Proofreading

Proofreading is the final stage of the writing process before you share your writing for grading or publication. Proofreading involves carefully reviewing and correcting your text for spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and formatting errors and consistency. When we proofread, we look for surface errors that may diminish the impact of the text. You should only begin the proofreading process when you are satisfied with the content and organization of your text.

Proofreading requires close attention to detail. For this reason, it can be a difficult task that you might be inclined to skip. However, proofreading adds polish to your writing. Think of it like this: you could wear the most expensive and gorgeous piece of clothing you own, but if you fail to iron it before you go into public, the impact of this piece of clothing will be lost. Similarly, you could produce a piece of brilliant and insightful writing, but if you fail to proofread it carefully, your reader may not be able to see the value of your ideas.

Proofreading your text carefully shows that you care, and your attention to detail and the care you take with your work will often be reflected in your grades and the success of your writing.

Key Steps in Proofreading

Step 1: Make a copy of your draft before you begin proofreading

Making a copy of your draft before you move to the next stage of the writing process is always good practice. This saves your work in case something goes wrong and keeps a record of your work before changes. Your instructors, bosses, and publishers may want to have a clear record of the progress of your work.

Step 2: Check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation with proofreading software

Turn on your proofreading software now if you have turned it off. Review each suggestion carefully. Remember that not all of the suggestions that these tools make are correct. Some suggestions may change your intended meaning. Also, proofreading software may ignore some errors like homonyms (words that have the same spelling or pronunciation but mean something different). If you don’t know whether a suggestion is correct, note it and highlight the problematic part in your text.

Step 3: Read your text aloud to yourself

It is very difficult to find your own mistakes in your writing. In addition, you can catch errors like homonyms missed by proofreading software because you can consider the content in which these words appear. Reading aloud forces your brain to slow down and hear your sentences as you read them. As you read aloud, mark any errors in your text. Highlight any parts where you are unclear whether your text is correct.

Step 4: Ask someone to proofread your text

It always helps to have someone else proofread your text. They will find errors that you and your proofreading software have missed. However, it is important to tell your proofreader that you only want suggestions about grammar, spelling, and punctuation at this point, as you will not have time to address suggestions about content or organization. In addition, ask your proofreader to only make suggestions on your draft using the commenting feature. After all, as the author, you want to have the final say about any changes to your writing. Like proofreading software, human proofreaders may introduce corrections that change your meaning. Review the suggestions from your human proofreader and incorporate suggestions that you feel are correct.

Step 5: Clarify rules and conventions

You may not know the rules or conventions for particular grammatical structures, punctuation or spelling to correct passages in your text.

The following resources may help:

• Use a search engine. You may be able to find answers using a search engine. For instance, you could search for “comma placement in dialogues.”
• Consult a style guide. Common citation styles like APA, MLA, or CSE provide guidance on grammar, punctuation, and spelling issues. The Translation Bureau of Canada maintains a style guide Writing Tips Plus, which sets standards for writing in the Canadian government.
• Consult a dictionary. If you are unsure of the spelling or meaning of a word, consult a dictionary to check.
• Ask an expert. The Writing Centre at your university may help you solve some of the more complex issues you encounter with grammar, punctuation, and spelling. However, the tutors are not proofreaders; their goal is to help you become a better writer.

Step 6: Make corrections

Once you have compiled a list of necessary grammar, punctuation, and spelling corrections, make the changes to your document.

Step 7: Review formatting

Instructors, publishers, and bosses often have very specific requirements for formatting your writing. The APA, MLA, or CSE style guides provide information on how to format student papers. Check the following issues:

• Title page requirements
• Header and footer requirements. Do you need a running head? Where should you put the page numbers?
• Font type and size
• Line spacing
• Heading and subheading formats
• Paragraph separation: Should you use an indent on the first line of each new paragraph, or should you leave a space between paragraphs? Remember that it is one or the other.
• Additional sections and/or documents: Do you need a list of references and acknowledgements?
• Spacing between words and sentences (it should be one space consistently)

Step 8: Check for consistency

There are sometimes different sets of rules or conventions for the same grammatical or stylistic phenomena in English. For instance, some writers use what is called the Oxford comma. The Oxford comma is a comma that appears before “and” and the last item in a sequence. In other words, both of the following sentences are grammatically correct, but they are using a different convention:

✅ The dog ate the cheese, the popcorn and its food.

✅ The dog ate the cheese, the popcorn, and its food.

If your instructor, publisher or boss has not given you specific guidance on this issue or specified a style guide, you can choose which convention to follow. However, you must be consistent.

Here are some other consistency issues to watch out for:

• National spelling conventions. This can be an issue for Canadians who are exposed to three different spelling conventions: Canadian, American, and British. Make sure that you choose one convention and stick with it. The Canadian and American spelling rules are used the most often in Canada.
• Capitalization. Do you use capitalization consistently in your titles and headings? Are you using title case (all major words are capitalized) or sentence case (only the first word is capitalized)?
• Citation. Are you using the same citation style consistently? One common error in student writing is mixing two or more citation styles.
• Date and number formats. Do you format your dates consistently in your text? Are your numbers formatted consistently?

Step 9: Read your text aloud one final time

Invariably, we introduce new errors as we proofread. For instance, fixing one part of the sentence may introduce an agreement error in another part of the sentence. Read your text aloud one more time to catch these new errors.

Other Tips for Proofreading

Look for patterns of errors

Every writer has errors that they repeat consistently. For instance, you might consistently forget the plural “s” on words. Knowing these error patterns will help you look for and correct them in your writing.

Develop your own style guide

As you learn more grammar, punctuation, and spelling rules, develop a list of the rules you should follow and the conventions you have chosen to use. Identify issues where you need to look for consistency or where you often overlook consistency. For instance, are you going to use title case or sentence case in your headings?

Keep learning

Learning the rules and conventions of writing increases your power as a writer. Think of it this way: A professional soccer player may have excellent coordination and aiming abilities, but they will become even more powerful as they learn to fine-tune their footwork. The Translation Bureau of Canada maintains a series of grammar lessons. Explore HyperGrammar 2 to help you fine-tune your grammatical footwork!

Attributions

“Proofreading” by Nancy Bray, Introduction to Academic Writing, University of Alberta, is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0