Are you embarrassed to discover that after you’ve submitted your work to dozens of article directories that your writing looks at even though you wrote while intoxicated? It is shameful. However, you can avoid some of the most common article writing mistakes with this 10-step article review process.
Since most of us have access to and use spelling and grammar software, the heart of your editing should focus on the subtle aspects of writing that these proofing programs commonly overlook.
For example, look for words that are easy to mentally confuse.
Let me explain. When you write, you to know What do you mean. However, sometimes that is not exactly what he writes. Also, when you edit your writing, the voice in your head may miss a wrong word simply because it already knows what your writing says.
To illustrate, take the words “and” and “a”. You can write a sentence that says:
“The reckless politician released an inaccurate statistic and the reporters did not even question his sources.”
The “y” before “inaccurate” must be “an”, but the spelling and grammar program did not detect this error. And after proofreading, you can also ignore this because your eyes will see “one” and tell your brain “one” and therefore you will mistakenly think that the sentence is correct.
Here’s a list of words that are easy to misspell and that your grammar programs don’t often correct. So when editing your work, pay attention to these words:
1. “Y” and “An”
2. “I want and” I don’t want to.
3. “His” and “There”
4. “You” and “You”
5. “From” and “Direction”
6. “It” and “It”
7. Review your writing from a month ago.
One of the best ways to improve your writing, and to be more aware of the grammar mistakes you are more likely to write, is to re-edit the work you posted a month ago. Print three of your old articles. Now edit these articles with a red pen. Consider the types of grammar mistakes you made most often. The next time you edit your articles, keep in mind the types of typos you are most prone to and look for them in your work.
8. Read your article aloud at a slow pace.
Once you’ve written your article, read it out loud. But read every word deliberately. I say “deliberately” because as you read, your brain has already registered what it expects you to say, so your brain will read from memory, not from the reality of what is written on paper. Slowing down a bit increases the chances that you will actually see mistakes on the paper.
9. Read your article in reverse order.
To replay the theme of tricking your brain into seeing your article with fresh eyes, read your article from the last paragraph to the first. This tip will help you spot the less obvious mistakes.
10. Read your article in a different source.
Another way to get your eyes and brain to see the article with “new” eyes is to change the font of your article. For example, if you wrote the article in Times New Roman, change the font to something completely different like Mistral or Pristina. Also change the font size if necessary.
11. Bonus tip: read grammar books
Whenever I feel like my writing is getting so bad that I almost don’t want to read it, I read a grammar book. Today’s grammar books are not boring like those in sixth grade English class. Today, books have attitude, practicality and make you want to write better. So go to your local library or bookstore and read a grammar book to keep your writing style sharp and enjoyable for both you and your readers.
That’s it. As (the editors) say, “The key to good writing is good rewriting.” Now go give the world of reading something worthwhile and not wasteful and I, I mean, I’ll try to do the same.