Proofreading

Proofreading

At this time of year, we receive quite a few enquiries from UCP students wanting someone to proofread their work. The College or UCP will not do this for you but you can get advice from a Specialist Support tutor (they are based in room 31b) and there is information to help you on the ARU website. See their guide to proofreading here.

For all students, it is a good idea to check your work before handing it in. It can boost your marks up to 10%. 

What is proofreading and how do you do it?

Proofreading is checking your work and making sure it is the best it can be before you hand it in. It involves making sure it can be understood as well as structure, spelling, grammar and referencing.

CC0 image from www.pixabay.com

Proofreading tips

Here are a few pointers which I’ve taken from ARU’s guide.

·         Wait a few days after writing your assignment/ essay/ dissertation before reading it through (otherwise you are more likely to miss mistakes).

·         Look at it in a different format (e.g. why not print it out?)

·         Read it differently – read it aloud (or ask a  friend to), read it slowly or by starting from the last paragraph.

·         Pretend to be your reader – someone who has never read it before and needs to understand it. A marker will be looking for mistakes.

·         Concentrate and focus - block out outside noises and disturbances.

What should you be looking for?

• Have you said what you mean? Does it make sense?
• Have you said it concisely – or have you rambled on?  (Rewrite it if it doesn't read well).
• Have you written consistently in the right tense?
• Does each paragraph just explore one idea?
• Have you mistakenly used slang?
• Is your grammar correct? (including punctuation)
• Are there words missing? Is there correct spacing between words?
• Is your spelling correct? (Don’t just rely on your online spellchecker)
• Have you cited and referenced all your resources?
• Have you kept within the word count?

Other proofreading guides and help

For a simple introduction try BBC Skillswise.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/topic/editing-and-proofreading

Hull University has a guide http://www2.hull.ac.uk/lli/PDF/Proofreading.pdf which also contains links to other sites.

If you want to have a go at some exercises, then you may find  http://www.uefap.com/accuracy/accfram.htm useful. There are practice activities on punctuation and grammar which anyone may find useful.