Proofreading Strategies
ELIP
English Language Improvement Program
What is it?
Proofreading is the process of looking very closely at your writing to find mistakes such as errors with typing
(typos), spelling, or grammar. It is not simply reading your paper—you won’t find many errors that way.
How do I do it?
Concentrate! This is the key to successful proofreading. Below are several strategies you can try to improve
your concentration and thus proofreading skills. Try a variety of them and see which ones work best for you.
Strategy
Explanation
Take a Break
Take at least a 5-minute break before you start to proofread. This will help your mind
be more fresh. A 24-hour break is even better!
Slow Down
Slow down as you read through a paper. You miss many mistakes when you read fast.
Print it Out
Print your paper to help your brain really see what’s written and not pass over errors.
Read Out Loud
Reading out loud forces you to slow down and helps you to find mistakes.
Read in Chunks
For long paper, proofread short portions at a time (e.g., read 2 pages, take a break,
read 2 more pages, take a break, etc.). Your brain needs breaks when proofreading.
Check for Specific
Errors
Check separately for each kind of error (for example, subject-verb agreement). See the
strategies listed on the next page.
Use a Cover
Move a piece of paper down the page as you read. This helps you concentrate.
Read from End to
Beginning
Read the whole paper backwards—from end to beginning. This means read the last
sentence first, then the 2nd-to-the last sentence, etc.
Find a Friend
Have a friend who you trust read the paper for specific things. Tell the reader what to
read for (for example, for vocabulary, grammar, main idea, flow, etc.).
Use a Grammar
Checker
Use grammar check in the word processor as a guide for what MIGHT be wrong.
Remember, grammar checkers are not always correct, so only use them as suggestions.
Use Microsoft’s
“Find” feature
Use the “Find” function in Microsoft Word to find mistakes you’re likely to make. For
example, if you confuse “its” and “it’s,” search for “it” and check each one you find
carefully.
Use a Spell Checker
End with a spelling check, using a computer spelling checker or reading backwards
word by word. Remember that a spelling checker won’t catch mistakes with
homonyms (e.g., “they’re,” “their,” “there”) or certain typos (like “he” for “the”). You
need to find those mistakes yourself!
Strategies to Check for Specific Errors
Once you know your common mistakes, you can check your papers for them specifically. Here are some
strategies to help you out—only use the ones that you need. The key to success is concentrating.
Verb tense:
1. Check your literature review especially to be sure your tenses are consistent. Find verbs where you are
discussing the literature.
2. Be sure you are consistent with your tenses. Don’t start by using the past tense when discussing the
literature, for example, and then switch for no reason to using the present.
Parallel structure:
1. Skim your paper, stopping at key words that signal parallel structures. Look especially for and, or, not
only...but also, either... or, neither...nor, and both...and.
2. Make sure that the items connected by these words (adjectives, nouns, phrases, etc.) are in the same
grammatical form.
Fragments:
1. Look at each sentence to make sure that it contains an independent clause.
2. Pay special attention to sentences that begin with subordinating conjunctions (because, while, since,
etc.) or phrases such as for example or such as as the sentence might be just a piece of the previous one.
Incorrect: I like to ski. Because I like the snow.
Correct: I like to ski because I like the snow.
Commas connecting two independent clauses (complete sentences):
1. Skim your paper for commas.
2. See whether there is a complete sentence on each side of the comma. If so, revise by either changing the
punctuation to a period or semicolon or by rewriting one clause to be dependent (e.g., add a
conjunction).
Incorrect: Harry’s father came to town last week, he really enjoyed seeing the States.
Correct: Harry’s father came to town last week; he really enjoyed seeing the States.
Correct: Harry’s father came to town last week and really enjoyed seeing the States.
Comma separating subject and verb:
1. Skim your paper for commas.
2. See whether there is a comma between your subject and verb. If the comma isn’t for an adjective clause,
consider removing it. Don’t separate your subject and verb with a comma.
Incorrect: Harry’s father, came to town last week.
Correct: Harry’s father came to town last week.
Missing Comma in Adjective/Relative Clause:
1. Skim your paper for commas.
2. See whether you have a comma to show the beginning of a relative/adjective clause. If so, make sure you
have a closing comma for the clause.
Incorrect: Harry’s father, who came to town last week works at the Pentagon.
Correct: Harry’s father, who came to town last week, works at the Pentagon.
Apostrophes:
1. Skim your paper, stopping only at those words which end in “s.”
2. See whether or not each “s” word needs an apostrophe. If an apostrophe is needed, you will be able to
invert the word order and say “of” or “of the.”
Incorrect: My brothers wife is very nice.
Correct: My brother’s wife is very nice.
Left-out or Doubled words:
1. Read the paper aloud, pointing to every word. Don’t let your eye move ahead until you spot each word.
2. Also, make sure that you haven’t doubled any words.
Incorrect: Every day Mark goes the mall with his brother.
Correct: Every day Mark goes to the mall with his brother.
Capitalization in titles and other necessary places:
1. Skim your paper for all names of persons, cities, countries, streets, and titles. Are they capitalized?
2. Be consistent with capitalization and capitalize necessary proper nouns.
Incorrect: Michelle just finished reading the article “How to Help Students learn.”
Correct: Michelle just finished reading the article “How to Help Students Learn.”
Quotation marks:
1. Find all quotation marks (use Word’s “Find”) and be sure every opening quotation mark has a closer.
2. Make sure that you place exact quotes within quotation marks.
3. Place all periods and commas inside the quotation marks, but place semicolons and colons outside them.
Incorrect: Michelle just finished reading the article “How to Help Students Learn.
Correct: Michelle just finished reading the article “How to Help Students Learn.”
References:
Check all the parts of references separately and deliberately instead of just reading through your paper.
1. Check that all paragraphs have at least one citation. For paragraphs with no citations, are all the ideas
your own, or do you need to add citations?
2. Make sure all citation boundaries are clear. The reader should be able to tell which ideas in a paragraph
are from which source and which ideas are yours.
3. Check that any words you copied from a source are either in quotation marks or in a block quote. Be
sure to include the citation and if necessary in your citation style, be sure to include the page number.
4. Check that all paraphrases are written in a completely new sentence structure, different words, and
include a citation.
5. Check all in-text citations. Be sure they follow your citation style (e.g., APA, Chicago, IEEE). Check
commas, page numbers if needed, spaces, capitalization, etc. All in-text citations should be consistent.
6. Check your reference list. Make sure each source is formatted according to your citation style. Check all
punctuation, spelling, spacing, capitalization, italics/bold, etc. Make sure the list is in the right order.
7. Check that all references in your text match the references in the reference list.
8. Consider running your paper through an online plagiarism detection tool (e.g., Doc Cop, SafeAssign,
Plagiarism Detect, etc.) and check for wording that might be copied incorrectly.
Dr. Dawn Bikowski • [email protected] • English Language Improvement Program • Ohio University
http://linguistics.ohio.edu/ELIP/