A List of Proofreading Suggestions

 

Every writer knows that proofreading is important. Very few would dispute that. Just as important is the way in which you proofread. A quick glance over the piece is not going to give you the type of end product that you want--or that editors will deem acceptable. 

There are many parts to proofreading, lots of Do This or Don't Do This. I have listed some of those you should do below:

1. DO set your draft aside for a while before you begin. How long? I'd say a minimum of overnight, maybe even a few days. Don't wait 15 minutes after you write the final words of the draft and then start proofreading. Your mind is still into what you wrote in the draft; it's not ready to look for ways to improve it yet.
2. DO read aloud at least once in your proofreading process. Trouble spots you might pass over while reading silently will become easier to spot. Things like sentences that are too long, an overabundance of adjectives or adverbs, poor subject/verb tense, and more.
3. DO check punctuation. Some writers go through the entire piece checking only commas or only quote marks. You'd be surprised how often writers miss putting in commas where needed or quote marks on only one end of the quote. 
4. DO look for repetition of words and ideas. It's all too easy to repeat as we write. It's one thing you'll catch if you read aloud.
5. DO look at verbs. Are there too many passive verbs? See how many you can change to be active. Active verbs always make for more interesting reading.
6. DO check to see that your pronouns are clear as to who or what they are referring to. I often mark this problem in the work of others that I critique. The writer knows who or what, but the reader needs to have clarity. 
7. DO Check each paragraph to make sure it shows a single point. Mixing more than one thought for a paragraph is confusing. Make sure that each person speaking in a dialogue begins a new paragraph, even if all they say is "Sure." 
8. DO a spell check and check for words that are used too often, like 'was' or 'it' or 'that' with the tools given with your word processing program.
9. Do check for overly-long sentences. If a sentence goes on and on, the reader will easily lose the important thought in it. 
10. DO check for sentence fragments. Complete sentences are what we strive for, even though an occasional fragment works in what we're writing. Only occasionally, however.
11. DO check verb tenses. Don't bounce them around. Be consistent.
12. DO show more than tell. Your piece will be far more interesting if you do this.
13. DO check the dialogue sections carefully. Eliminate adverbs in the tags. Check the punctuation and quote marks carefully in dialogue.
14. DO be consistent with capitalizations with names and specific places. I often see a story I'm critiquing that uses caps in some places and not in others for the same word.
15. DO look for varying lengths of sentences. Mix up the long ones and the shorter. 

The list above is not complete, but it can help in checking what you want to proofread and how. 

Should you proofread more than once? I think it would be beneficial to do it at least twice or three times with time left between proofreading sessions. If you do two sessions back to back, you're very likely to miss the same mistakes.