After all the research and
the actual writing, next comes the need to proofread what you have
written. Proofreading lets you see and
correct the errors you may have overlooked while writing. You need to do this to ensure that your
written work is accurate and flawless.
However thorough your research was and however good your writing style
is, all these will be overshadowed by the errors you failed to correct just
because you were not able to proofread your work.
In this era of computer
technology, many of us are complacent regarding the need to proofread
everything we write. For one, Microsoft
Word and other similar programs are equipped with spelling and grammar check
functions that automatically flag certain grammatical and spelling errors as we
type. There are also many sites on the
Internet that electronically check articles and other written work for any
spelling or grammar issues.
Since computers have the
said feature, many of us forego proofreading our written work. More often than not, we just look for the red
and green underlines to see if we misspelled a word or if there were any
grammatical mistakes in our work. Using
online grammar and spell checking sites also have similar mechanisms. We can just then right-click on the
underlined or highlighted word or phrase and select from the correction
suggestions of the computer in order to correct the error. Voila, we are set to go. This is one reason why many experts posit
that the art of proofreading is dying.
However, there are many
errors that can not be recognized by computers or by any software. If we don’t proofread our work after having
the computer check its grammar and spelling, we could be overlooking serious
mistakes or errors in our written work.
When your work gets published, it could be very embarrassing. Worse, it could even hurt your reputation as
a writer. Whatever convenience
technology brings, there is still no beating the age-old art of proofreading.
Reading your written work
once and correcting the errors as you go is not enough. You need to read it again until you are
satisfied with your work. If you need to
use certain citations styles for your work, you can double check them to see if
you did it right. You can also try
reading your work aloud to check whether it sounds good. There are times when you recognize certain
errors, which you have not recognized before while reading it, because they
don’t sound right when you read them aloud.
If you have enough time, try
sleeping on your work. You can then
proofread it again after you wake up.
After sleeping, you can see your work in a fresh and new
perspective. After being refreshed by
sleep, you are then in a better position to be more objective. Your mind has rested so it can see your work
in another light. This way, you can spot
more errors that you have committed.
Only then can you make your work water tight and flawless.
