Below I've outlined some generally
good advice for proof reading and editing your papers. These are
techniques that I use and have found useful. Integrate them into your
own writing process.
1. Give yourself time.
If you finish your paper at 1:00 am the day it is due, your mind
will be Swiss cheese and you will not be able to look at your work
critically. If a rooster is crowing somewhere in the United States, you
have not given yourself enough time.
2. Really, give yourself time. Greatness
does not come from burning the midnight oil. Grammar and punctuation
mistakes, leaps in logic, and lowered grades do.
3. Give yourself a day in-between completing your paper and looking it over. When
you proofread your paper just after you've completed it, you lack
the critical distance necessary to really look over your paper. Your
words will make sense to you because your ideas are fresh in your
head and are still a part of your thinking process. Other people,
however, are not privy to your intimate thoughts.
4. Read your paper aloud, preferably to a friend (you can buy them coffee later). Reading
your work aloud will make re-reading your paper a fuller experience.
You will read slower and your ear will help you pick up mistakes
your eye will miss.
5. Have someone else look it over for you (again coffee). A fresh pair of eyes will do wonders.
6. Read your paper backwards. Backwards
paper your read? No, not like that. Start at the end of your paper
and then work your way back paragraph by paragraph. Often times, we
start strong and end weak when we write. Proofreading backwards allows
you to follow your progress and make improvements. It is also a good
tactic to take after you've gone through your first and second read
through and find yourself skimming the first part of the essay or
getting tired by th end of it.
7. Compose a reverse outline. Not
sure if your paper makes sense? Make a reverse outline of your
paper, highlighting your main points. You might find that you are
missing a step in your thinking.
