What Are The 7 Types Of Errors You Look For When You Proofread An Essay?

The types of writing and the process of it differ from person to person. However, the essay writing process itself has various types, and it is one of the most professional ways of writing.

Most people consider essay writing as a tough task, but the work of a proofreader is the hardest. You might not have to write thoroughly, but your task to check the whole paper can sometimes be time-consuming and hectic if you do not know about it.

Well, here we have considered some of the critical mistakes you might want to look at to expose your proofreading skills. Focus on the critical part of writing and manage it carefully.

Errors To Look For While Proofreading An Essay

Writing errors are endless, but among those, some are considerable. Writing can be creative, and there is no problem with that, but some errors are common in every writing process.

Don’t worry!

We are here to make your process easy. Follow these critical mistakes and manage your concern like a pro.

Spelling

Though spelling mistakes nowadays are being corrected by AI writing tools, that is not enough. AI has its limitations which you will find in Google Docs and MS Word as well.

If you want to proofread an essay paper, you must focus first on the spelling mistake throughout the paper. Spelling mistakes are sometimes beyond the reach of the AI, and the writer may make mistakes again and again in a long paper-writing process.

Well, your role is to help the paper become quality reach and also acceptable to everyone. Essay papers are professional papers that might not contain a compelling factor. So, focus on the spelling of each work and manage everything smoothly.

Inconsistency

Inconsistent writing behavior is bad practice for a good professional essay paper.

For instance, proofreading or proofreading! Both are right and expose the same meaning, but in one paper, you cannot use different forms of writing. Essay paper has its own serious tone, and in the middle of everything, you cannot use different forms of one word or format.

For instance, sometimes people may use different date formats in one essay paper, and that is eye-catching in negative ways. If you want to expose the button of consistency, be a proofreader who can demotivate an AI tool.

Proofread like a pro and remove all forms of inconsistency from the paper.

Using Abbreviations From Text Messages

While looking for errors in an essay paper, it is always better to look at its inappropriate abbreviations.

Well, using abbreviations might be cool for inbox but not for the professional writing process. This is not about you but the readers who need to understand what you have written so far. Whether it is your own paper or not, find abbreviations used in it.

For most readers, abbreviations are gibberish. If you cannot understand after reading something, then there is no point in reading it; the readers would do the same. So, it’s better to proofread the essay paper and remove all unnecessary abbreviations in advance.

Apostrophes

A well-written paper considers apostrophes of different types and is used in proper ways in proper places. But individuals struggle most with the inappropriate usage of apostrophes.

Well, you just need to follow the fundamental guideline to use it, and we have also learned it in our school days. This is not a big factor to consider, but knowing these factors for a proofreader is crucial to accurately presenting an essay paper.

Sometimes apostrophes are used as contractions to indicate omitted letters. Apart from that, it is also used to showcase the noun plural (apostrophes placed after the noun) and sometimes to ensure ownership (apostrophes are placed before “s”) of something.

Improper Syntax

The placement of phrases and words in a sentence to contrast the meaning of it is called syntax. Poorly written sentences can also expose meaning, but they might miss out on crucial words.

For example, we have considered a sentence that exposes the same meaning but is formed in separate ways.

Poor syntax: He served tasty food to guests on paper plates.

Good syntax: He served tasty food on paper plates to guests.

Focus on the two syntaxes and how it manipulates the sentence. Both mean the same, but there is a condition to each. One is hard to read, whereas the other one is difficult to read.

Go through the sentences, and you will find some which you must change accordingly.

You can simply click here to learn more about how they write an essay paper using proper syntax.

Ellipsis

Ellipsis is a big mistake in the essay writing process. Many think that using an ellipsis is unnecessary for particular professional papers. Well, essay papers are not all but mainly used in academics where the usage of ellipsis is very low.

However, an ellipsis is a punctuation mark that is being used in writing to show that a sentence is left out or to indicate a certain pause in writing.

Anyone can definitely use ellipsis, but there is a form added to it. You cannot simply use 4-5-6 dots at once to expose an ellipsis. Considering only three evenly spaced dots (periods) with space separating it from the letters can be the best way to use it.

See if the writer used it in particular ways or corrected it.

Sentence Fragments

Sentence fragments consist of size, commas, and full stops. This is a critical part of proofreading, which the majority of proofreaders fail to acknowledge.

Proofreading is not just about watching out the spelling mistakes; you have to read between the lines. Well, when most of the lines of an essay paper consist of more than 20 words without commas or any other fragments, then there can be difficulties in reading.

If you read through the paper, you will understand the difficulty level. Place yourself in the reader’s position and think like a critic. Focus on the areas where the sentences are not making any sense without fragments, and add appropriate fragments where necessary.