Step Five: Proofread Your Essay

After you finish writing your essay, give it a rest and turn your attention to some other task, such as writing or proofreading your summary essay.

Now return to the composition you have written and proofread it.

1. Clarify phrases or points that do not yet precisely convey your meaning. To do so, you may have to erase and rewrite sentences.

Example: High school administrators should be permitted to ban the distribution of student-authored newspapers that are not officially sanctioned by the school. Many opponents of this may feel that students have rights, but I feel differently.

Clarity issues: What does "this" (second sentence) refer to? What "rights," specifically? How do you feel differently?

Revision: High school administrators should be permitted to ban the distribution of student-authored newspapers that are not officially sanctioned by the school. Many opponents of this policy may feel that students have a right to free speech, but I feel that teenagers are not yet ready to enjoy that right.

2. Add in words that you have omitted and change words that you have mistakenly put in the place of others. Check especially for homonym errors, in which you substitute the correct word for one that sounds just like it (accept/except; their/there; two/too, etc).

Example: High school administrators should be permitted to ban the distribution student-authored newspapers.
(Note how "of" has been omitted after "distribution")

Revision: High school administrators should be permitted to ban the distribution of student-authored newspapers.

Example: Citizens have a right to express there opinion, but not when what they say is violent or abusive.

Revision: Citizens have a right to express their opinion, but not when what they say is violent or abusive.

3. Erase unnecessary apostrophes; add in needed apostrophes.

Example, with other errors: Some may argue that this policy violates students rights, but students' are not yet adults, and they have not yet earned there rights.

Revision: Some may argue that this policy violates students' rights, but students are not yet adults, and they have not yet earned their rights.

4. Proofread also for spelling errors, capitalization errors, comma use errors, and omission of periods or question marks.

For online proofreading exercises, visit.

http://abcheckers.com/proofHicks.html#Part2

http://abcheckers.com/proofMagpies.html#Part2

http://www.penandpage.com/EngMenu/prfread.htm