7 Proofreading Tips - How to Proofread Your Own Writing

Excellent tips! I've gone over so many of my hubs and found errors, and I'm sure some still have errors.

Up ++++

Thanks for the advice. Proofreading adds extra time to completing a piece of work, but it is well worth it to slow down and do an extra check.

Great tips for writers when proofreading their own work. Thanks for sharing.

I think for many writers (especially those for whom English is the native language and they are experts on grammar, etc.) the problem with not catching all the typos is because they don't read with their eyes. This happens to me on occasion and hence I miss a typo or two that is right in front of my eyes. I hope you understand what I am trying to say here. :)

This is an excellent article. Some of the people that need to read this are the authors of some of the kindle books. I have read more than one aspiring author's work whose story line was ruined by spelling, bad grammer, and missing information.

This is great advice, especially for writers.

I am guilty of making grammatical and spelling mistakes. Some of my hubs probably have mistakes I haven't picked up on...

I always ask my partner to go through my work and see if he can pick out the errors. But going back to it later is also good advice. If I have just written something I may be tired, or read it how I want to read it.

Voting up and useful!

This can never be done to much! I check my hubs and correct the errors I find in them as good as I can but I am sure there are more left! Great tips for proofreading! Voted up, useful and bookmarked!

Tina

Excellent tips Grammar Geek!!! I do it all, yet I still manage to find one or two or three down the road :))

You wrote this after reading my sloppy work didn't you Vicki? Lol lol. I hope not!

Proof reading is so borrrrring...I know it's why I hate doing it - but I do, and I use spell check, and still stuff gets through...pffft. But I can appreciate the value of it - and your tips! Thank you!

This is a great hub for those like myself that have never been very good at proofreading my own work, thanks!

I love to drink coffee with ice.

thank you

Great advice for all us budding writers. Voted up interesting and useful. SHARING socially.

Dear Victoria ~ I wanted to click "excellent" button, but they only have one for "awesome." Close enough! Each suggestion will help people improve their finished product if they only take the time to apply them. (HUGS) Debby

Fantastic tips, Victoria. There are various editors, who say that errors can only be mitigated, and not removed. I believe that these tips can be very effective in mitigating some of the very basic errors in our writing. Thank you for sharing.

I'm not too bad at proofreading but this is a great summary for general use. I find that coming back to a written piece later is really good; proofreading straightaway means we often read what we expect to be there, rather than what's actually there. I too find it much easier to correct work which is printed - it's all laid out before me rather than scrolling down. Someone else reading over your text also works well, not only for spelling and grammar but also for improving the presentation of ideas. Voted up and useful - for everyone!

Good tips. I notice sometimes, even when you've read a few times over, you may still miss it. Getting someone to read it through helps. Thanks and rated up.

Great tips!! I love that you mention that relying on spell checker or grammar checker isn't enough. I couldn't count how many times I said that to my students. Homonyms/homophones are not often caught and corrected in programs like Word, nor are simple misspellings like 'a' when you meant to type 'and'. It's super important to read the work aloud to listen for errors or areas of improvement.

I'll be linking this hub to mine about editing. Voted up, useful and awesome!

These are especially important tips since we have nobody doing the editing for us. Voting this Up and Useful.

Interesting post ..Thanks a lot

I see we have some real good writers on this hub. Keep up the good work. There is alsway room for improvement.

Thanks for directing me to your hub on this topic. These are some great tips!

(If you need a laugh, you ought to check out "The Impotence of Proofreading" by Taylor Mali on youtube. A bit of adult humor, but he gives the subject quite a humorous look.)

Great advice. Thank you.

Sound advice here Victoria! I use many of the tactics you highlighted including having my husband proofread some of my articles. I also look everything up when in doubt. Voted up and shared! Kelley

Great tips! I know that I often read stuff out loud to myself and even then I don't always catch my errors. Your idea to leave your work and come back to it is great advice. I need to heed that one more. :) Voted up and shared.

Great Hub! I pinned it for future reference.

It is so difficult for me to find typos in my own work because I know what it's supposed to say! I frequently pester my sister until she can proofread something for me.

Thank you for sharing the tips. Generally I am in hurry when I am writing online, still I manage to most of the things you have suggested here.

Voted up and shared with followers.

reading it outloud, setting it down and coming back and having someone else read it are the best ways for me to catch an error. As a magazine editor, it's amazing to me how many people don't seem to proofread before submitting a piece to me for consideration. Pieces fraught with errors are almosy instantly rejected. UP and shared.

I agree with Natashath - it can be challenging to catch your own typos! Thanks for these tips!

These tips will be helpful to a lot of people. You know, I just recently learned about comma splicing. There is a lot to learn, especially for those of us who didn't study the craft formally. My spelling is terrible and I would be in a heep (sic) of trouble w/o spell check! I will share this!

I really don't print out my hubs and I think this is a good tip. Thanks Victoria Lynn.

Victoria. These are all very useful tips for those of us who are grammatically challenged. I do read and re-read my hubs and do use spell check both in Word and HPs. I think my problem is with punctuation. Great hub. Thanks for sharing with us.

Hi Victoria

I've just this minute seen this on Twitter, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time. I'm relatively new to Hub pages, having recently published my first Hub, and getting on with the next one. I'll definitely be using all of these tips. I've voted it it up and am sharing it on facebook. Thanks very much

Some great tips there, Victoria. I'll certainly be using them as I get to grips with my first Hub!

Thank you very much!

The only thing I haven't done here is to let someone proofread my work for me. =)

I always print my work for checking. It's a lot easier than reading it in a brightly lit monitor, plus I can put marks on it.

Useful tips Victoria. I'm guilty of not really doing the proofreading sometimes when I'm in a rush to hit the publish button and then catching some errors just after publishing.

Thanks for reminding the need to do so every time.

Voted up and useful. Sharing this.

Great hub Victoria! Proof-reading is a big part of any project.....Especially printing. Once you put the ink to paper you can't take it back. ;)

I agree with most of these, but I have a few additions.

Turn the spell and grammar check off while you are writing, and leave them off until you are ready to revise.

Brush up on grammar by reading works which are grammatically correct. Just because a work is published, doesn't mean that it is written well. In other words, be selective. As a writer, you are what you read.

Go back to your work _two weeks_ later. In the meantime, write something else. The more distance you have from your own work, the better.

Let someone else read your work, but only if you trust them. A functionally illiterate person can't give you constructive criticism, and it is constructive criticism that you need. That might not be kind to say, but it is true. Further, make sure that this trusted reader actually appreciates the type of material that you write. If you are writing erotic romance and your trusted reader only likes police procedurals, then you are both wasting your time.

One more point:

Read your writing aloud, but read it slowly and clearly, as if you were reading to a young child.

Such an important skill--and great tips!!

I usually read my writing out loud and go back to a piece later in the day if I'm having problems with it. I need to use spell checking software more often so I don't come across silly errors after I've published a hub. Voted up and useful!

Once I started doing freelance I started doing most of those things you suggested. I find reading out loud to be very helpful. Great suggestions and useful hub.

I enjoyed reading your hub. It was very helpful to me. My punctuation is really bad.

Victoria, this was a very good informative article. These are all great tips to improve the quality of your articles. This will surely help others as it is very wise knowledge. I believe going back later to read your work helps me the best. It takes more time to publish it, but I often find mistakes that I didn't find earlier. Voted up and useful. Best wishes.

Dear Victoria,

Can you please help me to proofread about 2000 words for my website which I written. English is my secondary language and feel difficult to make it smooth. Please get back to me at birendras@jaishdiamonds.com. I requested to many other proofreaders, but no one has help me.

Reading aloud usually helps me pick out what's wrong with what I have written. Sad to say, in my haste, I sometimes leave this out leading to regret when others point out my mistake.

Good advice!