proofreading strategies - carleton university · tips for proofreading. let’s try. in the 2010...
TRANSCRIPT
Proofreading
Strategies
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Agenda
1. The writing process
2. Why should we proofread?
3. Higher Order Proofreading
4. Lower Order Proofreading
5. Activity
6. Resources
Why Proofread?
For Clarity
Writing should be clear and polished for your audience.
If your writing has mistakes or is unclear, it can be hard for the reader
to understand/connect with your ideas and arguments.
The Writing Process
The Writing Process
Starting point
Exploration
IncubationIllumination
Composing
ReformulatingEditing
The Writing Process
Proofreading is an crucial part of the writing process.
Usually occurs near the end of the writing process through
the reformulating and editing stages of writing.
It gets easier with practice.
Higher Order Concerns
Introduction, body, conclusion
Paragraphs – not too long (or short), generally one idea per
paragraph, provide evidence
Discipline & Genre – structure your work to fit the disciplinary
guidelines as well as the genre (e.g., lab report, reflective summary,
compare and contrast essay, empirical research paper)
Do your ideas/arguments flow logically + linearly throughout the
paper?
Organization/Structure
Re-read assignment guidelines and/or rubric
• Have you done everything required?
• How are you being graded? (what is being emphasized)
Be critical of your content
• Have you used enough/reliable sources?
• Is your evidence (i.e., quotes) relevant and useful?
• Do you unpack your evidence sufficiently?
Assignment Guidelines
Once you have a full/rough draft, ask yourself these questions:
• Does each point relate to your overall argument?
• Do your points flow logically?
• Have you included enough examples and evidence to convince
the reader?
• Does each paragraph have a focus?
• Do your paragraphs connect to each other?
• Have you properly cited your resources?
Revising and Editing
Lower Order Concerns
TYPOS
• Although you should never turn off your spellcheck,
you can’t always trust it to be 100% accurate or notify
you of every mistake
• Our brains are very good at ignoring typos
• Know the general rules of the language – grammar,
punctuation, sentences, spelling, etc.
Lower Order Concerns
Lower Order Concerns
Brain HQ (n.d). Scrambled text. Retrieved from https://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/brain-teasers/scrambled-text
HOMOPHONES
• They’re, there, and their
• It’s vs. its
• Sore vs. soar
• Soul vs. sole
Are you using the correct word?
Lower Order Concerns
PUNCTUATION
• Colon – used after an independent phrase that
precedes a list
• Comma – connect a dependent clause to an
independent clause; connect two independent
clauses with conjunctions (and, but, or)
• Semicolon – Connect two independent clauses
with no conjunction; separate listed items
Lower Order Concerns
How many of you have trouble with commas, colons,
and semicolons?
SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
• Incomplete sentences
• Reader is left hanging
RUN-ON SENTENCES
• Too many dependent clauses
• Phrases/clauses not connected by punctuation
• Reader runs out of breath before sentence ends
Lower Order Concerns
LANGUAGE
• Use class/disciplinary vocabulary
• Know your style guide and dictionary
• Academic language (no slang)
• Be consistent
• Check for overused words
• Be careful with auto-correct
Lower Order Concerns
Print your paper
• Easier to read and mark it up
Read it out loud
• You’ll catch your mistakes
• If you become tongue tied or have trouble reading, this indicates
that it may not be as smooth as it could be
Fresh Eyes
• Take some time away from your paper before you edit (fresher
eyes/perspective)
Tips for Proofreading
Let’s Try
In the 2010 novel Our Friendly Local Terrorist, Mary Jo Leddy
(2010, p. 4) shares insight in to the dark corners of the Canadian
Immigration system that is failing to protect the right’s of
refugees. She describes her disbelief that this could happen in
Canada and how the lack of responsibility with in our system
leaves new immigrants alone and feeling at a loss. She paints a
clear picture of how a single Kurdish man, Sulyman Goven, a
refugee, is “labelled” a terrorist unjustly and the impact it had
not only on his process of receiving landed citizenship, but also
on the hole Kurdish community in Toronto. Her story makes
apparent the unsuccessful social policies, failure to meet the
basic settlement needs of refugees and the oppression that is
imposed on arriving refugees in Canada.
In the 2010 novel Our Friendly Local Terrorist, Mary Jo Leddy
(2010, p. 4) shares insight in to the dark corners of the Canadian
Immigration system that is failing to protect the right’s of
refugees. She describes her disbelief that this could happen in
Canada and how the lack of responsibility with in our system
leaves new immigrants alone and feeling at a loss. She paints a
clear picture of how a single Kurdish man, Sulyman Goven, a
refugee, is “labelled” a terrorist unjustly and the impact it had
not only on his process of receiving landed citizenship, but also
on the hole Kurdish community in Toronto. Her story makes
apparent the unsuccessful social policies, failure to meet the
basic settlement needs of refugees and the oppression that is
imposed on arriving refugees in Canada.
Your Turn!
1) Be brief: Replace unnecessarily wordy phrases with simpler ones
2) Be clear: Replace complex sentences with shorter ones
3) Clarity isn’t the same as precisions: Say clearly what you mean
4) Stay on point: Remove distracting content
5) Guide your reader: Use signposting words & links to clarify the
flow of your ideas
6) Revise radically: Don’t be afraid to shift around sentences &
paragraphs
7) Re-read yourself closely
Chatfield, T. (2018). Critical thinking: Your guide to effective argument, successful analysis and
independent study. London: Sage
7 Practical Principles for Rewriting
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
The Oatmeal’s How to use a semicolon
Grammarly Grammar Checker*
Hemingway Editor for Readability and Complexity*
*As with auto-correct and spell-checkers, be cautious and use your judgement
Resources
Summary
1. The writing process
2. Why should we proofread?
3. Higher Order Proofreading
4. Lower Order Proofreading
5. Activity
6. Resources
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