Chapter 9 Proofread Polish Your Writing for an Audience
Learning Objectives
- • Proofread an essay to improve format, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and other mechanical issues
- • Use conventional formatting and mechanics to help a reader interpret the writing without distraction
- • Proofread an essay to ensure that the documentation style is applied correctly and consistently
Finally, the last step in the writing process is proofreading. Now it’s time to polish your writing in preparation for publishing. Remember, publishing simply means sharing your writing with an audience, whether that means posting a paragraph to an online student forum, submitting an essay to a professor for marking, or publishing an article in a student newspaper.
The Purpose of Proofreading
In the proofreading stage, your goal is to make your reader’s job as easy as possible by polishing your writing to create an error-free end product that represents all the work you’ve done thus far.
Readers do not stop to notice correct spelling or proper formatting, but they do stop to notice misspellings and typos, which momentarily distract them from focusing on the ideas in your writing. The more errors there are in an essay, the more often a reader will be distracted from your message. If there are an overwhelming number of errors in an essay, the reader may find it difficult to interpret the meaning at all.
If you proofread effectively, readers will notice the care with which you handled your assignment and your attention to detail in the delivery of an error-free document. That will enhance your credibility as a writer, and it will reinforce the persuasiveness of your argument.
Strategies for Proofreading
Before proofreading, set your paper aside for at least a few hours, preferably a day or more, which will make it easier for you to notice errors. As you review your essay one last time, examine the surface features of your text. Correct the mechanical issues in your essay, such as format, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and documentation. Correcting these errors will make your reader’s job easier. You want your reader to be able to easily read your text, focusing on your good ideas, rather than being distracted by typos and confusing errors.
Proofreading takes time, so be sure to budget time to complete this important final step of the writing process.
Before you proofread your essay, look back at the assignment requirements your instructor provided. If your instructor asked for specific fonts, spacing, or margins, be sure you’ve met those requirements. If your instructor asked for specific formatting and documentation, ensure your text meets those conventions.
To proofread most effectively, print your essay on paper and read it aloud slowly. Using the spell-checking feature in your word-processing program can be helpful, but because a spell-checker only flags certain kinds of errors, the spell-check and grammar check features should not replace a full, careful review of your document. In particular, be sure to check for any errors that may have come up frequently for you in the past.
Writing at Work
Many companies hire copy editors and proofreaders to help them produce the cleanest possible final drafts of large writing projects. Copy editors are responsible for suggesting revisions and style changes; proofreaders check documents for any errors in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation that have crept in. Many times, these tasks are done on a freelance basis, with one freelancer working for a variety of clients.
Proofread for Errors in Grammar and Mechanics
It is difficult to catch all errors in one read-through of your essay, so we recommend proofreading in steps, and each time you review your essay, focus on only one category of potential error.
First, review your essay for grammar and mechanics. Use Checklist 9.1 as a guide.
Checklist 9.1: Proofreading for Grammar and Mechanics
- Grammar
- ☐ Are some sentences actually sentence fragments?
- ☐ Are some sentences run-ons? How can I correct them?
- ☐ Do some sentences need conjunctions between independent clauses?
- ☐ Does every verb agree with its subject?
- ☐ Is every verb in the correct tense?
- ☐ Are tense forms, especially for irregular verbs, written correctly?
- ☐ Have I used subject, object, and possessive personal pronouns correctly?
- ☐ Have I used who and whom correctly?
- ☐ Is the antecedent of every pronoun clear?
- ☐ Do all personal pronouns agree with their antecedents?
- ☐ Have I used the correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs?
- ☐ Is it clear which word a participial phrase modifies, or is it a dangling modifier?
- Sentence Structure
- ☐ Are all my sentences simple sentences, or do I vary my sentence structure?
- ☐ Have I chosen the best coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to join clauses?
- ☐ Have I created long, overpacked sentences that should be shortened for clarity?
- ☐ Do I see any mistakes in parallel structure?
- Punctuation
- ☐ Does every sentence end with the correct punctuation?
- ☐ Can I justify the use of every exclamation point?
- ☐ Have I used apostrophes correctly to write all singular and plural possessive forms?
- ☐ Have I used quotation marks correctly?
- Mechanics and Usage
- ☐ Can I find any spelling errors? How can I correct them?
- ☐ Have I used capital letters where they are needed?
- ☐ Have I written abbreviations, where allowed, correctly?
- ☐ Can I find any errors in the use of commonly confused words, such as to/too/two?
Practice 9.1
Return to the draft essay you were working with in Practice 8.3. Review the essay, using Checklist 9.1 to help you identify problems with grammar and mechanics.
Proofread for Errors in Format and Documentation
Your finished assignment should be properly formatted, following the style required of you. Formatting includes the style of the first page, the title, margin size, font type, font size, line spacing, justification, page number placement, location of the writer’s name, and many other factors. Your instructor may require a specific style to be used. The requirements may be very detailed and rigid for research projects and term papers, especially for research essays. To ensure the format is correct and follows any specific instructions, read through your essay again, proofreading for problems with format.
When proofreading a research paper, it is also important to check that you have cited sources properly and formatted your document according to the specified guidelines. There are two reasons for this. First, citing sources correctly ensures that you give proper credit to other people for ideas and information that helped you in your work. Second, using correct formatting establishes your paper as one student’s contribution to the work developed by and for a larger academic community.
Now review your essay again, this time focusing on format and documentation. Follow Checklist 9.2: Proofreading for Errors in Format and Documentation.
Checklist 9.2: Proofreading for Errors in Format and Documentation
- ☐ In the body of the essay, each fact or idea taken from a source is credited to the correct source.
- ☐ Each in-text citation includes the source author’s name (or, where applicable, the organization name or source title) and the page number (if available).
- ☐ The citations are correctly formatted.
- ☐ Each source cited in the body of the essay has a corresponding entry in the bibliography.
- ☐ The bibliography includes a title and double-spaced entries arranged in alphabetical order.
- ☐ Each entry in the bibliography is indented on the second line and all subsequent lines.
- ☐ Each entry in the bibliography includes all the necessary information for that source type in the correct sequence and format.
- ☐ The essay includes a title page, formatted according to the specifications of the documentation style.
- ☐ The margins of the document are set at 2.54 cm (one inch) unless otherwise instructed.
- ☐ The entire text is double-spaced and set in a standard 12-point font, such as Times New Roman or Arial.
For detailed guidelines on formatting the citations and the bibliography, refer to Chapter 22: Documentation.
Practice 9.2
With the help of Checklist 9.2, proofread your essay, focusing on format and documentation.
Writing at Work
Following citation and formatting guidelines may require time and effort. However, it is good practice for learning how to follow accepted conventions in any professional field. Many large corporations create a style manual with guidelines for editing and formatting documents produced by that corporation. Employees follow the style manual when creating internal documents and documents for publication.
Peer Review: Proofreading
Now that you’ve proofread your own essay, it’s time to ask for help from a peer, who will undoubtedly be able to catch typos and errors that you’ve missed.
Practice 9.3
If this is the first time you’ve participated in a peer review, please read Chapter 7: Peer Review: Revision before proceeding.
Ask a peer to proofread your essay and mark errors in mechanics and documentation.
- Step 1: In preparation for peer review, fill out this information about your essay and share it with your reviewer:
- Date: __________________________________________________________________
- Writer’s name: ________________________________________________________
- Title of essay: _________________________________________________________
- Required word count: ________________________________________________
- Required Documentation style: MLA APA Chicago Other: ________
- Instructor’s specific instructions regarding the following:
- Font type: Times New Roman Arial Other: ________
- Font Size: ________ (unless otherwise instructed, use 12-point font)
- Margins: ________ (unless otherwise instructor, use 2.54 cm margins on all sides of the page)
- Justification ________ (unless otherwise instructed, use left justification for paragraphs and the bibliography; centre titles)
- Peer reviewer’s name: ________________________________________________
- Step 2: Ask your peer reviewer to carefully proofread your essay and suggest corrections. Your reviewer should follow these steps:
- 1. Read the checklist below before reading the essay so that you know what to look for.
- 2. Carefully read the essay, focusing on the questions in the checklist. Make notes as you go.
- Step 3: Go through the checklist with the reviewer and discuss the answers to each question. Ask for clarification if you don’t understand some of the feedback.
Checklist 9.3: Peer Review—Proofreading
- ☐ Does the format of the essay meet the expectations for margins, font type, font size, justification, spacing, and page numbers?
- ☐ Circle any spelling errors, capitalization errors, or typographical errors.
- ☐ Circle any italicization errors. Remember to italicize the titles of books, newspapers, and magazines. Also italicize a word referred to as a word as well as non-English words.
- ☐ Circle any punctuation errors. Are there particular punctuation marks that the writer has trouble with?
- ☐ Has the writer provided an in-text citation every time one is necessary?
- ☐ Are the in-text citations formatted correctly according to the chosen documentation style?
- ☐ Is the bibliography complete? Does it contain all the sources cited in the essay?
- ☐ Is the bibliography formatted correctly according to the documentation style?
Practice 9.4
Before proceeding, reread “Deciding How to Use (or Not Use) Feedback from Peer Review” in Chapter 7: Peer Review: Revision.
Then review the feedback you received from the peer review and begin making corrections.
If you are not certain if your reviewer’s corrections are correct, you will need to investigate further. Refer to the following resources:
- Format: Reread your assignment instructions and/or the style guide.
- Punctuation: Refer to Chapter 25: Mechanics
- Spelling and capitalization: Refer to a dictionary and to Chapter 25: Mechanics
- Documentation: Refer to Chapter 22: Documentation, the Purdue OWL website, and/or the style guide
After making the suggested corrections, read through your essay one last time, looking for any final typos or errors.
Practice 9.5
Reflect on the feedback from your reviewer and consider the following questions:
- Did I correctly follow the assignment instructions for font, margins, justification, spacing, and so on?
- If not, plan to read assignment instructions more carefully in the future.
- Are there any punctuation marks that I struggle to use correctly? Which ones?
Make a plan to learn how to use these punctuation marks correctly.
- Do I consistently misspell certain words? Which ones?
Make a plan to learn the spelling of those words and to watch for them when you proofread future assignments.
- Do I struggle to format citations and the bibliography correctly?
If so, make a plan to learn more about the documentation style. Begin with Part 5: Research and Documentation.
You now have a polished piece of writing that clearly conveys your ideas to your audience. It’s time to submit or share your essay. Congratulations!
Key Takeaways
- • Budget time for careful proofreading so that you can submit a polished piece of writing.
- • Readers find it easier to read an essay that is correctly formatted and correctly punctuated.
- • Mechanical errors distract a reader from focusing on and understanding ideas.
- • Proofreading a research paper involves checking for errors in grammar, mechanics, punctuation, italicization, spelling, citations, and formatting.
- • A peer can help with proofreading.
- • It is the writer’s responsibility to evaluate the results of peer proofreading and incorporate only appropriate corrections.