How to Write Great Essays

H
O W T O
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R O O F R E A D
Good proofreading involves far more than a simple run of spell and grammar check on your
computer. In fact, those programs are not fool-proof, and therefore a reliance on them alone
to find your errors is a mistake. However, they are not a bad place to start. Reread the advice
for using spell check in Chapter 3 (page 36), and read the following guidelines for using
computer grammar tools.

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HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5
Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
64
GRAMMAR CHECK TOOLS
You should always use a grammar check program on your writing. Grammar check can find
possible errors, draw your attention to them, and suggest corrections.
The settings on these programs may be changed to check for only those elements that
you specify; check for specific styles of writing, such as formal, standard, casual, and tech-
nical; and check for errors as you type, or when you are finished.
GRAMMAR CHECK SETTINGS
To modify the grammar check settings in Microsoft Word, open a blank document and:
1. Click on “Tools” on the toolbar at the top.
2. Select “Options.”
3. Click on the “Spelling and Grammar” tab.
4. Click on “Settings” in the lower grammar section.
5. Read the list of options, and select those you want grammar check to look for
6. Click on “OK.”
Although you should always use grammar check, you should not rely on it completely.
Grammar programs make mistakes, both by missing errors, and by flagging “errors” that
are actually correct. In fact, there have been a number of studies done comparing the effec-
tiveness of various programs, and they perform about the same (fair to poor).
The first problem, missing errors, is illustrated by the following examples. A grammar
check on the following sentence did pick up the subject/verb agreement error (
I is
), but did
not notice the participle error (
I studying
).
I is ready to take the exam after I studying my notes and the textbook.
Similarly, the punctuation problems in the following sentence were not flagged.
The recipe, calls for fifteen ingredients and, takes too long to prepare.
When grammar check does highlight an error, be aware that it may, in fact, be correct.
But if your knowledge of grammar is limited, you will not know whether to accept gram-
mar check’s corrections. To further complicate matters, you may be offered more than one
possible correction, and will be asked to choose between them. Unless you are familiar enough
with the specific problem, this may be no more than a guess. It is important to understand
the type of error highlighted, and get more information if you are not sure about it. Con-
sult the grammar advice in Chapter 4, as well as the resources listed at the end of the book.
64

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Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
CHAPTER 5