Writing essays is not for everyone. It takes a lot of time and energy for the students to develop content and then get the most out of them. The task becomes even more hectic when the students have to get a good grip on their subjects and participate in extracurricular tasks.
Among all this stress, the students sometimes forget one of the most important tasks, that is, proofreading. To help students and candidates proofread their work, here are some details. But first, it is important to understand what is proofreading.
Proofreading Defined
When a piece of text is checked for errors and gaps, it is said to be under the process of proofreading. In this method, the developed content is checked for grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, typos, and spelling mistakes. The task of proofreading also helps to identify if the developed content is inclined to the primary research or the aim of the overall research. This is one of the most important parts of academic writing and must never be missed.
Strategies for Proofreading an Essay
Do it after some time: Once you have completed the final draft of the essay, do not proofread it right away. Instead, take some time. It can be a 30-minute break and then go for the proofreading activity. In an ideal condition, proofreading should take place on the next day of developing the first draft. When done with a fresh mind and improved focus, the proofreading activity will deliver higher results.
Avoid any Distractions
Keep all the distractions away at the time of proofreading, as when you have a clear focus on the task that needs to be done, it will deliver better results. Turn off all the tabs, and avoid any distractions from the music or entertainment system or anything that can be bothering you.
Must be Done after Editing
The academic content that is developed must be edited first. Proofreading is the last stage of developing the content. So before you start proofreading your assignment, make sure it is edited and updated.
Use the Writing Guidelines as a Checklist
You must always have a list of things that must be kept in mind at the time of writing the assignments. These guidelines can include areas such as selection of the appropriate topic, choosing the formatting and referencing style, and the type and number of references that must be considered. These can also be the instructions given by the teacher or the instructor that needs to be followed. Here you need to stick to every point that needs to be followed at the time of development.
Emphasize Common Writing Mistakes
Proofreading should cover and take care of some of the most common writing mistakes, such as missing punctuations and proper use of pronounce and connecting words. You also have to take care of the tense that is used throughout the content.
Plagiarism
Avoiding plagiarism is a must for any content that is developed in the assignment task. Copied content is a no-no for any project. Any educational institute can consider plagiarized content as unacceptable work and as a violation of academic integrity. The proofreading activity must also make sure that none of the submissions made is plagiarized. Here you can use a set of tools and technologies to make sure that the developed content is unique.
Get it Printed
This technique might sound old-fashioned but can also be said as one of the most effective ways. This technique is most popular among journalists and is used to remove errors and typos. Reading content from the screen can make the proofreader skip some mistakes. In such cases, when the reader has a printed copy, it is read more easily, and it is difficult to remove errors and mistakes. This is also a good way to check the formatting if it is correct and consistent.
One of the best ways to check errors is to use rulers on each line at the time of reading the content. This method helps to have a good focus on the content.
Read it Aloud
When you hear what you have written, you get an increased opportunity to find issues in work. When you read the content aloud, you have to slow down in the proofreading process. When the sentences are vocalized, a few more senses are involved, such as seeing, speaking, and hearing. This gives increased opportunities to notice flaws and make improvements.
Use Tools
Students and writers can use tools such as Hemingway and Grammarly to detect spelling errors. Even MS Word can help to detect errors and make improvements in the assignments that have been developed.
A 100% dependence on these tools is not a good idea well as they do not understand the overall context of the content that has been developed. Therefore, the writer must also make sure that they do not follow all the suggestions by these tools.
Go Through Each Paragraph Twice
Do not make the final submission of your work before checking it multiple times. Go through a paragraph several times. Read the assignment several times. Any major edits will be revealed in this process. This is the time when you get to polish and improve every piece of content.
Seek Help from a Professional
If you are not confident with the content even after proofreading yourself, it is advised that you seek help from a professional. There can be cases where even the tools might not help you to achieve the highest desired quality. In such cases, it is wise to seek help from professional editors. There are services available in the market which accept drafts of the work done by the people and provide their feedback.
Develop a Checklist
Apart from all the elements mentioned above, it is wise to develop and use a checklist of items. This list must mention all the things that you need to keep in mind at the time of proofreading. These can include:
- Spelling check
- Punctuation check
- Style check for capitalization, use of numbers, and English styles (US or UK)
- Formatting check
Proofreading is an important part of assignment writing. It does not matter what you write, a blog, a post, an article, or an assignment work. It is important to get it to proofread. This will improve the overall quality of the assignment and will act as a stepping stone in your career.