The Writing Center Presents:ProofreadingDeveloped by Joy N. PattersonProofreadingProofreading is the process of fnding and correcting errors in typing, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. Plan to proofread twice: once on the edited draft from which you will prepare your fnal copy and once on the fnal draft itself.How To Proofread Your PaperTo increase the accuracy of your proofreading, you may need to eperiment with ways to !eep yourself from relaing into the rhythm and content of your writing. "ere are a few tric!s:How To Proofread Your PaperTo proofread e#ectively, you have to learn to slow down. $ome writers fnd that moving from word to word with a pencil slows them down enough to allow them to fnd errors. %thers read bac!ward to force themselves to concentrate on each word. "ow To Proofread &our Paper'ead a printed copy, even if you will eventually submit the paper electronically. (ost people proofread more accurately when reading type on paper than when reading it on a computer screen. "ow To Proofread &our PaperDon)tview the printed copy as necessarily error*free +ust because it)s clean. , clean*loo!ing copy may still harbor errors. "ow To Proofread &our Paper'ead you paper aloud, very slowly, and distinctly pronounce eactly what you see.How To Proofread Your Paper,s! someone else to proofread your fnal draft.How To Proofread Your Paper'ead your own paper bac!ward, starting with the last word and wor!bac!, one word at a time, to the frst, using a ruler to focus on a single line.How To Proofread Your Paper-se your computer)s spelling chec!er, but note that spell chec!ers do not catch wrong or omitted words. .now what your spelling chec! can and cannot do. /or eample, spell chec! does not catch wrong words 0e.g., 1to much should be 1too much2 and missing endings 01three dog23.How To Proofread Your Paper'eread through your paper again to ma!e sure there are no more errors.The Twenty (ost 4ommon 5rrors6rammar, punctuation, and other sentence*level matters will seldom draw much attention unless they interfere with the meaning you7re trying to get across. 8ecause they do get in the way they are important to your success as a writer. 9ague pronoun referenceThere are two common !inds of vague pronoun reference. The frst occurs when there is more than one word that the pronoun might refer to: the second, when the reference is to a word that is implied but not eplicitly stated. Correct This ExampleThe troopers burned a refugee camp as a result of the earlier attac!. This was the cause of the war.Revised Sentence;hat does this refer to< The editing ma!es clear what caused the war. The troopers burned a refugee camp as a result of the earlier attac!. This destruction of the camp was the cause of the war.Missing comma after introductory element4hec! your sentences to see which ones open with an introductory word, phrase, or clause. 'eaders usually need a small pause between the introductory element and the main part of the sentence, a pause most often signaled by a comma. Try to get into the habit of using a comma after every introductory element, be it a word, a phrase, or a clause. ;hen the introductory element is very short, you don7t always need a comma after it. 8ut you7re never wrong if you do use a comma. 4orrect This 5ample8ecause of its isolation in a rural area surrounded by mountains 4rawford Notch doesn)t get many visitors. Revised Sentence8ecause of its isolation in a rural area surrounded by mountains, 4rawford Notch doesn)t get many visitors. (issing comma in a compound sentence4hec! to see how many of the sentences in your draft are compound sentences, sentences made up of two or more parts that could each stand alone as a sentence. ;hen the parts are +oined by and, but, so, yet, nor, or for, insert a comma to indicate a pause between the two thoughts. =n very short sentences, the comma is optional if the sentence can be easily understood without it. 8ut you7ll never be wrong to use a comma. Correct This Example;e wish dreamily upon a star and then we loo! down to fnd ourselves in mud.Revised Sentence;e wish dreamily upon a star, and then we loo! down to fnd ourselves in mud.;rong ;ords>;rong word> errors come in many varieties. They can be among the hardest errors to chec! for, because you may not be able to see what7s wrong. They can involve miing up words that sound somewhat ali!e, using a word with the wrong shade of meaning, or using a word with a completely wrong meaning. (any >wrong word> errors are due to the improper use of homonyms ** words that are pronounced ali!e but spelled di#erently, such as their or there. =f wrong words are a problem for you, as! classmates or a teacher to help you scan your draft for them. (issing comma0s3 with a nonrestrictive element, nonrestrictive element is one that is not essential To the basic meaning of the sentence. &ou could 'emove it from the sentence and the sentence would still ma!e sense. 4hec! your draft to be certain you7ve used commas to set o# any part of a sentence that tells more about a word in the sentence but that &our reader does not need in order to understand the word or sentence. Correct This Example?ouis was forced to call a session of the 5states 6eneral which had not met for @AB years. Revised Sentence?ouis was forced to call a session of the 5states 6eneral, which had not met for @AB years. The reader does not need the clause which had not met for 175 years to understand which assembly the sentence is tal!ing about because the 5states 6eneral has already been named. This clause is not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence and should be set o# by a comma. ;rong or missing verb ending4hec! all of your verbs to ma!e sure you have placed the proper endings on them. =t7s easy to forget the verb endings *s 0or *es3 and *ed 0or Cd3 because they are not always pronounced clearly when spo!en. =n addition, some varieties of 5nglish use these endings in ways that are di#erent from uses in standard academic 5nglish. ;rong or missing proposition4hec! your draft by circling all the prepositions and ma!ing certain they are the ones you meant to use, because specifc prepositions epress specifc relationships. (any words in 5nglish are regularly used with a particular preposition to epress a particular meaning. 8ecause many prepositions are short and are not stressed or pronounced clearly in speech, they are often left out accidentally in writing. Proofread carefully, and chec! a dictionary when you7re not sure about the preposition to use. Correct This Example;e met in -nion $treet at $an /rancisco. Revised Sentence;e met on -nion $treet in $an /rancisco. 4omma $plice4hec! all the commas used in your draft for comma splices, which occur only when a comma separates clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence. To correct a comma splice, you can insert a semicolon or period, add a word li!e and or although after the comma, or restructure the sentence. Correct This Example;estward migration had passed ;yoming by, even the discovery of gold in nearby (ontana failed to attract settlers.Revised Sentence;estward migration had passed ;yoming by: even the discovery of gold in nearby (ontana failed to attract settlers.(issing or misplaced possessive apostrophe4hec! all of your nouns ending in -s to see if any of them are possessives. To ma!e a noun possessive, you must add either an apostrophe and an -s 0Ed's book3 or an apostrophe alone 0the boys' gym3. Possessive personal pronouns, however, do not ta!e apostrophes: hers, his, its, ours, yours. -nnecessary shift in tense4hec! to ma!e sure all the verb tenses in each of your sentences wor! together appropriately. 9erb tenses tell readers when actions ta!e place: saying >;illie went to school> indicates a past action whereas saying >he will go1 indicates a future action. ;hen you shift from one tense to another with no clear reason, you can confuse readers. Correct This ExampleJoy laughs until she cried at the episode of $einfeld.Revised SentenceJoy laughs until she cries at the episode of $einfeld.-nnecessary shift in pronoun4hec! each pronoun in your draft for unnecessary pronoun shifts, which occur when a writer who has been using one !ind of pronoun to refer to someone or $omething shifts to another pronoun for no apparent reason. The most common shift in pronoun is from one to you or I. Correct This Example;hen one frst sees a painting by 6eorgia %)!eefe, you are impressed by a sense of power and stillness.Revised Sentence;hen one frst sees a painting by 6eorgia %)!eefe, one is impressed by a sense of power and stillness.$entence fragment, sentence fragment is part of a sentence that is written as if it were a whole sentence, with a capital letter at the beginning and a period, Duestion mar!, or an eclamation point at the end. , fragment may lac! a sub+ect, a complete verb, or both, a fragment may depend for its meaning on the sentence before it. 4hec! your draft for sentence fragments by reading it out loud, bac!wards, sentence by sentence. %ut of normal order, sentence fragments stand out clearly. Correct This Example(arie ,ntoinette spent huge amounts of money on herself and her favorites. "elped bring on the /rench 'evolution.Revised Sentence$entence has no sub+ect.(arie ,ntoinette spent huge amounts of money on herself and her favorites. "er etravagance helped bring on the /rench 'evolution.;rong tense or verb form5rrors of wrong tense or wrong verb form include using a verb that does not indicate clearly when an action or condition is, was, or will be completed ** for eample, using walked instead of had walked, or will go instead of will have gone. rong tense or ver! form$ome varieties of 5nglish use the verbs be and have in ways that di#er signifcantly from their use in standard academic or professional 5nglish. 5rrors may occur when a writer confuses the forms of irregular verbs 0li!e begin, began, begun or break, broke, broken3 or treats these verbs as if they followed The regular pattern ** for eample, using beginned instead of began, or have broke instead of have broken. Correct This Example8y the time =an arrived, Jill died.Revised SentenceThe verb died does not clearly indicate that the death occurred before =an arrived. 8y the time =an arrived, Jill had died.?ac! of sub+ect verb agreement4hec! your draft for sub+ect*verb agreement problems by circling each sentence7s sub+ect and drawing a line with an arrow to that sub+ect7s verb. &ou should be able to do this for each sentence. , verb must agree with its sub+ect in number and in person."ac# of su!$ect ver! agreement=n many cases, the verb must ta!e a form depending on whether the sub+ect is singular or plural: The old man is angry and stamps into the house, but he old men are angry and stamp into the house. ?ac! of sub+ect*verb agreement is often +ust a matter of leaving the *s ending o# the verb out of carelessness, or of using a form of 5nglish that does not have this ending. $ometimes, however, this error results from particular sentence constructions. Correct This ExampleThe two main goals of my life is to be generous and to have no regrets. Revised Sentence"ere, the sub+ect is the plural noun goals, not life.The two main goals of my life are to be generous and to have no regrets. Correct This ExampleThe senator and her husband commutes everyday from suburban (aryland.Revised Sentence=f a sub+ect has two or more parts connected by and, the sub+ect is almost always plural.The senator and her husband commute everyday from suburban (aryland. (issing comma in a series4hec! your draft to see if you7ve written any sentences containing items in a series. ;hen three or more items appear in a series, they should be separated from one another with commas. $ome newspapers do not use a comma between the last two items, but the best advice is that you7ll never be wrong to use a series comma because a sentence can be ambiguous without one% Correct This Example$har!s eat mostly sDuid, shrimp, crabs and other fsh. Revised Sentence$har!s eat mostly sDuid, shrimp, crabs, and other fsh. ?ac! of agreement between pronoun and antecedent4hec! your draft for all uses of pronouns, words such as I, it, you, her, this, themselves, someone, and who that replace another word 0the antecedent3 so that it does not have to be repeated. Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in gender0 for eample, using he or him to replace !braham "incoln and she or her to replace #ueen Eli$abeth3 and in number 0for eample, using it to replace a book, and they or them to replace %fteen books3. Correct This Example5ach of the puppies thrived in their new home.Revised Sentence$ome pronoun problems occur with such words as each, either, neither, and one, which are singular and ta!e singular pronouns. 5ach of the puppies thrived in its new home.Correct This ExampleNeither Jane nor $usan felt they had been treated fairly.Revised SentenceProblems can also occur with antecedents that are +oined by or or nor. Neither Jane nor $usan felt she had been treated fairly.-nnecessary comma0s3 with a restrictive element4hec! any words or phrases in your draft set o# with commas to ma!e sure that the element set o# is not a restrictive element, one essential to the basic meaning of the sentence. $uch essential words or phrases are not set o# from the rest of the sentence with a comma or commas. Correct This ExamplePeople, who wanted to preserve wilderness areas, opposed the plan to privatiEe national par!s.Revised SentenceThe reader needs the clause who wanted to preserve wilderness areas because it announces which people opposed the plan. ,s an essential element, the clause should not be set o# by commas. People who wanted to preserve wilderness areasopposed the plan to privatiEe national par!s./used $entence4hec! each of the sentences in your draft to ma!e certain it is not a fused sentence 0also called a run*on sentence3. /used sentences are created when clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence are +oined with no punctuation or words to lin! them. /used sentences must either be divided into separate sentences or +oined by adding words or punctuation.Correct This ExampleThe current was swift he could not swim to shore.Revised SentenceThe current was swift. "e could not swim to shore.(isplaced or dangling modifer4hec! every modifer 0whether a word, phrase, or clause3 to ma!e sure that it is as close as possible to the word it describes or relates to. 8e on the loo!out for misplaced modifers that may confuse your readers by seeming to modify some other word, phrase, or clause. Correct This ExampleThey could see the eagles swooping and diving with binoculars. Revised Sentence;ho was wearing the binoculars ** the eagles< ;ith binoculars, they could see the eagles swooping and diving. &angling Modifier4hec! your draft for dangling modifers: phrases hanging precariously from the beginning or end of a sentence, attached to no other word in the sentence. The word that the phrase modifes may eist in your mind but not on paper. Proofread carefully to ensure that each modifer refers to some other word in the sentence. Correct This Example, doctor should chec! your eyes every year if over ffty.Revised Sentence, doctor should chec! your eyes every year if you are over ffty.=tsF=t)s 4onfusion-se its to mean belonging to it: use it's only when you mean it is or it has'll (nformation )!tained *rom,elrod, 'ise. The $t. (artin)s 6uide to ;riting. 8oston: 8edfordF$t. (artin)s, GHHI.5hrens, ?aurence. ;riting and 'eading,crossThe 4urriculum. New &or!: ?ongman, GHHH.?unsford, ,ndrea ,. The 5veryday ;riter. 8oston: 8edfordF$t. (artin7s, GHHI.The ;riting 4enter 4ontact =nfoPrairie 9iew ,J( -niversity ;riting 4enter"illiard "all, 'oom @@K0LMN3 GN@* MAGIOwritingcenterPpvamu.eduOhttp:FFwww.pvamu.eduFpagesFIMLL.asp