly as you need to be fresh and clear on this reading. Take a walk, leave it overnight, find other work to do or some friends to spend some time with. Come back to your paper fresh.

Decide what format works best for you – are you better at catching mistakes on the computer screen or on a printed hard copy of your work? Do you work on details better with a mouse or a pen in your hand? It may help for you to read out loud as you go, since you are less likely to skim your work and skip what could be big problems.

Take your time – proofreading is a skill that comes with practice. If you are uncertain about anything you read - whether you should use a colon or semi-colon, or if the spelling of a word really is right, take the time to look it up. Each time you do, you’re adding to your proofreading skill set, making the task a little easier the next time around.

By: Jon Ginsburg

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