“When you think you have finished your book, proofread, proofread again, and again, and again. Don’t believe it is ready until you have a hard copy proofed!” Phil Simpkin

Whether you’re writing your CV, preparing a blog post or submitting an advert for a newspaper, it’s easy to distract your reader with spelling mistakes, poor grammar and misplaced punctuation. Such errors can be costly – many recruiters will simply throw a CV away if there’s a typo! Make sure you give the right impression by proofreading your work. Here are a few tips to make it easy:

1. Print out the copy

Even though it’s relatively easy to proofread your documents on a computer, most people still find it easier to work on a hard copy. Why not use both? Begin with using the track changes option on your computer for the first round then print the document and go over it again. It’s guaranteed you will find things you missed.

2. Focus on one type of problem at a time

Read through the document, first correcting spelling mistakes, then grammatical mistakes and then other inconsistencies. Being methodical allows you to be thorough and focused, reducing the chances of missing a mistake.

3. Double check facts and figures

In addition to reviewing your copy for spelling and grammatical mistakes, make sure that facts and figures are accurate and do include references if necessary.

4. Read the text aloud

By reading the document aloud, you will be able to hear the mistakes that you might not see when reading silently.

5. Sleep on it

Once proofread, go back to it with a fresh pair of eyes the next day.