Tips for proofreading success
Published on 8 March 17
Whether you’ve finished a chapter, an article or your whole dissertation, proofreading is an essential, but sometimes underrated skill. You’ve always had to check your work, so of course you proofread – but could you do it better?
Firstly, proof reading should be done separately from editing. Editing is when you critique and redraft your text and think about things like logic and structure, coherence in your arguments – essentially does your text do what you intended to do. Proofreading is the much narrower science of checking things like spelling, punctuation and details such as page numbers. Proofreading can be especially difficult because it should be done after editing and by then you know your text backwards which makes it difficult to spot any mistakes. However, there are techniques that can help:
Change how you read: Read out loud, read backwards, print it, change the font or size on screen - find a way that makes you focus on the words.
Print out hard copies - reading on-screen for long periods of time can tire out your eyes and make it more difficult to spot mistakes. Using a hard copy to proofread rather than an on-screen version will also make major, time-consuming rewrites less tempting.
Change where you read: Some people find it useful to change settings when proofreading and most people find it more productive to be somewhere quiet.
Spellcheckers and grammar checkers are great – but don’t rely on them. They are useful for highlighting where there might be an error but their solutions aren’t always great or right for your text. Make sure you check the proposed change before accepting it!
Check for consistency – are your lists, names, numbers, dates all formatted in the same way throughout?
Don’t stop! Take notes as you go through if you find something you want to check or something that you want to reword and go back when you’ve finished proofing. Once you’ve started proofing stay focussed.
Get familiar with your frequent mistakes. We all have our nemesis when it comes to spelling or grammar, especially when we’re writing quickly or we’re tired. Know what yours are and make sure you do an extra check for them at the end. A good way to find your common mistakes is to look back at previous work that has been marked.
Read between the lines (and words): It is worth doing a separate check to look for extra spaces between lines and words. It’s easy to miss these when you’re focussing on the words.
Do a separate check of your references to ensure accuracy, consistency and always double check that you have used the accepted style. Remember to check any cross referencing within your text – editing might have shifted text by a page!
Give yourself time: Proofing is a valid and important process so make sure you build adequate time into your schedule to ensure you can do a good job.
Further information and guidance
My Learning Essentials are running the workshop ‘Proofreading: the final stage before submission’ is on the 21st and 28th of March. See My Learning Essentials for more information and how to book.