Editing an academic paper is different from fixing an ordinary essay or other school work because academic papers demand perfection and a lot of fixing before it gets published. Proofreading these kinds of papers are really hard because of the long process that has to be done. So when it comes to academic proofreading, here are the steps to take.
Now the first step in this process would be to look at the paper as a whole so that it would be possible to spot for mistakes in the formatting and spacing. Format is very important because the way the paper is presented will show how much effort the writer made into writing that particular piece of work. So as a proofreader, it is important to be able to fix the formatting too.
Most proofreaders would skip this step and go directly to editing the paper and look for mistakes in details right away. Now take note that doing this will just confuse the proofreader because he will have absolutely no idea what he is editing and therefore will have a hard time spotting for mistakes. Before editing the paper, it is important to first read through the text.
When all of that has been finished, then the next thing to do would be to finally find all of the errors and mistakes in the paper. Begin with each sentence and find out of there are any mistakes with regard to spelling, grammar, or use of words. If there are any mistakes, then use a highlighter to take note of them so that they can be changed later on.
Grammar errors and word usage are not the only things that one should look at as wordiness and useless sentences are also something to change. Take note that academic papers are supposed to be brief and straightforward without any irrelevant sentences. So if there are some sentences that should not be there, it should be taken out.
While one is doing this, then he must also pay attention to the formatting of the paper as well. If there should be extra indentations or spaces, the proofreaders should put an indication on where the mistakes are. The font should also be consistent without any mistakes in size, color, and font family.
The last thing to look at would be the bibliography, footnotes, and the presentation of sources. Of course academic works will need a list of sources that will be written in a separate part of the piece of work where people can use as references. It is important that one know which format to use like MLA or APA and one must also be able to know how to use them properly.
If one wants to become a proofreader, then these are the things that he will be doing. Academic proofreading is actually the most difficult of them all because of the long process. Also, these works cannot be edited just anyhow because readers would expect works from famous authors or scholars to be as close to perfect as possible.
Now the first step in this process would be to look at the paper as a whole so that it would be possible to spot for mistakes in the formatting and spacing. Format is very important because the way the paper is presented will show how much effort the writer made into writing that particular piece of work. So as a proofreader, it is important to be able to fix the formatting too.
Most proofreaders would skip this step and go directly to editing the paper and look for mistakes in details right away. Now take note that doing this will just confuse the proofreader because he will have absolutely no idea what he is editing and therefore will have a hard time spotting for mistakes. Before editing the paper, it is important to first read through the text.
When all of that has been finished, then the next thing to do would be to finally find all of the errors and mistakes in the paper. Begin with each sentence and find out of there are any mistakes with regard to spelling, grammar, or use of words. If there are any mistakes, then use a highlighter to take note of them so that they can be changed later on.
Grammar errors and word usage are not the only things that one should look at as wordiness and useless sentences are also something to change. Take note that academic papers are supposed to be brief and straightforward without any irrelevant sentences. So if there are some sentences that should not be there, it should be taken out.
While one is doing this, then he must also pay attention to the formatting of the paper as well. If there should be extra indentations or spaces, the proofreaders should put an indication on where the mistakes are. The font should also be consistent without any mistakes in size, color, and font family.
The last thing to look at would be the bibliography, footnotes, and the presentation of sources. Of course academic works will need a list of sources that will be written in a separate part of the piece of work where people can use as references. It is important that one know which format to use like MLA or APA and one must also be able to know how to use them properly.
If one wants to become a proofreader, then these are the things that he will be doing. Academic proofreading is actually the most difficult of them all because of the long process. Also, these works cannot be edited just anyhow because readers would expect works from famous authors or scholars to be as close to perfect as possible.
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