Proofreading

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Agenda

1. The writing process

2. Why should we proofread?

3. Higher Order Proofreading

4. Lower Order Proofreading

5. Activity

6. Resources

Why Proofread?

For Clarity

Writing should be clear and polished for your audience.

If your writing has mistakes or is unclear, it can be hard for the reader

to understand/connect with your ideas and arguments.

The Writing Process

The Writing Process

Starting point

Exploration

IncubationIllumination

Composing

ReformulatingEditing

The Writing Process

Proofreading is an crucial part of the writing process.

Usually occurs near the end of the writing process through

the reformulating and editing stages of writing.

It gets easier with practice.

Higher Order Concerns

Introduction, body, conclusion

Paragraphs – not too long (or short), generally one idea per

paragraph, provide evidence

Discipline & Genre – structure your work to fit the disciplinary

guidelines as well as the genre (e.g., lab report, reflective summary,

compare and contrast essay, empirical research paper)

Do your ideas/arguments flow logically + linearly throughout the

paper?

Organization/Structure

Re-read assignment guidelines and/or rubric

• Have you done everything required?

• How are you being graded? (what is being emphasized)

Be critical of your content

• Have you used enough/reliable sources?

• Is your evidence (i.e., quotes) relevant and useful?

• Do you unpack your evidence sufficiently?

Assignment Guidelines

Once you have a full/rough draft, ask yourself these questions:

• Does each point relate to your overall argument?

• Do your points flow logically?

• Have you included enough examples and evidence to convince

the reader?

• Does each paragraph have a focus?

• Do your paragraphs connect to each other?

• Have you properly cited your resources?

Revising and Editing

Lower Order Concerns

TYPOS

• Although you should never turn off your spellcheck,

you can’t always trust it to be 100% accurate or notify

you of every mistake

• Our brains are very good at ignoring typos

• Know the general rules of the language – grammar,

punctuation, sentences, spelling, etc.

Lower Order Concerns

Lower Order Concerns

Brain HQ (n.d). Scrambled text. Retrieved from https://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/brain-teasers/scrambled-text

HOMOPHONES

• They’re, there, and their

• It’s vs. its

• Sore vs. soar

• Soul vs. sole

Are you using the correct word?

Lower Order Concerns

PUNCTUATION

• Colon – used after an independent phrase that

precedes a list

• Comma – connect a dependent clause to an

independent clause; connect two independent

clauses with conjunctions (and, but, or)

• Semicolon – Connect two independent clauses

with no conjunction; separate listed items

Lower Order Concerns

How many of you have trouble with commas, colons,

and semicolons?

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

• Incomplete sentences

• Reader is left hanging

RUN-ON SENTENCES

• Too many dependent clauses

• Phrases/clauses not connected by punctuation

• Reader runs out of breath before sentence ends

Lower Order Concerns

LANGUAGE

• Use class/disciplinary vocabulary

• Know your style guide and dictionary

• Academic language (no slang)

• Be consistent

• Check for overused words

• Be careful with auto-correct

Lower Order Concerns

Print your paper

• Easier to read and mark it up

Read it out loud

• You’ll catch your mistakes

• If you become tongue tied or have trouble reading, this indicates

that it may not be as smooth as it could be

Fresh Eyes

• Take some time away from your paper before you edit (fresher

eyes/perspective)

Tips for Proofreading

Let’s Try

In the 2010 novel Our Friendly Local Terrorist, Mary Jo Leddy

(2010, p. 4) shares insight in to the dark corners of the Canadian

Immigration system that is failing to protect the right’s of

refugees. She describes her disbelief that this could happen in

Canada and how the lack of responsibility with in our system

leaves new immigrants alone and feeling at a loss. She paints a

clear picture of how a single Kurdish man, Sulyman Goven, a

refugee, is “labelled” a terrorist unjustly and the impact it had

not only on his process of receiving landed citizenship, but also

on the hole Kurdish community in Toronto. Her story makes

apparent the unsuccessful social policies, failure to meet the

basic settlement needs of refugees and the oppression that is

imposed on arriving refugees in Canada.

In the 2010 novel Our Friendly Local Terrorist, Mary Jo Leddy

(2010, p. 4) shares insight in to the dark corners of the Canadian

Immigration system that is failing to protect the right’s of

refugees. She describes her disbelief that this could happen in

Canada and how the lack of responsibility with in our system

leaves new immigrants alone and feeling at a loss. She paints a

clear picture of how a single Kurdish man, Sulyman Goven, a

refugee, is “labelled” a terrorist unjustly and the impact it had

not only on his process of receiving landed citizenship, but also

on the hole Kurdish community in Toronto. Her story makes

apparent the unsuccessful social policies, failure to meet the

basic settlement needs of refugees and the oppression that is

imposed on arriving refugees in Canada.

Your Turn!

1) Be brief: Replace unnecessarily wordy phrases with simpler ones

2) Be clear: Replace complex sentences with shorter ones

3) Clarity isn’t the same as precisions: Say clearly what you mean

4) Stay on point: Remove distracting content

5) Guide your reader: Use signposting words & links to clarify the

flow of your ideas

6) Revise radically: Don’t be afraid to shift around sentences &

paragraphs

7) Re-read yourself closely

Chatfield, T. (2018). Critical thinking: Your guide to effective argument, successful analysis and

independent study. London: Sage

7 Practical Principles for Rewriting

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The Oatmeal’s How to use a semicolon

Grammarly Grammar Checker*

Hemingway Editor for Readability and Complexity*

*As with auto-correct and spell-checkers, be cautious and use your judgement

Resources

Summary

1. The writing process

2. Why should we proofread?

3. Higher Order Proofreading

4. Lower Order Proofreading

5. Activity

6. Resources

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