Dos and Don'ts When Proofreading Your Own Work

Want to raise your IELTS band score? Proofread all your answers! Review everything before moving on to the next item—be it your many-paragraphed essays in the writing exam or your single-sentence responses in the other IELTS components. It’ll help you reduce typographical errors in your works. So, develop excellent proofreading practices during your IELTS online course.

Proofreading your own work, however, is not easy. You have to look at your answers and essays from a reader’s perspective and deliberately seek out its lapses and inconsistencies. This can be challenging especially if you take great pride in your writing skills. Follow these dos and don’ts to stay objective when you proofread your work. 

DO

     1.    Double-check your facts and figures. Many test takers come up with compelling and well-structured essays only to miss a high score due to content inconsistencies. Don’t be one of them. Make sure all the mentioned proper nouns are capitalized, and all your figures match the provided information.

     2.    Establish a proofreading checklist. Everyone has their own little ticks when writing. Some overuse a particular expression. Others commit the same mistake over and over again. Know your writing weaknesses. If you’re preparing with an IELTS online course, go through your practice tests. Take note of the errors that you always commit. Keep an eye out for them when you take the actual exam.

     3.    Be careful of clustered errors. Here’s the thing: most people grow complacent when they spot a significant mistake in their work. The elation of determining and fixing an error often lead them to miss the more subtle ones following it. Don’t be one of them. Be thorough when you proofread. Use a pointer to maintain your concentration and reading pace.

DON’T

     1.    Start proofreading mid-sentence. Otherwise, you’ll risk spending too much time on a single item—struggling to find the right word, expression, or structure to convey your message. Finish your sentence or paragraph first before you start nitpicking them. If you're not satisfied with how a snippet of your essay came out, just keep it in mind so you can return to it later.

      2.    Rely solely on your instincts. If you’re a bibliophile, you’ll probably have a good sense of grammar. You can give a passage a once-over and be able to tell if something seems off about it grammar- or structure-wise. This will definitely come in handy when you take the exam. Just make sure you don't rely solely on your instincts. Study up on grammar and linguistic structures during your IELTS online review period.

      3.    Search for various types of mistakes all at once—especially if you still have a lot of time on your hands. Search for capitalization and punctuation errors on your first re-read. Look for spelling mistakes on your second pass, inconsistencies in verb tenses on your third pass, and so on. It’ll help you pinpoint even the most subtle typographical lapses in your work.

Develop on-point and objective proofreading practices during your IELTS online review period. Consider these dos and don’ts to increase your chances of securing your desired band score.

References:

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Holdridge, Catie. “Tips for Perfect Proofreading.” Writing-Skills. Accessed May 2, 2018. http://www.writing-skills.com/tips-for-perfect-proofreading

"How to Effectively Edit and Proofread Your Own Work." UniversalClass.com. Accessed May 02, 2018. https://www.universalclass.com/articles/writing/effectively-copyedit-and-proofread-your-own-work.htm.

"How to Proofread Your Own Work." Graeme Shimmin, Spy Thriller and Alternate History Writer. August 18, 2017. Accessed May 02, 2018. http://graemeshimmin.com/how-to-proofread-your-own-work/.

"Proofreading." How to Proofread. Accessed May 02, 2018. https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Proofreading.html.

Tomlinson, Ciara. “Top tips on How to Proofread a Press Release Properly.” Digital Glue. Accessed May 2, 2018. https://www.digitalglue.eu/top-tips-proofread-press-release/

WikiHow. "How to Proofread Your Own Work." WikiHow. February 01, 2017. Accessed May 02, 2018. https://www.wikihow.com/Proofread-Your-Own-Work.

Wood, Shawn Paul. "5 Easy Tips for Proofreading Your Own Work." Adweek. May 20, 2014. Accessed May 02, 2018. http://www.adweek.com/digital/5-easy-tips-for-proofreading-your-own-work/.