Importance of proofreading
When you are writing your dissertation ensuring that your text is free of any mistakes can be crucial in helping you to attain those higher marks. Although using the spell checker functionality can help, it is far from perfect and can often omit certain basic errors which are beyond its capabilities. This is why proofreading your dissertation thoroughly for errors is so important as well as asking others such as friends and families to proofread it too if possible.
Below are useful tips and pointers to help your dissertation proofreading sessions be more efficient and effective.
1. Concentration
When proofreading your dissertation it is important to remember that your primary aim is to spot mistakes and not to simply read over your writing. Therefore being in the correct state is extremely important as if you are distracted you will be unlikely to spot every mistake. Switching your mobile phones off, avoiding social networking and anything else that could distract you will give you the best possible opportunity to spot each and every possible error.
2. Print a copy
Reading on a screen is different to reading on paper, therefore printing out a copy of your dissertation to proofread can help you catch errors you may have otherwise have missed. Also reading aloud will also help your dissertation proofreading session to hear errors you may not have seen while reading.
3. Look out for Homonyms
Homonyms are basically words that share the same spelling or pronunciation, however have a different meaning. Common examples of this are using accept with except or complement with compliment which can often be used interchangeably and incorrectly.
4. Look out for Contractions and Apostrophes
It is worth first remembering common errors to look out for as these are common errors therefore being aware of this will help you to spot them, many people often mix their and they’re, its and it’s, your and you’re and so on.
5. Check the punctuation
Although focusing on the words and phrases used in the writing is important, it is imperative not to neglect the punctuation. Pay close attention to capitalized words and whether places or names which should be capitalized have not been capitalized, also look out for missing or extra commas, the use of full stops and so on.
6. Reading your dissertation backwards
When writing your dissertation due to the fact that you would have been reading and going over the work constantly during the writing process we usually become blind to our own mistakes since the brain starts to automatically “corrects” wrong words inside sentences. A good technique to break this pattern is to read the text backwards, word by word.
8. Ask someone else to proofread your dissertation
After dissertation proofreading your work thoroughly taking into account all of the above points, it would still be recommended that you ask someone else to have a look. You will be surprised at the mistakes that you may have missed. Also a second individual proofreading will also be in a stronger position to evaluate whether the sentences make sense or not from an un bias perspective.
When you are writing your dissertation ensuring that your text is free of any mistakes can be crucial in helping you to attain those higher marks. Although using the spell checker functionality can help, it is far from perfect and can often omit certain basic errors which are beyond its capabilities. This is why proofreading your dissertation thoroughly for errors is so important as well as asking others such as friends and families to proofread it too if possible.
Below are useful tips and pointers to help your dissertation proofreading sessions be more efficient and effective.
1. Concentration
When proofreading your dissertation it is important to remember that your primary aim is to spot mistakes and not to simply read over your writing. Therefore being in the correct state is extremely important as if you are distracted you will be unlikely to spot every mistake. Switching your mobile phones off, avoiding social networking and anything else that could distract you will give you the best possible opportunity to spot each and every possible error.
2. Print a copy
Reading on a screen is different to reading on paper, therefore printing out a copy of your dissertation to proofread can help you catch errors you may have otherwise have missed. Also reading aloud will also help your dissertation proofreading session to hear errors you may not have seen while reading.
3. Look out for Homonyms
Homonyms are basically words that share the same spelling or pronunciation, however have a different meaning. Common examples of this are using accept with except or complement with compliment which can often be used interchangeably and incorrectly.
4. Look out for Contractions and Apostrophes
It is worth first remembering common errors to look out for as these are common errors therefore being aware of this will help you to spot them, many people often mix their and they’re, its and it’s, your and you’re and so on.
5. Check the punctuation
Although focusing on the words and phrases used in the writing is important, it is imperative not to neglect the punctuation. Pay close attention to capitalized words and whether places or names which should be capitalized have not been capitalized, also look out for missing or extra commas, the use of full stops and so on.
6. Reading your dissertation backwards
When writing your dissertation due to the fact that you would have been reading and going over the work constantly during the writing process we usually become blind to our own mistakes since the brain starts to automatically “corrects” wrong words inside sentences. A good technique to break this pattern is to read the text backwards, word by word.
8. Ask someone else to proofread your dissertation
After dissertation proofreading your work thoroughly taking into account all of the above points, it would still be recommended that you ask someone else to have a look. You will be surprised at the mistakes that you may have missed. Also a second individual proofreading will also be in a stronger position to evaluate whether the sentences make sense or not from an un bias perspective.
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