Why we don't proofread

To understand why the Writing Center tutors do not proofread, you must first know the difference between proofreading and revision.

When proofreading, a writer reads through a paper line by line and corrects things like typos and grammatical errors. Generally, proofreading occurs when the paper is almost a finished product.

Revision, on the other hand, is the process of seeing a paper again, as if it were something new (re-vision). During this process, the writer looks at the paper as a work in progress and considers the structure and meaning. Does the paper have a unifying main idea? Do the examples and details in the paper support this idea? Are the examples and details developed enough, or do they leave the reader to figure things out? Is there a logical connection between the supporting ideas, or do some parts of the paper seem unrelated to the rest? Is the introduction interesting? Is the conclusion consistent with the content of the paper? Does it remind readers of the thesis and address the implications of the argument?

At the Writing Center, tutors will offer advice about revision so that writers learn what sorts of problems to look for in future papers and discover strategies to correct or avoid them.