Tips for proofreading

8. Read the text out loud.
Or at least read it out semi-loud. The ears hear mistakes that the eyes
don’t catch. Skimming through the text becomes impossible. And if
something sounds wrong – rewrite.
9. Read the text one row at a time.
Cover the text with a sheet of paper so that only the first row is visible.
Read the first row and then move the paper downwards so the second
row appears. Read the second row and continue in the same manner.
Why? This reading method prevents you from skimming through the
text.
10. Read the text backwards.
If you really want to find all spelling errors you should read the text
backwards. One row at a time.
11. Read the text twice.
Look for spelling errors the first time around – go through the content
the second time. Does it make sense? Have you forgotten anything?
Have you skipped a step in your reasoning process? You can’t read the
text both ways at the same time. If you hunt for spelling errors you lose
track of the content. If you concentrate on the content you’ll be blind
for spelling errors.
12. Ban the “isn’t-it-spelled-like-that”-method.
You can’t reason your way to the correct spelling of a word. Either you
know how it’s spelled – and then you know that you know – or you
don’t know how it’s spelled. And don’t ask someone else who doesn’t
know, that’s just a waste of time. Look it up.