It’s been several years since I’ve shared a blog post! I’ve enjoyed continuing to work with you all over these past years. I am always grateful to read your stories.
Today I will share some tips on final proofreading your personal statement. In addition to simply reading for typos and grammar, I recommend a few strategies:
Read it out loud. If you have access to a printer, print out your essay and read it out loud. It’s so easy to glaze over missing words when skimming with your eyes. I always find something when reading it out loud.
Ask a friend to read it out loud to you. I know this can feel a bit embarrassing, but similar to tip #1, you will hear your words differently when someone else reads them aloud.
Check for repetitive words. If there’s a word you use frequently, you might want to check just how often you’ve used that word. Use the search function (Ctrl + F in Word) to highlight all uses of that word. If you use a word multiple times in a sentence or paragraph, consider changing some of them.