BEHV 5616 - Mod 5 - Proofread like a pro

Arm yourself with a good reference library

Experienced writers have an arsenal of reference materials that help them correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, citations, and format. It may take you some time to amass your own reference library, and you may find that you need to update it periodically

check the assignment criteria

Make sure you've met the assignment criteria. If you were given a prompt, carefully check that you've answered all the questions or written all the pieces of the assignment. If your paper is shorter than the assigned length, that's a sure sign that your ideas need more development. See if you can find places where you can more fully explain what you mean. If your paper is longer than the assigned length, cut out any elements that aren't absolutely essential to your argument.

read aloud

Read your paper aloud as if you were reading it to your professor or to an audience of experts. Pay attention to any awkward wordings or gaps in your reasoning or explanations.

proofread on pper

Revising is easier when you have a printed copy of your paper. It's easy to miss errors on a computer screen. However, if you do choose to proofread from your computer instead of on paper, try changing the font and the size of your type. Sometimes just changing the physical appearance of your paper can help you catch errors you might otherwise miss. A couple of other tips at the beginning stages of proofreading: • Move a pencil under the text as you read • Use a colored pen or pencil to mark the errors or revisions you want to make

Take a break

To begin, allow time between writing and revision; the amount of time you allow is up to you. This gives you a little "breathing room" so that you can reflect on what you've written and see it more objectively than you will if you revise immediately after writing. At the very least, take about 15 minutes—that's enough time to get a snack, make a quick phone call, or read your email

know your challenges

All writers have something that's a challenge for them. Yours might be comma usage or pronoun/antecedent agreement. Chances are you know what your issue is, and now you can work on eliminating it from your paper. The more you do this, the sooner you'll master the concept that you find challenging. Once you've mastered that concept, it will be time to focus on something else that challenges you.

have someone else read your work

Ask someone you know and trust to read your paper for you. Having a fresh set of eyes is often the best thing you can do to write a better paper

save your paper in more than one place

Nothing's worse than working hours on a paper only to lose it because you've saved it in only one place. If nothing else, print a hard copy of your paper each time you revise it. Some writers like to keep multiple copies of their papers so that they can see the progress they've made. Consider saving in one of these ways: • Save to a flash drive • Email the paper to yourself • Use a saving/sharing site like Dropbox • Use the Microsoft Cloud

Be objective

Writing is a personal process, and it can be challenging to look at your writing objectively. Remember that your paper is just that—it's a paper. It isn't you. Try to look at your paper as a product rather than as an extension of yourself. That objectivity will help you become a better editor and proofreader of your own work. Then polish your paper until it clearly represents your ideas. You may be surprised at how gratifying that can be.

make multiple passes

You'll have a much easier and more successful experience at revising your papers if you proofread in multiple stages. This stage of proofreading will take you the longest. Just remember—slow and steady wins the race. Try to take a brief break between each pass of your editing. If you need to make multiple changes of the same word, use the "Find/Replace" function on Microsoft Word. To use this function: 1. Go to the "Home" ribbon 2. Go to Find/Replace (on the far right of the Home ribbon) 3. Look for the dialog box that opens up 4. Type the word you want to change in the "Find What" field 5. Type the corrected word into the "Replace With" field 6. Click on "Replace All" 7. Look for the dialog box that indicates how many changes have been made 8. Click "OK and close