These are basic proofreading steps for writing

There are three basic steps that you need to take every time you create a piece of writing, be it a letter, article, whatever. These are basic proofreading steps. All your writing should be checked by these three criteria. There are other steps in proofreading, but these three initial steps will minimize your writing errors dramatically. Begin to use them today!

1. Look over the material as if it were a picture. Look for spacing and margin errors, poor layout design, errors in placement of text boxes and graphics, misaligned indentations, bullets and numbering, etc. Get a feel for the overall impression of the piece.

2. Read the material once for meaning. You can work on grammar and punctuation as your writing improves, but for now at least, check the basics— comprehension and clarity.

You might want to ask someone else to read the writing for you, especially if you've worked on the same document for awhile. It seems the more we look at a document (and I use that term for any writing we do), the more likely it becomes that we will miss an error. Ask a friend to help, or if the writing is important, hire a professional editor/proofreader.

3. Read the material again—carefully. Read word by word, or letter by letter. Check for typos, misspellings, incorrect word usage, skipped words, etc. Read slowly. You might want to read out loud at this point so words or errors are not unintentionally skipped.

If you find yourself in the "reading for content" mode, reading phrases or sentences, rather than checking each word or letter for correctness, you might try reading the document backwards. It definitely helps you slow down!

We all make mistakes in our writing, and occasionally those mistakes will make it to print, but proofreading is an essential element of document production if we want to present a polished, professional image to the public.