Proofreading Your Essays: DIY or Hire a Proofreading Service?

Submitted by Guest on Wed 09/01/13

Few things can cost you precious marks from your university assignments as easily as errors of grammar and punctuation. That is why proofreading and editing of your essays and reports are critically important to securing your best possible grades.

Ultimately, hiring a professional proofreader to review your writing is the optimal approach (for example, this proofreading service or another here). They have the skills, knowledge and, perhaps most importantly, the fresh eyes to give your work a rigorous analysis.

However, the downsides to using a professional proofreading service are that it can be quite costly. Furthermore, it may not be practical if you have only a matter of hours before the submission deadline or the text in question is very short, such as an email correspondence. In such situations, rolling up your sleeves and doing the proofreading yourself is the best available option.

DIY Proofreading Top Tips

Here are some general tips for proofreading your own writing:

1. Focus 100%: In order to identify all your writing's hidden flaws you will need full focus and concentration. That means no television, Facebook, talking to friends or any other competitors for your complete attention.

2. Print your writing: Printing your writing to paper makes it much easier to be accurate and efficient with your editing. It is difficult for the human eye to scan text on a screen as well as it can on paper.

3. All eyes on Homonyms: Homonyms are words that are spelt the same but have different meanings. For example, complement or compliment. Keep a sharp eye on these.

4. All eyes on Contractions: Mistakes between their and they're, your and you're, its and it's, etc are very common. Be extra vigilant of these.

5. Be careful with Punctuation: Look at sentences and words, but also check the punctuation. Capitalization, comma usage etc can all be sources of embarrassment.

6. Be aware of number usage and consistency: Double check your numbers are accurate. Furthermore, keep it consistent between numerals and written numbers, e.g. 5 and five.

7. Read it in reverse!: When we are reading our own text, we often read it as we meant for it to be wrote, i.e. not exactly as the words appear. Prevent this by reading the text in reverse.

8. Get a friend to proofread it also: A second set of eyes after your own first review can help to ensure you don't miss any mistakes. This way, you can have greater confidence that your writing is flawless.

For the vast majority of ESL international students, writing in their second language to an academic standard is a challenging task. In fact, most native speakers find it a rather daunting prospect too! That is why it is of the upmost importance that you make proper provisions and adequate time available to give your writing a through proofreading and editing.