Leaving mistakes in your writing is one of the worst things you can do as an aspiring freelance content writer, novelist, journalist, etc. It’s nice to think that a spelling/grammar processor will pick up on every writing mistake you make, but anyone who has ever used one or all of them knows that that’s just not possible.
Here are five proven proofreading tips that can help you pick up mistakes that your processor might not.
Get Rid Of Distractions
Distractions are a huge reason why a person can miss simple mistakes like homophones, contractions, or sentence structure problems.
When it’s time to proofread, you need to be free of distractions. Turn your television, cell phone, and digital devices off, make sure your kids are occupied, even make sure your computer can’t alert you to any updated Facebook post, Twitter messages, emails, etc. Just knowing you have something new to read on your computer can be enough to cause a distraction. If proofreading is one of the most important parts of writing, then you need to treat it like it is.
Proofread Out Loud
A few quick proofreads to yourself is one thing, but when you read out loud, you are putting a voice to your content. This will help you find sentence structure problems, passive voice issues, sentences, and paragraphs that can be cut down while getting the same point across and much more.
I found that reading out loud also helps me by reminding me that what I am doing at this moment is the most important thing that is going on at that moment. All other things going on can wait or my proofreading can wait until I can have complete focus on my content.
Read Your Work Backwards
Reading your work backward helps you comprehend it from a different angle. It may not flow right, but that is technically what you are looking for. The disruption of flow may help you pick up on something you would not pick up on when you read it in the order that you wrote it.
Read Your Work In A Different Atmosphere
If you spend a lot of time at your desk writing, monotony can kick in and that can cause lazy proofreading. Make a print out of your content and seek out a different atmosphere. A more comfortable chair, different lighting, even just reading it out loud on white paper as opposed to on your computer will help you get a different or a fresher look at your content.
Take A Break
It’s only natural, it does not matter who you are or what you are doing, when fatigue kicks in you’re bound to make mistakes. Taking a break, a nap or even leaving your final proofread for the next morning is one of the most effective proofreading skills you can learn. A fresh mind will allow you to see things differently, hear things differently, notice homophone mistakes, contractions mistakes, or sentence structure problems that you might just overlook when you are tired.
Use A Different Set Of Eyes
This may not be an option for everyone, but if you have the option to have someone else read your work, you need to use it. Someone who has not read or was involved in the creation of your work will be able to find not just simple mistakes you may have missed but also bigger problems like awkward structure, flow, and voice. You may miss mistakes simply because you read it the way you believe you wrote it and not the way it actually reads. It’s not to say you miss mistakes because you want to believe you don’t make them, it’s just our brains can be easily fooled when reading our own work. Don’t be so naive to think you’re perfect.
Always make a point to make sure that your work, wherever you are publishing it or sending it to is mistake-free. It’s the only real way anyone will take you seriously.