Proofreading Tips for Better Writing
The best way to achieve better writing is through daily writing and reading, but proofreading is near the top of the list too.
Revising, editing, and proofreading are essential to better writing, and if you want your work to improve, it’s imperative that you review each piece to check for typos, mistakes, syntax, and tone.
Creative writing tips often fail to mention the mechanical side of writing. It’s fun to focus on language, plot, characters, and rhymes, but polishing your work diligently will make you a better writer. And once you nail grammar and develop a habit of proofreading, you can focus on coming up with creative writing ideas rather than worrying about the technical aspects of your work.
Proofreading Tips
These proofreading tips and reminders will help you produce better writing – work that is polished and professional but still creative and compelling.
Catch Your Typos
Nobody likes typos. They look like misspellings, only it’s usually obvious they are mere oversights, the result of tapping the wrong key. It happens a lot when writers rush, and it happens a lot less when writers proofread their work before submitting or publishing it. Most writers are going to miss a typo every now and then. Nobody’s perfect. However, when you read a writer’s work regularly and typos are just something you expect every time, that’s a sign of poor or nonexistent proofreading.
Read Out Loud
One of the best ways to edit and proofread your work is to read it out loud. If you enunciate every word, you’ll be better able to catch mistakes. It’s common for writers to leave words out while composing a first draft. During a review, the mind automatically inserts the word because the writer knows it’s supposed to be there. Reading out loud will help catch missing words. Oft-repeated words often stand out while reading aloud as well. It’s also helpful for determining whether a piece lacks clarity or if phrasing doesn’t sound quite right. It’s your chance to make sure everything makes sense and that the language flows smoothly.
Proofread to Perfection
I’ve been teased for being so enthusiastic about proofreading and editing. Yet if I want to produce better writing, shouldn’t I keep reviewing each piece until I don’t catch a single error or need to make any more changes? Sometimes I reread a piece once and everything’s fine. Other times, I go over it five times, maybe ten. It also depends on the piece and where it’s going to be published or submitted. But I edit just about everything I write — usually more than once.
Don’t Make Excuses
Young and new writers often have issues with editing. I don’t want to change the original, they’ll claim. That’s like a furniture maker not bothering to sand a table. If you’re truly attached to that first draft, then just save a copy, but don’t get so sentimental that you go and submit or publish it with all its errors and imperfections.
Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself
Even though editing and proofreading are important to your professionalism and essential for better writing, they aren’t everything. Mistakes slip through now and then, and you shouldn’t beat yourself over the head about it. Great writing will always outshine the occasional error.
A Better Writing Habit
When I was much younger, I never proofread anything. I could whip up a term paper or report and get an A, mostly because I had a natural talent for writing that many of my classmates lacked. This, of course, was the result of reading like a fiend throughout my childhood, but as I grew older, my writing was less and less able to stand up to the work my peers were producing, and I quickly realized that editing was the key to bringing my writing up several notches.
Since then, editing and proofreading have become habitual steps in my writing process, and I’ve come to enjoy this part of the process since I now know that it leads to better writing. And that makes it more enjoyable for my readers.
Every time I fix a mistake, I feel good about it, knowing I just made my writing a little better and a lot easier to read. That’s another thing — editing is considerate to readers. Typos, misspellings, and poorly placed punctuation marks throw readers off and jars them from the flow of a piece. So don’t skip the revision process: proof, edit, and repeat. Then, if necessary, do it again!
Do you have any better writing or proofreading tips to share? Please leave a comment.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March, 2008. It has been updated and therefore republished for your reading pleasure.
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[...] proofreading leads to better writing, so be sure to make it an elemental part of your own writing [...]
Editing is vital. And proofreading? Don’t get me started. It’s bad enough when there are errors in normal posts, or what have you, but when they’re on billboards or covers of books, it drives me bonkers. I have a book at home that has the word “Learned” misspelled on the spine of the book–argh!
Of course, my keyboard at home regularly decides to stick on certain keys, so I end up with more typos than I’m happy with, if I don’t notice that the “d” is missing until later…. Stupid laptop! Still, the backspace key is my best friend.
I type on an iphone a lot. Typos, words changing to other words, lots of fun. I’m guilty of rarely proofreading stuff like comments, blog posts. Client work I proofread to death. Otherwise, I’m lazy!
I am always paranoid that I am going to make a mistake. I look at everything over and over until my eyes cross. I hate it when things still get through. Part of my cubicle job was a proofreader and I didn’t like it so much. Lots of pressure!
Now it’s a habit I can’t stop even if I wanted to!
@Deb, Typos on the signs around an office I where used to work drove me crazy! They were fully printed signs, very professional, save for the constant use of apostrophe-s on every plural word. Grr!
@Amy, That’s why the “Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself” section. How much we proof is pretty subjective, and depends on each writer’s goals and purposes. I never notice typos on your blog by the way.
@Wendi, It definitely becomes habit! I go back and forth between being paranoid and nonchalant about typos and minor errors.
The read out loud thing is imperative for me. I do fine with punctuation, spelling, grammar and typos, but I can’t seem to stop leaving words out.
Great advice!
Proofreading is something I’ve been struggling with for a while. I would love to have another pair of eyes reviewing my drafts, but no one wants to do it 3 times a week.
So I’m forced to do the proofreading myself. I write a draft, walk away for a few hours, come back to it, read it over, edit it, walk away again, etc. A good night sleep also helps me detect errors.
But there comes a time when obsessing over a draft gets to me. I wish I’m confident enough with my writing so I don’t have to constantly fuss over the grammar or structure. I suppose practice makes perfect. Or to borrow from my golf instructor: “Perfect practice makes perfect”.
@Bob, Reading out loud is how I catch a lot of left out words too!
@Rudy, I think all of us writers wish for a second pair of eyes to proof everything. It’s so hard to catch your own mistakes! Leaving a piece for a few hours and especially overnight is a really great approach. I should have mentioned that in the post! Like you, obsessing over it gets to me. That’s why I try not to be too hard on myself. Learning is an ongoing process and so is practicing
Yes, yes, yes!!!
Another great article! I read somewhere that in order to become successful as a blogger you need to be relentless, and even when the times are tough and everything is not moving forward, you still need to remain positive…but I think in additional to having a bulldog mentality and a motto of never say die, a blogger or a writer shopuld seriously consider quality control- what you said here are more than great tips, these are life-savers!
@Jed, Never say die! It took me a long time to understand the importance of sticking with something. It’s easy for us creative types to get caught up in the sea of ideas and drift randomly from one project to the next, never seeing anything through to completion or abandoning projects that were once our most beloved endeavor. To me the bulldog mentality means remaining committed to something no matter what. Thank you!
Hi, Melissa!
I’m so happy to chance upon your blog; it’s a hearty meal kind of reading on my favourite topics: how to improve your writing; how to brainstorm ideas etc. I thought I missed a hell lot of great stuff all this while. No regrets, I’ll catch up. It shows your breadth of expertise – as the length and meat in your posts.
I’ve no formal trianing in english writing, but I had a great deal of passion for reading & writing, though.
I’m scared of punctuation and I thought I’ll never learn it. But to my horror and delight, it’s coming… yet slowly. May be in greater detail, I feel, through reading your blog and several other greats’! Thanks for your wonderful tips and sharing!
Hi Solomon, Punctuation can definitely be scary, but with patience, it can be learned. In fact, I think most writers continue to learn about grammar throughout their lives. Thanks so much for your kind words and if you ever have any special topics you’d like to see discussed here, just say the word!
1. Read the text aloud.
2. Print your text and read it off screen.
3. When in doubt, look it up!
I, too, am unnerved by the rampant slaughter of the English language – I see my all time favorite “seperate” – at least once a day.
@Carol, I personally don’t print everything I proof. I don’t own a printer though I do have access to one. “Seperate” is one of those commonly misspelled words that seems to permeate written materials.
Thank you. I’ll place the query here with you. How do I improve my punctuation (to the next level) better and faster? Can you pls. help?
Just spell some blogs to read and books I can purchase.
Solomon, check out the blog “Daily Writing Tips.” Also, make sure you have the proper writer’s resources like The Chicago Manual of Style. Another one that might be useful but keep in mind that it’s written for British English is Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.
The best way to master punctuation is to be aware of what you don’t know and take the time to look it up. Also, make it a point to learn the difference between punctuation usage in terms of proper grammar versus style.
This is a wonderful post. My advise is not to count on MS Word spell checker or any software. Just get someone else to look at your work.
Oh, so true! Never depend on spell checkers. Never, never, never!
Hi there. Great post. I’d like to note that in many instances..and I’m sure some people would agree, that it’s extremely hard to edit and/or proofread ones own work. I can’ tell you how many times I’ve attempted to proofread my own writings only to realize after they’ve been printed or become blog posts, that there was plenty of typos still within the writing. Your brain is trained, from you writing the post, to know what you said or are saying, therefore, it’s almost impossible to catch a simple typo like “adn for and”.
Have someone else edit your work. It doesn’t have to be an experienced editor or proofreader, it can be your spouse, mother, father, et cetera. Another pair of eyes rather than yours goes a LONG way.
If you’re writing a book or other long manuscript…PLEASE have a professional editor or proofreader handle it. Your reputation is on the line. People notice grammatical errors right away.
Hi Danielle, and welcome! Thanks for your comment. Yes, I’ve written articles here before addressing problems that occur when we proofread our own work. Those typos have a nasty way of slipping right by the editor’s eye when the editor was also the writer! Another pair of eyes is always helpful, however, an alternative for writers who either can’t afford to pay a professional or who don’t have access to someone with strong reading or grammar skills is to simply set the piece aside for a few days (or longer, depending on the length of the written project itself). Then, you can come back to it with fresh eyes!
Hi Melissa .. what you say is so true .. also if you’re writing and you’re tired, then mistakes will creep in. Reading the post certainly does make a difference .. and we can adjust the copy .. we can emphasise our points and see where the punctuation perhaps needs to be adjusted. Also highlighting repetitive words .. that too ..
Thanks – Proof reading is so important ..
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..What can you read from Kitchen Utensils? =-.
Thanks Hilary! The same is true for editing and proofreading. I always avoid polishing work when I’m tired. It rarely turns out well.
I spent many, many years working in law offices as a freelance legal secretary and paralegal. Proofreading was something that was absolutely crucial to the whole process of producing documents polished enough to present to a judge. The head of one word processing department had her proofreaders read each document starting with the very last word and continue on working from back to front, stopping at the beginning of each sentence to read it forward again to check for punctuation and to ensure that the sentence conveyed the meaning intended. Not an easy task to learn, but in the 7 years I worked at this particular office not one document submitted for filing with a court ever contained any errors. This method may sound a bit extreme, but it does work!
Work out what you are trying to say first. Each piece of writing should have at least one clear message in it. Work out what that message is before you start writing.
I agree, but this should be established before the first draft, not during proofreading. Good tip!