Everything English

Many students think that writing a paper is a single action: write the paper from beginning to end, print it out, and turn it in to the teacher. But wait! What about catching all the little mistakes you might have made? Or making sure that what you wrote actually makes sense?! That’s what proofreading is for! To “proofread” means to go back through your paper very carefully to find any mistakes or to see your paper as a “whole” rather than just several separate paragraphs. It will help you really see if the theme, thesis, or argument is well-presented throughout the entire paper. Some people proofread only once per paper, while others proofread several times…it’s all up to you!

Don’t avoid proofreading just because it takes more time. It’s worth it in the end, especially if your teacher takes points off for small mistakes! To start, try reading the paper aloud to yourself. Sounds silly, but it will help you see and hear what needs to be changed. You can also ask a friend to proofread your paper- a different perspective may see something you do not. Just remember to go slowly. It may take some time, but soon you will get in the habit of proofreading everything you write. For more detailed advice on catching comma errors, please see the blog post entitled “Proofreading for Commas.”