Many of them have dedicated writing centers for those very purposes, and many of those centers publish online resources that are accessible to the public. (After all, that’s why you use After the Deadline!)Ĭolleges and universities are great resources for editing and proofing. Very few of us are able to churn out perfectly error-free writing every time - we’re all constantly editing and proofreading, and many of us are on the lookout for tools and tips to help. You can also find exercises for a range of grammar issues, along with general proofreading/typo identification, at the Dalton State University’s Writing Lab.

Improve your proofreading and your reading list with proofreading exercises using classic works of literature.

Bring your subjects and verbs into perfect harmony by identifying the disagreements in this exercise.

Gamify your proofreading with Portland Proof’s interactive proofreading challenge.

Separate your there from your they’re: pick out the commonly confused words in these passages.

Focus on the aspect of proofing you find the trickiest, or test your general proofing abilities: To save you those few minutes - more time for proofreading! - here are some to try today. If you think you’ve mastered the intricate art of proofreading or just want another way to practice, a few minutes of Googling unearths lots of proofreading exercises and tests for all reading and comprehension levels. Sometimes, finding that last gaffe means having to trick your brain into noticing it - these are two simple ways to do it that anyone can try, no special tools needed. A mistake you might have skimmed over becomes unmissable when it’s 30 points high or bright red. Changing your font (or your font’s size/color) only takes a click of the mouse, but transforms your words. Similarly, things that cause you to look at your writing in a new light also slow your brain down.

Reading your work backward forces you to stop and look at each individual word in a way you can’t otherwise - it’s great for catching those final spelling errors.

Part of proofreading is being able to slow down and focus enough to stop your brain from correcting typos or filling in gaps before you notice them. We’ve been sharing resources for improving your eye for detail throughout the year, and here are two more tricks to try today. If it never has, lucky you! Would you mind proofreading ours? 🙂įor the rest of us, it’s an all-too-frequent occurrence. How many times has this happened to you: you write a post, read it through seventeen times, hit “publish,” and then immediately spot an error in the published post?

Eagle eye proofreading software