by Ray Fauteux

Created on: May 27, 2007   Last Updated: March 30, 2009

I believe it's necessary to have a clear understanding of the basic rules of grammar and punctuation in order to improve spelling and proofreading skills. Grammar and punctuation can make copy flow, or turn a reader off after about three sentences. The best way to become a better proofreader is to learn about two or three of the errors that give you the most problem. Practice trying to find them in your own writing.

There seems to be some very common errors that are made over and over again, and most of them can be easily fixed. Reading out loud is a good way to catch common mistakes. For instance, quite often in this age of computers and keyboards, words tend to get repeated for some reason. Often the word "the" comes out the the. If a sentence is read carefully and slowly out loud the error will be spotted instantly, but proofreading over the same sentence quickly can result in the error being easily missed.

Read a copy carefully from beginning to end and word by word. Look for those sound alike errors we all make. The words there-their and to-too are often used incorrectly.

There are many opportunities to write on the Internet and many people can earn fairly good money at it, but it can also be very demanding. Most sites are extremely picky when they are purchasing unique, fresh articles they purchase from you in order to sell to others who are looking for sound, well-written material for their websites. They will quickly reject any articles with even one "typo." Poor sentence structure and wandering from the main topic will also result in rejection.

The absolute best way to become better at spelling and proofreading is to find one of these sites and write and submit articles to them with the hopes of selling your work. It can be a very humbling experience to receive rejection after rejection, but if a person sticks with it and learns from the rejections, becoming better at spelling and proofreading and ultimately becoming a better writer is sure to be the main benefit.

It takes years for a person to become a skilled proofreader. Even number one best selling novels can have a glaring typo that makes one wonder how it could possibly have been missed, but the level of concentration needed to achieve perfection when it comes to creating a perfect piece of writing is a learned skill and even the very best can miss the odd one.

You simply can't practice enough. Another good way to develop your proofreading skills is to have someone proofread your work once you are done with it. Preferably find someone who is very good with spelling and grammar so they can spot any mistakes and point them out to you right away.

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