In Part 1, we shared several proofreading methods that non-native English speakers can use to refine their writing. In Part 2, we'll dive deeper into the process and precautions involved in using these correction techniques.

As we mentioned before, online tools like Engram, Grammarly, and ProWritingAid can be a game-changer when it comes to improving your writing. These platforms make it easy and quick to get a free and accurate review of your written work.

AI proofreader | Engram
Write more naturally and get better results with Engram. Now with the help of ChatGPT, Engram checks your grammar and suggests more natural English expression.

Proofreading process

We broke down the main elements you should check when proofreading.

  1. Spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation mistakes
  2. Logical holes
  3. Flow and cohesion flaws
  4. Repetitive language
  5. Inconsistency
  6. Formatting mistakes
  7. Strength of argument(s) and relevancy

Spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation mistakes

Spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation are the four most basic elements you should hone to make your writing sound professional and to be taken seriously by your readers.

Spelling can be easily checked with built-in spell checkers in the writing software you are using or online proofreaders like Engram or Grammarly, which can also help with grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.

Avoid using flamboyant words or innovative grammar structures that you are unfamiliar with just to sound eloquent. The goal of a language is to communicate your thoughts to another, not to look cool. Opt for words and sentence structures you are familiar with to clearly convey your argument or story through your writing.

Spelling error: The commitee (x) / committee (o) voted for the abolition of the import tax.
Grammar error: The list of changes are (x) / is (o) posted on the bulletin.
Capitalization: I graduated from the University of cambridge (x) / Cambridge (o) in 2020.
Punctuation: While he ran with the torch (x) / torch (o), Ian was desperately looking around for a place to set it down.
Image Credit: Getty Images

Logical holes

The second step to proofreading is spotting and fixing logical holes at both the sentence level and paragraph levels. When writing, a helpful rule of thumb is to write like your reader knows nothing about the subject you are writing about. Writers who tend to have holes in logic have a tendency to assume their readers already have some prior knowledge of what they are writing about. Make sure each sentence makes logical sense individually and that each paragraph also has a rational and sensible arrangement. If English is not your first language, think about whether your sentences would make logical sense in your own language to check if your writing is coherent.

Here would be an example of a slip in logic at the sentence level.

Logical error: Milk is an affordable drink, but (x) / so (o) many people consume it.​

One would think that because milk is affordable, many people could easily purchase and consume it, yet the sentence before the correction uses the coordinating conjunction "but" which logically does not make sense. Catching these logical errors throughout your work is essential to ensure your readers can understand the content smoothly without being distracted by holes in logic.

Flow and cohesion flaws

When proofreading, be sure to check the flow and cohesion of your writing at the paragraph level and for the whole piece of writing. If you created an outline beforehand, check if your writing matches the flow of your outline. If not, you can make an outline summarizing the points of your writing afterward to see the flow from a bird’s eye view. If you writing a persuasive essay and your paragraphs go from Sub-argument A to B to C in a reasonable and rational manner, then your flow will be natural to your readers. If your arguments go from Sub-argument K to A to Z, you will probably reorder the arrangement of your arguments. Do not forget to check the cohesion of your writing by checking if your sub-arguments all come together to support your main argument.

Repetitive language

Seeding out repetition at the word and conceptual level is important to make your writing not banal to read. You can replace repetitive words with synonyms or pronouns or simply omit certain repetitive words completely.

The students did an experiment that involved mixing vinegar and baking soda. The students noticed that the mixture would bubble up and fizz.

To prevent this repetition in which two consecutive sentences start off with the same words and have similar sentence structures, the subject of the second sentence can be replaced with a pronoun.

The students did an experiment that involved mixing vinegar and baking soda. They noticed that the mixture would bubble up and fizz.

Take a look at this second example.

Regina had her sons when she was fresh out of college. Regina was strong and independent, working multiple jobs to get by.

The subject of the second sentence here can be replaced with the person or character’s role or position in society.

Regina had her sons when she was fresh out of college. The mother of two was strong and independent, working multiple jobs to get by.

Another alternative would be to change the structure of the second sentence, so the two consecutive sentences do not start off the same.

Regina had her sons when she was fresh out of college. Working multiple jobs to get by, Regina was strong and independent.

Finally, check out this third example.

The owl was beautiful and exquisite. The exquisite owl can stand on one foot for hours.

The same adjective was used in two consecutive sentences. Although it is not grammatically incorrect to do so, adding variation in your word choice makes your writing more interesting to read. The adjective exquisite can be replaced with a synonym or word with a similar meaning:

The owl was beautiful and exquisite. The ethereal bird can stand on one foot for hours.

Repetition at the word and phrase level can be easily fixed by switching up words and changing sentence structures. If you lack the vocabulary or are not knowledgeable about different sentence structures, you can read and listen to more content in English to expose yourself to a variety of sentence constructions.

Repetition at the conceptual level involves unnecessarily repeating arguments or ideas throughout your piece of writing. The simple solution for this is to omit mentioning the argument or idea where it is unneeded and only keeping it in the most essential parts of your writing. For example, if you argue that apples are healthier treats for horses than carrots in one part of an essay you are writing, you would not want to repeat the same claim multiple times throughout your paper unless there was a legitimate reason to do so.

Image Credit: Dorin Tamas's Images

Inconsistencies

If you have inconsistencies throughout your writing, your reader will get distracted and your writing will be less credible.

The following are some of the different elements you should keep consistent in your writing.

(1) Type of English
Before you write, choose between British, American (US), Canadian, Australian, or any other accepted variant of English and stick consistent to the one you choose. Your work will be inconsistent if you are switching from British English to American English throughout. Deciding the type of English will affect your spelling, the use or lack of the serial comma, vocabulary, punctuation, date format, and the use or lack of a period in certain abbreviations (Mr., Ms., Dr., vs., etc.).

Inconsistent: The chameleon is skilful at changing the color of its skin.
Consistent: The chameleon is skillful at changing the color of its skin. (American English)
Consistent: The chameleon is skilful at changing the colour of its skin. (British English)

(2) Contractions
Decide whether you will use contractions or not in your writing. If your piece of writing is formal, then do not use contractions. If there is no need to be very formal, then you can choose whether to use contractions or not. Just remember to stay consistent throughout your writing.

Inconsistent: Most wavelengths of UVB can’t penetrate glass while UVC rays cannot pass through the ozone.
Consistent: Most wavelengths of UVB cannot penetrate glass while UVC rays cannot pass through the ozone.
Consistent: Most wavelengths of UVB can’t penetrate glass while UVC rays can’t pass through the ozone.

(3) Numbers
Depending on the writing style you choose, you will write out or use numerical numbers for certain ranges of numbers. For APA and the AP Stylebook, the numbers one through nine are written out while 10 and above are denoted with numerical characters. The MLA format requires you to spell out numbers that can be written in one or two words (four, eleven, sixty-three, one hundred, three million) and use numerals for other numbers (9¾; 729; 4,926; 32,000,000).

Inconsistent: I have 11 blue marbles and twelve red marbles.
Consistent: I have 11 blue marbles and 12 red marbles. (APA)
Consistent: I have eleven blue marbles and twelve red marbles. (MLA)

(4) Time format
Stay consistent when writing the numerals and the AM and PM part of the time or when using military time.

Inconsistent: The meeting will be at 02:00 PM, and the dinner gathering will be at 6 p.m. Make sure to prepare all meeting materials by 13:30 because we will start promptly at 2 PM.
Consistent: The meeting will be at 2:00 PM, and the dinner gathering will be at 6:00 PM. Make sure to prepare all meeting materials by 1:30 PM because we will start promptly at 2:00 PM.

(5) Currency format
Be sure to stay consistent with your currency format as well. Your reader may get confused if your format differs in different parts of your writing.

Inconsistent: The company paid $10K USD for the consultation and USD 85,000 for the renovation.
Consistent: The company paid $10K USD for the consultation and $85K USD for the renovation.

(6) Special characters
Stay consistent with your choice and use of special characters such as hyphens, em dashes, en dashes, parentheses, brackets, etc. If you prefer using en dashes instead of hyphens for number ranges, be consistent throughout your work.

Inconsistent: The monkeys consumed 1-4 apples when given the placebo and 11–12 apples when given the drug.
Consistent: The monkeys consumed 1–4 apples when given the placebo and 11–12 apples when given the drug.

(7) Acronyms and proper names
Be consistent with acronyms and proper names throughout your writing. For example, you would not want to write NASA in one part of a paper and then N.A.S.A. in another part.

Inconsistent: The US government made it mandatory for U.S.A. citizens to register for jury duty.
Consistent: The US government made it mandatory for US citizens to register for jury duty.

(8) Other
Consistency does not only apply to the items above, so make sure to stay consistent in all other aspects of your writing. You do not want to call a virus a living being in one part of your research paper and then later say it is not living in another section.

Image Credit: Getty Images Signature

Formatting mistakes

When proofreading, check your paper for any formatting mistakes. Ideally, you should choose your preferred writing style before you start writing, whether it is APA, MLA, AP Stylebook, or any other writing style. This will affect the width of your margins, font, grammar, referencing or citing method, whether you need a title page or not, header and footer material, format of page numbers, and more. You do not want to use footnotes for one page and then in-text citations for another because your piece of writing will look sloppy and careless if your formatting is not consistent. Check out more in our Engram's blog article on "Formatting".

Strength of argument(s) and relevancy

After checking the logic and flow of your written work, think about the strength of your argument(s) or story along with its relevancy to the readers. If you find that the strength of your arguments is weak, you may want to find better supporting evidence or examples to back up your arguments. You may also want to fact-check during the proofreading stage if you have not done so already. If you are writing a fictional story, relevancy may not be as big of a concern, but if you are writing a research paper or news article, you may want to check how relevant your work would be to your target audience and the current times.

The most important thing about proofreading

The single most important thing about proofreading is not skipping it. Proofreading even as little as one time will improve your writing significantly, so do not forget to proofread.

AI proofreader | Engram
Write more naturally and get better results with Engram. Now with the help of ChatGPT, Engram checks your grammar and suggests more natural English expression.