| 1. |
Read
your writing out loud. This helps to identify
errors that you might miss if you just
read |
| |
silently
to yourself. |
 |
| 2. |
Read
when you are most alert, whatever that
time may be. When you are tired, the odds
of |
| |
overlooking
errors increase. |
 |
| 3. |
Divide
up your tasks. Proof once for grammatical
errors, again for spelling and punctuation
and |
| |
once
more for content. |
 |
| 4. |
Have
at least three people proofread your work.
Being close to a project makes you more
likely to |
| |
skim
over errors. Everyone has different strengths
and will more than likely find different
errors. |
 |
| 5. |
Place
a blank sheet of paper just below the
line you are proofreading and move your
finger along |
| |
under
each word. This keeps your eyes from wandering
to the text below. |
 |
| 6. |
When
marking the document, try using proofreader
marks. If you're not sure of the proofreader
|
| |
mark
for a specific correction, simply write
out the change you want to make. Be specific
about |
| |
your
corrections; do not just circle the errors.
A yellow highlighter pen may also come
in handy. |
 |
| 7. |
Read
your document through one final time,
beginning from the bottom. This helps
disconnect |
| |
your
mind from the content and focus on the
individual words. |
 |
| 8. |
After
you make final corrections, make sure
to proof the revised document. Verify
that all the |
| |
corrections
have been made. |
 |
| 9. |
Pass
it around one more time. It's amazing
that even after going through all these
steps, |
| |
someone
will usually find a mistake. |
 |