Proofreading is one of the most important steps to consider while writing a blog or an article. Before publishing your blog online, you must make sure you proofread it thoroughly. Proofreading does not mean skimming over your article, instead it refers to reading the post carefully, word by word. When you are proofreading your article, read it from a third person perspective, act as though you have not written the article. An error free post will always convey an optimistic message to the readers.
You might be a good writer, but if your post is full of misspellings, grammatical errors and typos, it will reflect poorly on your writing ability. A post with many mistakes can irritate the readers and cause them to lose track of the central idea. Here are few tips to follow while proofreading a blog article.
Check your spelling thoroughly
After writing your article, make sure you check every word carefully to avoid spelling mistakes. A piece with incorrect spelling can put the reader off. To check your spelling, you can use spell check option in Microsoft Word. But many people depend heavily on the spell check option and do not realize that it does not highlight all the errors. That is why, thorough checking of the spelling in your article becomes very important.
For instance, if you want to type the word ‘been’ and you type ‘beam,’ spell check will fail to highlight the error because ‘beam’ is also a meaningful word. Checking your spelling line by line will ensure that the right words are used, depending on the context of your article.
Reword unclear sentences
When you are proofreading your article, if you think that a particular sentence is difficult to understand, make sure you reword the entire sentence so that it is clear for the reader. The reader should be able to understand any sentence in your article as soon as he/she reads it. So, make sure your entire article has sentences that are short,crisp and clear to convey your ideas effectively.
Ensure that your post is interesting
While proofreading, make sure that your article is not boring for the reader. Include a conversational tone so that you keep your reader involved in the entire article. Readers should feel like reading your post again and again! Eliminate redundant and boring sentences from your article and make it interesting.
Let your piece be consistent
Your article has to be consistent in terms of the format, flow of thought, document style, facts and tone. When you proofread the article, ensure that your article is well structured. Your article should not have contrasting ideas, rather it should flow smoothly from one paragraph to another. Check your facts thoroughly while proofreading so that you do not misstate any. The format and the tone have to be maintained for the entire article. If your piece is a serious one, maintain a serious tone in the whole article. Also remember not to drift from one idea to another in your article as it will not bring out the central theme of your article.
Lily Carter is an article writerwith Godot Media, a blog writing serviceprovider. Her interests range from copywriting and social media to the latest internet technologies and trends.
Proofreading is one of those necessary evils of writing. If we expect any self-respecting reader to take our stories seriously, we have to make sure we’ve presented them as flawlessly as possible and that means avoiding typos at all costs. Misspelled words, oft-repeated words, missing words, incorrect grammar, misplaced punctuation all these things are the mark of unprofessionalism. And yet, they’re also mistakes that all writers struggle with, in large part because we’re often blind to our own stories.