Today we discuss about 5 basic but important proof-reading habits to boost your productivity in 2021 and become a better proofreader.
While being posted in a private sector company or an MNC ( multinational company) or any other high profile job, your productivity becomes the key factors behind your hiring. By productivity we simply mean that getting more done in less time. But some people are more productive than others. Hence they become the great achievers but others don’t.
Let’s move ahead to see what are the habits of these super achievers and highly productive people to get a better path to career and success. If you are still worried about your ill-times grammar mistake or spelling error, then do not worry. With EnglishBix you won’t be having any problems anymore. With a good note, we need to move ahead to know the basic proof-reading habits that would help increase our productivity.
1. Identify Your Mistakes and Make a List of It
While you are writing a novel or an official document, it becomes very essential that you do not trip up on the words or spellings. If you have a habit of second-guessing yourself on spelling and grammar then this is not a good habit. Moreover, it might happen that you accidentally used a wrong homophone while you are in a hurry. Sometimes you just forget to put a comma before the end. These are some of the common mistakes every person can make while writing.
So you need to start by making a list of all the things that you might have trouble with. It may include the common spelling error, definitions or sometimes grammar rules. Always ensure that you put the list in the visible area so you can have a glance at it while writing. Once you make it a habit, you would double-check your content and get rid of this snag easily.
2. Read Your Content – Pause – Read It Once Again
You might be aware of this one, but you don’t follow it before you hit send. So from now, ensure that before sending any final work, read your draft once or twice just to make sense of the content you have written. While doing it, ensure that there are no typos or any missing word. Run a spell check side by side. Take a break from your writing and read it again when you get back. The more time you do it, it will help you in spotting your mistakes easily. And once you get better with spotting your own mistakes, your brain will know how to work on it. You must not feel ashamed in tracking the words that will work with your fingers and go back to edit. With Finger tracking, you can force yourself to slow down and actually look at the words rather than scanning the entire document in just one go.
3. Try To Read Backward
It might sound a bit awkward to you, but it is an effective way to spot the mistakes in the content. While you are reading the normal way, you might get distracted by the meaning of the sentence but in reading backward you do not have to worry about the meaning. This makes it easy to spot mistakes when you are writing. Start with the last word and work in the forward direction word by word till you reach the beginning. With this technique, you would be able to spot repeated words, misspellings and weird formatting.
4. Know How To change The View
You must make your writing look different from that of others. Sometimes change the font or highlight a few points. With this idea, you would ensure that the text looks a bit unfamiliar and then your brain will be less likely to identify the mistake and skip it. This technique will refresh your mind and eyes. Then you get back to the writing, you could easily spot the mistakes.
5. Read Your Content Aloud
If you feel awkward to read your content in front of others then shut your room’s door and then read your writings. Yes, you might feel this a bit silly, but this is the only thing which would ensure that your content is correct and clear. Give time and check every word carefully. It will help you spot the misspellings. Try to pause at the comma and period. With this technique, you will be able to take a cue from facial expression, vocal emphasis, and conversational pauses.
Conclusion:
We know that reading your own content might not be able to help you identify the mistakes. But when you try to follow the above techniques you would know how easy it is to spot the errors and make your writing error free.