Proofreading Checklist From Real Experts: Follow And Enjoy!

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August 27, 2021

August 27, 2021

If you are in high school, college, or university, you are constantly dealing with some kind of writing assignment. From the simplest essays to complex research papers and key studies, all of these papers must be flawless when you deliver them to your teacher or professor.

Of course, your first draft doesn’t look as attractive as you want it to look. When we write, we follow the flow of thoughts, ignoring errors, typos, incorrect formatting, etc. This is why proofreading is important.

Proofreading is the final reading of your text when you get rid of any flaws and polish your document. At this stage, you need to make sure that it meets all the requirements, convey your thoughts correctly, and do not lose sight of any mistakes that may affect your text’s perception. A correctly designed and literate paper is your way to success. 

However, most students are very nervous when the deadline is coming. If you know that it is about you, and you can miss some mistakes, use our proofreading and editing checklist to ensure your paper is flawless. 

Proofreading and Editing Checklist

This proofreading checklist includes the main aspects of the academic paper. Once you’ve finished your writing, take a rest. Come back to it in a couple of days (of course, if you have such an opportunity). Then check our tips. We are going to start with the basic ones to cover all academic levels, from middle school to university.

Your Tone 

Finding the right tone for an academic piece can be challenging. Students must write professionally, but you also need to have your voice to show your uniqueness and stand out from your fellow students. 

Imagine that your tone is etiquette for the dinner table. Your meals may be very tasty, but it is very easy to spoil the overall impression if you, for example, put your elbow on the table. 

The basic proofreading checklist 5th grade suggests that pupils shouldn’t use contradictions like “can’t,” “don’t,” “won’t,” etc. They are acceptable on the Internet, in informal writing. But when it comes to the academic paper, it is important to avoid staples of everyday speech. The same thing works for the slang. 

Keep your tone serious. Of course, you can use wit and urbanity, but only if they are appropriate.

Coherency

A good synonym for coherence is flow. Your paper should flow at every part: from paragraph to paragraph, from word to word, from idea to idea. Think about your readers; they need to catch the main idea and follow it until the end.

Though this point is included in any proofreading checklist in middle school, it is not always easy to define whether your essay is coherent enough. You need experience for this. So, ask someone, for example, your friend or parents, to read the paper and to provide you with the overall impression. 

Typos and Mistakes 

It goes without saying that any proofreading checklist for kids or older students should be focused on literacy. This aspect is really of great importance since any little typo can make your document look unprofessional. You will definitely lose marks without responsible proofreading and editing services.

The good news is that it is not so difficult to get rid of most mistakes these days. Any student has access to computer spell-checkers. Microsoft Word plus Grammarly, and your paper looks much better. However, artificial intelligence is still not as smart as people are. That’s why it is important to follow all tips from the revision editing and proofreading checklist without excuses. 

Structure and Content 

Of course, your academic paper should be not literate only, but informative and interesting as well. Sometimes, students develop a good idea, write it down, and then create an essay around this concept. But they don’t think they have missed some important angles to look at the issue from. Or they may provide arguments that are not convincing enough, etc.

Writing a proofreading checklist, we just can’t ignore this aspect since your task is not just to deliver a paper. You need to contribute to your field, create something new and significant. Once you have the completed draft, you can check its content to make sure you’ve shared your ideas in the manner you wanted to. 

Your Language 

This aspect is especially important if English is not your native language or you’re writing a paper in any foreign language.

Even if you’re just studying, and it is normal for you to sound not native, you should use each opportunity to master your language command. Don’t ruin your academic accomplishment because of such careless mistakes. Double-check all words and phrases if you’re not 100% confident in their meaning. And don’t use online translators. They are really useful, but they won’t help you in developing your skills. 

Formatting 

Formatting is another very important aspect because it affects your grades, reputation in the academic community, and your article’s future.

Middle and high school students usually don’t deal with formatting, so you can skip this aspect if it’s not relevant to you. But it is impossible to imagine the proofreading checklist for college students without it.

The formatting is how your paper looks. It is about the title page, the reference page, the margins, the font type, and the size. Depending on your discipline and academic institution, you need to follow a particular guide—for example, APA, MLA, Chicago, etc. Pay specific attention to citations. Each time you’re referring to someone’s words, you should provide a quote that is formatted appropriately. If you ignore it, your paper can be considered plagiarism. And it is non-accepted in academic society. 

Actually, formatting is the most challenging and time-consuming part of the whole proofreading process. That’s why many students prefer to hire a professional proofreader who can guarantee them a necessary result. 

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Basic Proofreading Checklist

We want to provide you with a basic proofreading checklist with the main aspects you should pay attention to. Once you are done with one of the items, just cross it out and move on:

Proofreading Checklist for College Students: Additional Tips to Go

Don’t expect you can manage all these amends at the same time. For example, when you’re reading a piece to get rid of typos, don’t think about any other mistakes. Just ensure you’ve written all the words correctly. Be consistent and organized.

It is also very important to be attentive. That’s why students don’t like proofreading. It may be interesting to develop ideas, to look for words that convey your thoughts. But sitting and reading and then reading again and checking is boring. If you know it is not your cup of tea, just delegate this task. Hire a professional proofreader, and one will provide you with a guaranteed result without hurdles!

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