WiserCourse

Published 19th January 2020

Any student – at undergraduate right through to PhD level - writing a dissertation or essay must get into the habit of proofreading their dissertation. This is a process that ensures your written piece of work is completed to the highest standards and avoids typical errors that you may not know that you’ve made.

Proofreading is a review of your written work from a reader’s perspective and it provides excellent ways of improving your work from a different angle.

Here are 10 reasons why you should proofread your written work.

Fix your grammar and spelling errors

Grammar and spelling mistakes really do give a bad impression to the reader showing lack of care and incompetence. You must demonstrate coherence and competence in the English language.

Remove repetitions

You will most likely notice sentences that are repeating the same point in a paragraph. These must be omitted or changed.

Remove sentences, paragraphs or even sections that don’t make sense

As we write we are expressing our thoughts or knowledge and often forget that occasionally the sentences or paragraphs are not expressed well. Reading these later will give you an idea whether to remove or modify your written text.

Improve clarity of your explanations

If you can improve your own writing, you are learning how to become a better writer. This feedback loop is key to expressing yourself more clearly.

Fix referencing mistakes

Sometimes the referencing software or method we use will not automatically cite properly. Always ensure that you go back and check your references and bibliography manually to check for errors.

Improve the presentation and formatting of your written work

Proofreading gives you the opportunity to check formatting standards match your institution’s standards and have the correct styles. It may sound minor, but you would be really annoyed to see small things such as page numbers being out of sync or missed out completely. Always check the presentation and formatting of your written work.

Use the correct tone and language

In academia, you must use the academic writing style, which needs to be learned. If you are speaking informally or not using the correct language, this can work against you when your assignment is getting marked.

Learn an important skill of editing

The more you proofread the better you become in writing and especially in editing. Editing is an important skill that could even lead you onto getting a well paid job.

Improve and fix figures, tables and numerical representations

Missing or incorrect data can be highlighted, and figures and charts could be improved during your proofreading exercise. Figures and statistics catch the reader’s eyes more easily so make sure you check these are created correctly in your written work.

Reduce the likelihood of plagiarism

Going back and reviewing your written work will greatly help you to look out for areas where you may have plagiarised other people’s work. However, by highlighting them you can correct it and thus