Language term
Proofreading
Checking your writing carefully to catch and correct errors before finishing.
What it means
Proofreading is the careful checking of your own writing before you finish. You find and correct errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar and sense. Do it after drafting.
Read back over your work slowly, looking specifically for mistakes and for anything unclear or awkward. Good proofreading catches slips that are easy to make under time pressure, such as missing words, tense shifts, apostrophe errors and comma splices. It is a distinct skill from writing itself, requiring you to switch from expressing ideas to checking accuracy.
It can noticeably raise the quality of a finished piece.
Why it matters in the exam
In every writing task, technical accuracy is assessed. A few minutes of proofreading can recover marks lost to careless errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Because such slips are so common under exam pressure, systematic checking is one of the easiest ways to protect your marks.
Examiners reward accurate, controlled writing. Proofreading is not an optional extra but an essential final stage of every response you produce.
Example
A student rereads a story. They notice they have written their instead of there, and they correct a sentence that had accidentally slipped from past into present tense.
How to use it
Leave a few minutes at the end to read your work slowly. Check specifically for spelling, punctuation, tense consistency, agreement and apostrophes. Also look for any sentence that does not make sense.
Reading almost aloud in your head helps you catch missing words. Fix errors neatly. Building this habit ensures careless slips do not cost you the accuracy marks your writing deserves.
Unsure how "Proofreading" earns marks? A trial hour with an experienced teacher shows it in a real answer.