Proofreading 101:Some tricks to catching (and correcting) some of the most common

types of errors.

Catching common grammar problems:1. Double check Microsoft Word’s corrections. Make sure that Word plugs in the correct

term when you use the “check spelling” feature. Also make sure that if you use the “check grammar” feature, Word does not rework your sentence in such a way that it no longer says what you want it to say.

2. Check for tense agreement. It is very easy to switch between tenses as you write. Make sure that all of your verb tenses agree. If you are writing about something that has already happened, you want to write in past tense. (Yesterday I went to the grocery store; Susan came with me.) If you are writing about something that is happening right now, use present tense. (I am sitting in class and taking notes.) If you are writing about something that will happen in the future, use future tense. (Tomorrow I will go hiking and I will bring my dog with me.)

3. Look up words when you are not sure if you are using a term correctly. If you are typing your paper in Microsoft Word, you can use the dictionary function to make sure you are using the correct term. This is especially helpful when dealing with homonyms. (Homonyms are words that sound alike but have different meanings. Cents and sense are homonyms, so are accept and except.)

4. Look for sentence fragments and run -on sentences. A sentence should be a complete thought, with a subject (someone doing an action) and a verb (the action being done). If you are not sure if your sentence is complete, think about what would happen if you walked into a room and said the sentence. Would people have to ask you who you are talking about or what the subject of your sentence did? If they would have to ask, your sentence probably isn’t complete. If you are not sure if your sentence is a run-on, look for any place where you could stop in the sentence and still have your idea make sense.

5. Read your paper out loud to yourself. If you read your paper out loud, you are more likely to catch typos than if you read it silently to yourself. This is because we have a tendency to auto-correct mistakes when we read silently.

Catching common content problems:1. Read back over your assignment. It is easy to forget exactly what you are supposed to

cover in a paper if you don’t revisit the assignment throughout your writing process.2. Group like ideas together in your paper. Generally speaking, each paragraph should

cover one idea. Paragraphs should also flow in a logical order with similar ideas being covered in subsequent paragraphs. Performing a reverse outline is an excellent way to make sure that similar ideas are grouped together. See reverse side of this paper for info. about reverse outlines.

3. Look for places where you can better explain your ideas. Sometimes it helps to assume that you are writing a paper for someone who knows absolutely nothing about your topic. Read through your paper and look for places where your reader might have questions about your topic. These are places where you can probably expand your ideas. (Think how, what, why, when, who, where)

Document created by Emily RussellITT Composition Tutor