Proofreading
Goal: to remove all grammatical and mechanical errors from
your paper
Time: 30 minutes
It is important that you learn to think of revision, editing and proofreading as three different steps. Practice completing them at separate sittings so that you can truly focus on each individual task. Revision involves reeevaluating, redesigning, reorgainzing, and rewriting entire sections of your paper. You may change the paper drastically during the revision stage. On the other hand, Editing asks you to examine each sentence to make sure it is clear and concise, removing awkward phrases, and improving your word choice. Finally, Proofreading asks you to check grammar, punctuation, and spelling, so it should be completed at the very end of the process.
Proofreading is a step that less successful students often skip. Once
you accept proofreading as a necessary and separate part of the writing process,
you will find that the extra 30 minutes spent reviewing your paper for the final
time will eliminate silly errors that can make work appear sloppy and unprofessional.
For this activity you will read over your paper two separate ways to check for
common errors.