You just wrote a great cover letter for a job posting, now what? It’s time to proofread your work! – Did you just let out a sigh? It’s ok if you did. Proofreading can be a tedious task to correct any mistakes. Here are a few helpful tips on how to be a better proofreader and hopefully not make the proofreading so painful.

Take It Line By Line

If you are able to print your work, try covering under each line with another piece of paper or a ruler. This will help your eyes focus on what is in front of them without them wanting to wander to the next line. 

If you are not able to print your work, that is ok. Try using your mouse cursor to follow underneath the sentence. By doing this, your eyes will want to follow the cursor and not drift somewhere else. You can even hold up a piece of paper or ruler if that better suits you. 

Read It Aloud

Reading it aloud the way it is written may help you catch missing commas or periods. You will be able to spot run on sentences when you can’t find a moment to take a breath. 

Take a Break

This may sound ridiculous… but… take a break! Let your eyes relax for a while so you can come back refreshed and ready to proofread. You will be able spot errors better. Try taking a walk around the room or close your eyes for 5 minutes and pick up where you left off.

Separate

Instead of looking for spelling errors or punctuation errors as you proofread, try separating them. Go through your paper once just looking for spelling errors. Then, go through your paper just looking for punctuation errors.