How to Proofread for Common Errors
10. How to Proofread for Common Errors
Proofreading Checklist
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Ensure that every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
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Ensure that every proper noun (name) begins with a capital letter.
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Check for homonyms, words that sound the same but have different meanings and are spelled differently, such as their/there/they're, two/too/to, and its/it's.
Check for words often confused because of sloppy pronunciation, such as accept/except, but/put.
Check for words often misused although their meanings are distinct:, such as between/among, different/various.
Be sure that you have used the correct word.
- Check that your subjects and verbs agree. This can often be a problem if other words occur between the subject and the verb. One of the sisters live near me. This is incorrect. The writer has made the verb live agree with the noun sisters. However, sisters is not the subject of the sentence; one is the subject. The correct version is One of the sisters lives near me. Watch for muddled pronouns: Joe and me are going to the mall. This is incorrect. (Would you say, "Me is going to the mall"?)
- Check that you are using a consistent tense. In other words, you should not be switching between past and present tense. In the story, Harold is the main character. He has a pet cat. Harold was sad when the cat got lost. Do you see the tense shift between the first two and the third sentence?
- Be sure that you are using complete sentences. Harold was sad. When the cat got lost. "When the cat got lost" is a fragment. It is not a complete thought, and it is not a complete sentence. It needs to be joined to "Harold was sad" as in the example in Number 5.
- Check for run-on sentences. These are sentences put together without a joining word (such as and, but, or) or with too many joining words. He had a pet cat he was sad when it got lost. It should read: He had a pet cat. He was sad when it got lost. Another correct option is He had a pet cat, and he was sad when it got lost. Another type of run-on sentence occurs when too many sentences are put together with joining words. In the story, Harold is the main character, and he has a pet cat, and he was sad when the cat got lost, but he found the cat in the nearby park, and he brought it home, and it was really glad to see him. This sentence should be divided into at least three sentences!
- Did you use apostrophes when you used the possessive form ('s)? That is my brother's car (possessive). Remember that plural possessives use s'-My two brothers' cattle were on the road.
However, apostrophes are not used to show plurals: He has two brothers. Aim to avoid confusing possessives and plurals! It's is a contraction of it is. Its is a possessive pronoun-like his and hers-no apostrophes!
Did you use apostrophes when you used contractions (to show a letter is missing)?
I don't know her name. It's a beautiful day. (But never This is it's collar.) - Have you given your composition an appropriate and interesting title?
- If this is a formal writing situation, be sure to avoid slang, chat line abbreviations such as u for you, or emoticons such as
;^) :^(. Also, in formal writing situations, numbers should be written in full text (ten, not 10) unless they are more than three words (147, not one hundred forty-seven).
- Have you used commas properly? Use commas for lists. For example, He bought apples, pears, and oranges. Use commas to join two complete sentences using a conjunction, such as and, but, or or. He went to the store, and he bought some milk. Use commas after an introductory part in a sentence. When he got there, the store was out of bananas. On the other hand, there were plenty of grapes.
- Have you avoided these common errors?
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alot - incorrect
Correct - a lot
Better - much or many (especially in formal writing) -
would of, could of, or should of - incorrect
Correct - would have, could have, should have
(or would've, could've, or should've in informal writing only)
