Before you submit an article for publication, it's important that you proofread it thoroughly. Although most publications will have their staff proofread your article after submission, it's important for you to submit writing that's as error free as possible. Read on to learn how to proofread an article.

Proofreading entails the detection and correction of errors. There are several strategies you can use to increase the number of errors you'll catch before you press submit.

1. Allow yourself time between when you finish and the submission deadline. #You'll do a better job proofreading if you can step away from the writing for a day (or at least several hours), so you're looking at it with a fresh eye.
2. Review the style guide for the publication you're submitting to. For example, you don't want to use serial commas if their style guide prohibits them - and you don't want to omit them when they are required.
3. Set aside some distraction free time that you can use to proofread.
4. If you'll be working on a hard copy, invest in a red pen or pencil to mark up the document.

1. Read over the article once as a reader would, marking the document up as you go.
2. When you detect an error, circle it, make a mark in the margin, and also make a mark at the top of the page.
3. Read the article a second time, this time reading out loud as you mark it up. reading aloud can help you detect errors that you missed on the first pass.

1. Go through the marked up document, correcting each error that you found.
2. Refer back to the style guide, or your original source materials, if there are points you are unsure of.
3. Compare the final draft to the marked up copy, making sure you've corrected all the errors.
4. Read through the final draft one last time.