Proofreading Like a Pro +FREE Printable Checklist

I have to finish this essay and its due in 1 week. Does that sound like you? Or how about this; My boss is waiting for me to send this email, let me write it really fast and send it out. 

If you’ve ever said anything like that, then this is probably the post for you. You’re most likely thinking that you have no time to proofread your paper, email, blog, short story or website. Well, I’m here to set the record straight and provide you with the editing tips you need to ditch that thought. I'm going to take the route of the college student because I think they are the ones least likely to edit their work and should be the ones who do it the most. Professors take note when you religiously make the same mistakes without bothering to correct it--and either a) they think you’re lazy or b) that you don’t care, or maybe even both.

So, I’ve compiled 4 of the trickiest style mistakes to look out for while you’re editing your work. For you, my college student who just wants to make sure they get an A, these are the four areas you will be working on—and a few tips to help you get them right.

•    Basic grammar and punctuation.

•    Sentence structure.

•    Words and their excessive use.

•    The voice of your paper.

I’ve put together a printable checklist. Print it out so you have it near you as you edit to check off what you’ve done and can clearly see what’s left to do.

Basic grammar and punctuation

1. Spelling. Most of the time you’ll be able to catch spelling mistakes with the convenient help of your friendly MS spell-check. But it might just ‘correct’ your word into something completely contradictory. An editor’s tip is to read your work backward. Because you’re not used to this brain exercise, you’re more likely to catch anything weird or words that you’ve repeated.
2. Apostrophes are a big deal. And they’re everywhere. Unnecessarily, might I add. If you’re talking about more than one of something (plural), you don’t need it guys. If something belongs to someone (possessive), you need them. If you’re taking two words and making them into one, you need them.
3. Common misuses. Your. You’re. They’re. There. Their. I know it’s hard to remember when to use them so here’s a funny little meme that will help you remember (if you’re like me you pronounced it me-me and I will forever love you, let me know in the comments).
4. Commas. Do you have any sentences with more than one comma? Now take another look and tell me if all those commas are necessary. Especially that comma right smack dab in the middle of that sentence. Stop the foolery, I say. If your sentence reads like two sentences, then you don’t want a comma. This is the perfect time to use that elusive semicolon or you can use words like and, but, or. 

Excessive wording

1. Get to the point. Your professor sees through the bullshit. Don’t think that you're the exception to the rule. Go through the whole piece of writing and define what’s most important. A general rule of thumb that I used in my time at uni was to pick a quote, explain the quote, find facts a, b and c to verify the truth of the quote. This gives you about 6-7 sentences of pure gold and no bullshit.
2. Wordiness. Avoid unnecessary phrases (in order to, I think that) or redundancies (totally comprehensive, absolutely certain). You’re a college student and if you’ve stumbled upon this blog, I’m assuming you’re an English or History major? In that case, you should have A Pocket Style Manual, which talks more on this subject. That is literally your holy grail.
3. Basic words. Are you using a list of basic words when one descriptive word could change your whole paper? Simple and clear writing is indeed effective, but just one effective and appropriate word can be better than a list of vague and boring ones. Stay tuned for my mini-blog series which takes basic words and transforms them into powerful and effective words (every other Monday).

Sentence Structure

1. The diversity of your sentences will be what sets your essay apart. It will go from being mediocre to being memorable. One of the easiest ways to improve your writing is to add varying lengths to your sentence structure. Take into consideration the picture above. The interchange between long, medium and short sentences make the text more palatable. Your paper should excite. Tantalize even. Your professor reads hundreds of the same essays, so make sure yours, while being accurate, is still a breath of fresh air.

Voice

1. So how many essays have you written for this professor already? 2, 3, 7? Even if you’ve written one or none you have to make sure there is a consistent voice throughout your work. Check your words. Does your writing sound like you? Are you using words in your writing that you’d never in a million years say? College students especially have to be cautious about this, because it can be a red light to a professor that you might be plagiarizing. Take what you want out of whatever research you have, simplify it and make sure you use your own words.
    
2. Write the way you talk in class and don’t be worried about that first draft (that's not to say you should use slang tho bro...word). That’s just your thinking page and you will have the chance to refine it once you go over it and use these tips that I have provided. The saddest thing to do is over complicate your writing and have your professor want to rip his hair out because he doesn’t know what you mean when you said ‘time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana’ (doesn’t that sentence make you mad?). 

Download the Proofreading Checklist and get access to a host of other resources.

We don’t always get everything right, and even though I proofread everything in this article twice, there will, most likely, still be mistakes I didn’t catch.

That’s why you also have another option if your life doesn’t permit you the luxury of self-editing your paper. I know many college students have full-time jobs, school, and possibly families to take care of.

You could hire an editor, who is fast and efficient and you can go on about your day.

I offer my services to college students at an affordable price that won’t break the bank. All college students get an additional 15% percent off my already low prices so you could be paying as low as $5 or $6 for a 5-page paper.

Shoot me an email at proofreaderrose@gmail.com and we can talk about your project.

Please don't forget to tell your friends to go over to my Instagram and participate in the giveaway. The rules of how to be eligible for $50, tote, 'In the Blood' by Lisa Unger and mystery gift are on my Instagram.