7.23: Proofreading Guidelines and Techniques
- Page ID
- 59889
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- Demonstrate ability to proofread
The following video offers a set of starting guidelines for proofreading. (Note: this video has a jazzy soundtrack but no dialogue, so it can be viewed without sound.)
watch a video
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/wsl/?p=164
The additional strategies below can also help you spot errors in your writing:
 | Print a hard copy of your document. Reading on paper is different from reading electronically, so you’ll catch errors on paper you hadn’t noticed before. |
 | Put a ruler under each line as you read through the document. This technique will isolate lines, making it easier to spot mistakes. Some writers also like to use a pencil to point at each word. |
 | Read through the paper backwards sentence by sentence. This reverse reading technique puts the focus on the words, sentences, and punctuation marks rather than on the ideas. |
 | Ask a classmate or friend to read the document. Two sets of eyes are better than one. |
- Proofreading Guidelines and Techniques. Authored by: Karen Forgette. Provided by: University of Mississippi. License: CC BY: Attribution
- Introduction to Proofreading. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/outcome-proofreading-2-7/. Project: English Composition I. License: CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike