How to Proofread Your Work Without Frustration

Don’t let typos distract from the professionalism of your work.

I opened my mailbox this afternoon, reached in and pulled out a postcard from a business seeking employees. Scanning the list of benefits, I immediately felt a pang of sympathy for the marketing folks responsible for the mailing. I don’t think “DIRECT DEPOIST” is what they were aiming for.

Making typos like that is all too easy. Typos, punctuation errors, spelling mistakes and the like don’t look professional, so it’s important to proofread. Yet proofreading can be hard, especially if you are examining your own work. Our brains can “correct” errors so we understand the meaning of word and don’t realize there was a mistake.

Here are 10 simple tips on how to proofread your own work without getting frustrated:

Step away. Try to give yourself time between when you write something and when you edit it. If possible, I like to put aside a piece of writing overnight, then look at it with fresher eyes the next day. I’m less attached to the writing if a few hours have passed since I put in the labor. It’s almost as though someone else wrote the piece — and it’s easier to proofread someone else’s work than your own.

Read it aloud. Read aloud every single word, slowly. Hearing the words, and perhaps stumbling when there are errors, can help you catch mistakes that your eyes may gloss over.

Work backward. Start the last paragraph and work your way up to the top of the piece. The words and sentences will feel less familiar when they’re in the “wrong” order, helping to prevent your brain from autocorrecting.

Go old school. Print your work on paper. I like to hold a pen or pencil and move it along the page to help me focus on each word. I’ll often find little issues that I didn’t notice when looking at the words on a computer screen or tablet.

Diminish distractions. Turn off your email notifications, close your browser, refill your favorite water glass before you get started. Make sure your environment is distraction free so you can focus on proofreading.

Give yourself time. You’re more likely to miss mistakes if you rush.

Watch out for tricky words. There, their or they’re? Affect or effect? You’re or your? Its or it’s? Compliment or complement? Check to make sure you’re using the right words given your context.

Peep at the punctuation. Did you really mean to use a semicolon where a simple comma might suffice? Are any periods missing after sentences? Do words needing apostrophes have them?

Doublecheck numbers. Are your figures missing any zeroes? Are there too many zeroes? Is the decimal point where it should be?

Proofread every version. Every time a document, graphic or other piece of content gets revised, you need to proofread it again. Don’t take for granted that all the mistakes you caught previously were fixed. Plus, new mistakes can creep in between revisions.

What are you favorite tips for proofreading your work?