Final answer:
Proofreading includes checking for clarity, coherence, punctuation, and redundancy. After writing, revision should be employed to address sentence structure and rhetoric. A break before revising can help identify issues more effectively.
Step-by-step explanation:
Proofreading involves careful scrutiny of a document to identify and correct errors, which encompasses more than just checking for spelling and formatting mistakes. When proofreading, it's essential to examine the document for clarity and coherence, ensuring that the text is understandable and logically structured. Additionally, attention must be paid to punctuation errors, which can alter the meaning of sentences and disrupt the flow of the text. It is also important to eliminate redundancy and verbosity to produce concise and efficient writing. Such a thorough process aids in refining sentence structures and enhancing the overall readability of the document.
After writing, revision is a critical step. Cognitive research suggests that immediate proofreading may be ineffective due to the brain's inclination to overlook existing errors. Therefore, taking a break before revising can help you view your work with fresh eyes, allowing you to be more critical and make substantial improvements. During this phase, identifying and correcting mixed sentence structures, ensuring subject-verb consistency, and improving sentence variety can significantly improve your draft.
Lastly, always evaluate an essay for its adherence to rhetorical expectations, and ensure that you have accurate documentation for any external sources. By revising and proofreading repeatedly, you refine ideas, improve paragraphs, and ultimately create a more polished and effective piece of writing.