Lesson 15 — Activity 2: Assignment
Completion requirements
When proofreading for spelling, you can begin by reading through the
report and looking for mispelled words yourself. Often people make the
same mistakes over and over again. You might find one word mispelled
throughout the entire report. Fix these mistakes you find.
Looking for sentence
structure mistakes is much like looking for grammatical errors. This
proofreading step means you are looking for how you have built your
sentences. The way you put words together in a string to make up your
sentence takes some practice to build really good sentences. Reading
your sentences aloud one at a time and asking yourself if they make
sense and if you've made the point you intended is a great way to
proofread for sentence structure. Having someone listen to you read your
report out loud or having someone read it out loud to you will be
helpful steps in locating sentence structure mistakes and correcting
them.
Organizing a report takes practice as well. Sometimes when writing, you know what you want to say but then when you read it through, it just doesn't "flow" like you intended. It could be that your ideas are not organized in a way that makes the report flow. You may have to move some sentences or paragraphs around so that your report is clear and easy to read. The best thing to do is to read your report out loud again and try to find the places where it just doesn't seem to flow. Having someone do this with you will be very helpful. Read it aloud to someone or have them read it to you and listen for where it doesn't flow. Ask yourself what would make it flow better. Move sentences or paragraphs around to see how they flow best. If you are happy with your organization, leave it the way it is.
Choose a teacher, teacher assistant, parent, or friend who has the time and talent to help you out in this way. Ask someone now, and leave your report with them. When you get it back, make the changes they indicate.
Congratulations! You are done writing your entire career report. All you need now is a title page and bibliography to add to it. Then you will be ready to hand it in to your teacher.
Marking Guide:
Proofreading Your Report!
Proofreading any piece of writing requires that you read through it slowly and make any changes needed. Basically, what you are looking for are the following things:
- spelling mistakes — misspelled words
- grammar mistakes — wrong usage of words
- sentence structure mistakes — sentences that are not built properly and therefore don't work
- organization mistakes — looking at the order of paragraphs and sentences within paragraphs
Have your career report handy and look for any of the mistakes described.
Click on the following tabs to find out more about the four areas you need to proofread. Make the changes to your report as you go.
When proofreading for spelling, you can begin by reading through the
report and looking for mispelled words yourself. Often people make the
same mistakes over and over again. You might find one word mispelled
throughout the entire report. Fix these mistakes you find.
Note: Use spell
check if you have typed up the report. Be careful though! Spell check
might provide you with a word that does not make sense and then you have
a grammatical error! Read through the spell check choices before
choosing the word.
You may need a dictionary if you chose to write your report. Look up the word to locate the correct spelling.
When proofreading for grammar, you must look for how you have used words in your report. Looking for grammatical errors is not as easy as looking for spelling mistakes. It does take some time and practice. The best way to find grammatical errors is to read your report aloud to yourself or to someone else. Hearing the sentences can be helpful in finding errors in grammar. Read through your report, looking for grammatical errors and fix them as you go.
Looking for sentence
structure mistakes is much like looking for grammatical errors. This
proofreading step means you are looking for how you have built your
sentences. The way you put words together in a string to make up your
sentence takes some practice to build really good sentences. Reading
your sentences aloud one at a time and asking yourself if they make
sense and if you've made the point you intended is a great way to
proofread for sentence structure. Having someone listen to you read your
report out loud or having someone read it out loud to you will be
helpful steps in locating sentence structure mistakes and correcting
them.
HINT: Reading your report backwards sentence by sentence can
help you locate sentence structure mistakes. This helps you focus on
each sentence and not on the "flow" of your report. It's a great
technique for proofreading anything you have written!
Organizing a report takes practice as well. Sometimes when writing, you know what you want to say but then when you read it through, it just doesn't "flow" like you intended. It could be that your ideas are not organized in a way that makes the report flow. You may have to move some sentences or paragraphs around so that your report is clear and easy to read. The best thing to do is to read your report out loud again and try to find the places where it just doesn't seem to flow. Having someone do this with you will be very helpful. Read it aloud to someone or have them read it to you and listen for where it doesn't flow. Ask yourself what would make it flow better. Move sentences or paragraphs around to see how they flow best. If you are happy with your organization, leave it the way it is.
Organizing a report takes practice as well. Sometimes when writing you
know what you want to say but then when you read it through it just
doesn't 'flow' like you intended. It could be that your ideas are not
organized in a way that makes the report flow. You may have to move some
sentences or paragraphs around so that your report is clear and easy to
read. The best thing to do is to read your report out loud again and
try to find the places in where it just doesn't seem to flow. Having
someone do this with you will be very helpful. Read it aloud to someone
or have them read it to you and listen for where it doesn't flow. Ask
yourself what would make it flow better. Move sentences or paragraphs
around to see how the flow best. If you are happy with your
organization, leave it the way it is.
Organizing a report takes practice as well. Sometimes when writing you
know what you want to say but then when you read it through it just
doesn't 'flow' like you intended. It could be that your ideas are not
organized in a way that makes the report flow. You may have to move some
sentences or paragraphs around so that your report is clear and easy to
read. The best thing to do is to read your report out loud again and
try to find the places in where it just doesn't seem to flow. Having
someone do this with you will be very helpful. Read it aloud to someone
or have them read it to you and listen for where it doesn't flow. Ask
yourself what would make it flow better. Move sentences or paragraphs
around to see how the flow best. If you are happy with your
organization, leave it the way it is.
One last proofreading step — find a proofreading buddy!
A proofreading buddy is someone who is willing to take the time to go through your report and look for all the things listed above. A good proofreader is someone who likes to read and likes to write. They should be good at spelling, grammar, sentence structure, organizing reports, and determining how a report should look on paper when it's complete.
Choose a teacher, teacher assistant, parent, or friend who has the time and talent to help you out in this way. Ask someone now, and leave your report with them. When you get it back, make the changes they indicate.
Finally, print off or write out a good copy of your report. Make sure you SAVE it!
Congratulations! You are done writing your entire career report. All you need now is a title page and bibliography to add to it. Then you will be ready to hand it in to your teacher.