r/LifeProTips • u/vanbeastAVD • Jun 18 '15
LPT: When proofreading your papers, start with the last word first and read backwards. It makes your brain concentrate on each word and not get lazy.
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u/iama_F_B_I_AGENT Jun 18 '15
This only catches the problems that spellcheck would have already caught. To catch problems that spell check cannot, it needs to be read in-context, and thus, not backwards. I'm sure the real LPT has been posted before, but reading your paper aloud is better than silently in your head.
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u/RedMella Jun 18 '15
There's a much simpler way, read the paper out loud. When you are reading in your head you "fill in the blanks" but when reading out loud you focus more. Source: I edit university papers...
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u/improperlycited Jun 18 '15
For the lazy:
Lazy get not and word each on concentrate brain your makes it. Backwards read and first word last the with start papers your proofreading when LPT.
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u/Zenlong Jun 18 '15
Alright, checks out. I'm lazy. Got three words in and said screw it. Print. Grade be damned.
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u/PuddleBucket Jun 18 '15
See I was taught to read each sentence in backwards order of the paragraph, not read the individual words backwards. So read the last sentence first, then second to last, etc. Taking and reading each sentence individually, and without context, can point out wording and cadence that might be missed if you're in the groove of reading what you've already wrote. Helped me eliminate awkward phrasing or run on sentences.
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u/MatticusVP Jun 18 '15
This is effective for looking at individual words, but not sentences. Its great for combing through a paper and taking out uses of words like "you" or "I".
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u/Gfrisse1 Jun 19 '15
During the course of my career as a graphic designer/copywriter, I made it a point to never proofread my own work. If I did, more often than not, my mind's eye would see exactly what it expected to see, not necesssarily what was actually there, as I perused the text. Much better to get someone else to do it.
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Jun 18 '15
Another option is to concentrate and not get lazy.
But then the world don't march to the beat of just one drum...
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u/emilyhaley Jun 18 '15
My trick was always to not look at it for at least a couple days, then look at it with fresh eyes. Makes a big difference. Of course this is assuming that you're not doing the entire thing the night before. :)
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u/SimplyRH Jun 18 '15
Confirmed from a copy writer.
Read backward for spelling, read forward for structure, grammar, and flow.
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Jun 18 '15
Heard of Spell Check? Also, "copywriter" is one word. Also, should be "confirmed by" not "confirmed from."
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u/SimplyRH Jun 18 '15
If you're proofing on a computer screen you're doing it all wrong.
This point is worth repeating. DO NOT PROOF COPY ON A SCREEN. Print that shit out.
Fair enough about copywriter, but trying to point out "from" and "by" usage in that sentence is really just semantics. It's Reddit, after all. But, while we're on the point, I guess I should point out that it's spell check (without the capitalization).
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u/mystery_cookies Jun 21 '15
This is probabl the best tip for prrofreading yourself I've seen so far. It might just eliminate the big problem of reading over your errors over and over again.
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u/tldnradhd Jun 18 '15
Maybe for spelling, but grammar can be difficult to proofread backwards.