Proofreading Strategies

The Importance of Proofreading

• Proofreading is the final step in the editing process, involving checking for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting.
• The quality of a written piece and the writer's credibility depend on proofreading.
• Effective strategies for proofreading include:
  • Printing out a hard copy
  • Reading the essay backwards
  • Checking for one type of error at a time

Editing for Content and Mechanics

• Editing for content involves making sure the writer has made their point effectively, accurately, and clearly.
• Ten key points to consider when editing for content:
  • Having an interesting opening paragraph
  • Coherence throughout the piece
  • Having topic sentences for every paragraph
  • Including definitions
  • Having consistency
  • Making sure to provide facts
  • Checking citations and paraphrasing
  • Having less than 20% quotes
  • Having an overall good style
  • Having a solid conclusion
• Editing for mechanics involves analyzing a piece of writing to ensure proper spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
• Tips for editing effectively:
  • Taking regular breaks
  • Reading the paper backwards
  • Using both digital and hard copies to edit
  • Analyzing for misspelled words and misplaced words
  • Watching for errors in formatting, including run-on sentences and sentence fragments
  • Following capitalization rules, including capitalizing the first letter of every sentence, proper nouns, and all words in titles

Understanding Argumentative Essays

• An argumentative essay is a type of essay in which the author makes a claim and then attempts to persuade their audience to believe their claim through reasons, evidence, and the addressing of counterclaims.
• The standard format for an argumentative essay is:
  • Introduction (1 paragraph that contains the claim)
  • Body Paragraphs (3 paragraphs that contain the reasons, evidence, and counterclaims)
  • Conclusion (sums up the entire argument and provides a look to the future)
• An effective argument contains all the necessary components (claim, reasons, evidence, counterclaims) while keeping the intended audience in mind.
• Six steps to writing a great argument:
  • Make sure to get the topic or question correct
  • Support your argument with good reason
  • Focus on developing the merits of your case
  • Use good support for your view
  • Deal with disagreement
  • Be clear, yet concise

Persuasive Essays

• Persuasive essays offer a position on a topic and reasons or evidence to explain why that position is the better one.
• The final paragraph of a persuasive essay should:
  • Include a conclusion sentence, or restatement of the main argument
  • Sum up the main reasons and evidence presented
  • Outline the consequences of ignoring the advice given by the writer
• When creating a persuasive essay, consider:
  • What am I trying to say?
  • Who am I trying to persuade?
  • What are the most important points that I can make?

Analyzing Arguments

• An argument is a discussion, either written or spoken, that takes a position about an issue and then presents reasons and evidence to convince an audience that its position is true.
• The parts of an argument include:
  • Claim: a statement of the argument's position about an issue
  • Reasons: the points offered to justify the claim and tell why readers should accept it
  • Evidence: provides proof that the reasons are true or at least have some merit
  • Assumptions: stated or unstated beliefs that must be held in order to accept the claim of the argument
• To determine the effectiveness and validity of an argument, consider:
  • Is the claim arguable, supportable, and presented with minimal bias?
  • Are the reasons logical, clear, and directly relative to and supportive of the claim?
  • Is the evidence convincing, relevant, accurate, and truly supportive of the reasons?
  • Are the assumptions logical and true?

Rhetorical Devices

• Rhetorical devices are persuasive devices used by writers to achieve a certain purpose by persuading readers or listeners.
• Four rhetorical structures writers can use:
  • Lagos: appeal to reason
  • Pathos: appeal to emotion
  • Ethos: appeal to ethics
  • Kairos: appeal to time
• Rhetorical devices can be categorized into:
  • Rhetorical sound devices (e.g. alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, cacophony)
  • Rhetorical word devices (e.g. anaphora, epistrophe, diacope)
  • Rhetorical sentence devices (e.g. chiasmus, aposiopesis, inversion)
  • Rhetorical figures of speech (e.g. metaphors, similes, hyperbole, personification, paradox, irony)

Informative Essays

• Informative essays share information with the reader, and the author's purpose is to inform rather than persuade.
• The structure of an informative essay includes:
  • Introduction (with a hook, background knowledge, and a thesis statement)
  • Body (with topic sentences, research, and explanations)
  • Conclusion (with a reframed thesis statement and a call to action)
• A topic sentence is different from a thesis statement, as topic sentences help the reader to preview the content of a paragraph, while a thesis statement determines the purpose of the entire essay.

Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay

• A five-paragraph essay has an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph.
• The conclusion paragraph should:
  • Have no new information
  • Provide a sense of closure
  • Be about 6 sentences long
  • Restate the thesis statement
  • Include a call to action
• Formal essays use reliable sources, such as databases, and exclude personal opinions or statements.

Organizing Ideas

• To organize ideas, consider the type of paper you are writing, and group your ideas accordingly.
• Ways to organize ideas include:
  • Moving through time
  • Using spatial or descriptive organization
  • Sorting by importance
  • Comparing and contrasting
  • Explaining problems and solutions
  • Explaining from general to specific
  • Writing about causes and their effects

Evaluating Sources

• A source is any piece of information or evidence used to support an argument or claim.
• Primary sources are original materials or data, while secondary sources are interpretations or analyses of primary sources.
• To evaluate sources, consider:
  • The credibility of the author
  • The purpose of the source
  • The relevance of the source to the topic
  • The accuracy of the information
• It is important to give proper credit for the sources used in your writing.

Expository Text

• Expository text is any writing with the purpose of explaining, describing, or giving information about a subject or topic.
• Organizational features of expository text include:
  • Table of contents
  • Headers and subtitles
  • Captions
  • Footnotes
  • Endnotes
  • Glossary
  • Index
• These features help readers to learn and understand the topic.

Writing a Powerful Conclusion

• To write a powerful conclusion, consider:
  • Restating the main points from your thesis statement in a fresh way
  • Adding a few important details
  • Using clever writing techniques
  • Making your point in a bigger way

Compare and Contrast Essays

• Compare and contrast essays highlight similarities and differences between topics.
• To write a compare and contrast essay, consider:
  • Using a Venn Diagram to organize ideas
  • Crafting a thesis statement that highlights the similarities and differences between topics
  • Structuring the essay in a block or point-by-point format
  • Recognizing compare and contrast words and transitions to help identify and write compare and contrast essays