Proofreading is one of the most important parts of the writing process. No matter how good your ideas or effective your arguments, if your editing is sloppy and your writing is full of mechanical errors, it will severely detract from the quality of your paper and your grade will suffer. A carefully proofread assignment that contains few errors or none at all demonstrates that you put thought and care into your work and that you take pride in your writing. It is not enough to simply “proofread as you go,” reading over each paragraph once it’s completed and then moving on. You must look at the big picture. It is too easy to accidentally repeat phrases too often, to insert ideas in the wrong places, and to make other simple mistakes that are easily caught if you read over your entire paper at least once. While this article refers specifically to academic writing, the same principles can and should be applied to any piece of writing, be it academic, professional, or personal. Think of everything you write as a reflection of yourself, and try to give the reader a favorable impression of you by putting your best effort into its presentation.
When you feel that your draft is finished, read it over from the beginning. Correct minor errors as you go, and mark any places that need revision or fleshing out. You can do this by putting little notes in the text in a different color or using the highlighting function in your word processing program. After you go back and revise, you must proofread the whole thing again. This may seem tedious, but the more often you read something over, the more likely you are to catch minor errors. This will also help assure you that the paper flows well and allow you to adjust any awkward transitions.
It can be very helpful to temporarily put your document in a new font and size. This is because your eyes become used to seeing the paper in a specific font and format. As you read, you may gloss over errors because you know what you meant to say, and your eyes will trick you into believing that is what it says, even if you may have inadvertently left out a word or misplaced a comma. This is also why it is helpful to have someone else read over your draft. Have a friend or parent (preferably someone with a solid grasp of grammar and English mechanics) read your paper and mark any problems. This will not only help you catch minor errors, but it can also help improve the clarity of your writing.
Once you have read your paper on the computer in an altered format and had someone else look at it, return it to the font and size you want and print it out. Read over the hard copy one more time. You are more likely to notice minor copyediting issues this way than when the paper is on the screen. If there are any errors, circle them, fix the computer document, and print out a new, clean copy to hand in. This may seem like overkill, and you will likely be very sick of your paper by the time you are ready to pass it off to your teacher. However, you should never underestimate the value of an error-free paper. Teachers and professors love to see well-edited work. It shows that you care about the assignment and took it seriously, and it will give them a favorable view of you as a writer and as a student.