Transcript:
HOW TO PROOF READ YOUR WORK/ASSIGNMENTHow to proofread your work and assignments
THE SCRIPT:
A Coffee shop scenario
Student AKathy: Thanks for the coffee, Matt.
Student BMatt: Hey, Nono worries.
KathyStudent A: Let’s How about we go to the library and finish work on this that essay we’re supposed to finishassignment..
MattStudent B: Actually I’ve already finishedmine -I just need to submit it now.
KathyStudent A: Well doneHey, that’s great,… but have you proofread it yet?
MattStudent B: Proofreading?What’s that?!
KathyStudent A: Well, I once attended remember this workshop where they told us aboutattending a proofreading… workshop…
Lecturer Voiceover: Proofreading is primarily about searching your assignment for errors, both grammatical grammar errors and typographicaltyping errors. (Text appears in screen).
Before you submit your assignment, you should not skip the important step of proofreading your assignmeit.nt
Reading out loud can help identify where there is an error, such as missing articles , punctuation, lack of subject-verb agreement, use of contractions or wrong words.
Matt (reading his assignment off the computer screen): “Medical science have[CDU1] progressed rapidly in the last fifty years Most notably in the last decade…”
Kathy (interrupting): It doesn’t sound like there’s a subject-verb agreement in that first sentence. I think it should be “Medical science has progressed rapidly”.
Matt (reading): “Medical science has progressed rapidly in the last fifty years Most notably in the last decade…”
Kathy: As well, it sounds like you’ve run two sentences together. It also looks like you’ve stated a new sentence with “Most notably” because there’s a capital letter, but I think there’s a punctuation mark missing there – it should be a full stop.
Matt (reading): “Most notably in the last decade, stem cell research around the harvesting…”
Student A:Let’s do this together. First,
Read out loud (Text appears in screen),
Student appear to be reading his/her assignment on the laptop
Lecturer voiceover: Reading out loud can help you identify where there is an error such as MISSING ARTICLES, PUNCTUATION OR THE USE OF WRONG WORDS. (Text appears on screen)
Camera zooms in to find the missing article, punctuation and/or the use of wrong word in the student assignment and student finds the error and corrects it.
Kathy: Another thing. You’ve paused after “Most notably”, but there’s no punctuation mark to indicate that pause, so I think there should be a comma.
Matt (reading): “Most notably, in the last decade, stem cell research around the harvesting and use of stem cells has had major impact on medical bio-ethics.”
Kathy: In that sentence, it sounds like there’s a missing article. So, it should be “around the harvesting and use of stem cells has had a major impact”.
Matt (reading): “Of major concern are research founding’s[CDU2] on bio-ethical…”
Kathy: I believe the word you’re looking for is “findings”, instead of “founding’s”.
Matt (reading): “The essay will talk about [CDU3]five major aspects…”
Kathy: At the beginning of that sentence, you say, “The essay will talk about,” but that’s more spoken English. When you’re writing an essay, you want to write in academic English. So instead of saying “talk about”, you might want to use the word “examine”.
Matt (reading): “The essay will examine five major aspects that determine not only the definition of HES cell research but also the factors that lead to the prohibition or the progression of the research itself. HES cell research will be defined and details of how it’s conducted will be outlined.”
Kathy: It sounds like you’ve used a contraction with the word “it’s”, which is where you put two words together to make a single word. But in essay writing, you don’t want to use contractions. So instead of using “it’s”, use, “it is”.
Matt (reading): “Views on HES cell research and its impact on the religious communities, morality, and the issues that most members of society have with this research will be explored. Faurther more[CDU4]…”
Kathy: Have you used spell-check?
Matt: Spell-check… what is that?
Lecturer Voiceover:We can USE THE SPELL use the spell-check in word processing programs, AND GRAMMAR CHECK IN YOUR WORD PROCESSING APPLICATION (Text appears in screen), but don't rely on this tool as it is not always correctalone. Here is how we use it:
- Select the text you want to spell-check, or place the cursor anywhere in the text to review the entire document.
- Select the Review tab, and choose “Spelling and Grammar”.
- The Spelling and Grammar window opens, and Word begins spell-checking.
- Check the suggestions window in the lower left corner for corrections suggested.
- Click the Change button to make the suggested correction.
Always double check the suggestions.
Lecturer voiceover: DO NOT USE CONTRACTIONS as contractions are considered to be more informal.. (Text appears in screen),
Camera zooms in to find contractions in the student assignment and student finds the error and corrects it.
Lecturer voiceover: USE ACADEMIC WRITTEN ENGLISH, NOT SPOKEN ENGLISH (Text appears in screen).
Camera zooms in to find spoken English in the student assignment and student finds the error and corrects it.
Lecturer voiceover: CHECK YOUR SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT AND AVOID SLANG OR COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE (Text appears in screen).
Camera zooms in to find slang or colloquial language in the student assignment and student finds the error and corrects it.
Read slowly (Text appears in screen),
Student appears to be reading his/her assignment on the laptop
Lecturer voiceover: Pause at each full stop in order to ensure you have made meaning of each sentence. CONCENTRATE ON JUST ONE SENTENCE AT A TIME. (Text appears in screen).
Camera zooms in to find a long sentence that needs to be shortened using punctuation in the student assignment and student finds the error and correct it.
USE SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK(Text appears in screen),
Student appears to be looking for spell checker in Microsoft Word on the laptop
Lecturer Voiceover: USE THE SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK IN YOUR WORD PROCESSING APPLICATION (Text appears in screen), but don't rely on this tool as it is not always correct. Always double check the suggestions.
Camera zooms in to show student how to use the spell and grammar check in the student assignment and student fins the error and correct it.
Student BMatt:It’s so easy to miss little mistakes! I’m going to keep reading the rest of my assignment out loud...
Voiceover: For further information and other free resources, visit the ALLSP website at
Camera slowly zooms out of the student while reading the rest of the assignment.
THE STUDENT’s ASSIGNMENT
The Bio-Ethics of Stem Cell research
Copy for Student A.
Medical science have[CDU5] progressed exponentially in the last fifty years.[CDU6] Most notably,[CDU7] in the last decade, stem cell research around the harvesting and use of stem cells has had a[CDU8] major impact on medical bio-ethics. Of major concern are research founding’s[CDU9] on bio-ethical human embryonic stem (HES) and its sustainability in modern society. The essay will talk about [CDU10] five major aspects that determine not only the definition HES cell research but also the factors that lead to the prohibition or the progression of the research itself. HES cell research will be defined and detailed of how it’s[CDU11] conducted will be outlined. Views on HES cell research and its impact on the religious communities, morality, and the issues that most members of society have with this research will be explored. Farther more[CDU12], political views on stem cell research and the role it plays in shaping public opinion will be examined. Finally, the essay will argue that the health and legal ramifications of HES cell research are not legally sanctioned.
Copy for Student B
The Bio-Ethics of Stem Cell research
Medical science have progressed exponentially in the last fifty years Most notably in the last decade, stem cell research around the harvesting and use of stem cells hashad major impact on medical bio-ethics. Of major concern are research founding’s on bio-ethical human embryonic stem (HES) and its sustainability in modern society. The essay will talk about five major aspects that determine not only the definition HES cell research but also the factors that lead to the prohibition or the progression of the research itself. HES cell research will be defined and detailed of how it’s conducted will be outlined. Views on HES cell research and its impact on the religious communities, morality, and the issues that most members of society have with this research will be explored. Farther more, political views on stem cell research and the role it plays in shaping public opinion will be examined. Finally, the essay will argue that the health and legal ramifications of HES cell research are not legally sanctioned.
2
[CDU1]Student A:
SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT.
Subjects and verbs must AGREE. If a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural. In this case “Medical Science” is a singular, the helping verb must be singular “has”.
[CDU2]USE OF ‘WRONG WORD”.
I believe the word you are looking for is “FINDINGS” and it is spelled F I N D I N G S.
[CDU3]USE OF SPOKEN ENGLISH.
Spoken English is different from written English. The vocabulary of Written English is precise, clear and concise. So, Instead of saying ‘the essay will talk about…’, we can say, ‘the essay will examine five..
[CDU4]SPELL CHECK.
We can use the spell check on word processing, but don’t rely on this tool alone. Here how we do it;
1. Select the text you want to spell check, or place the cursor anywhere in the text to spell check the entire document.
2.Go to the Tools menu
3.Select Spelling and Grammar. The Spelling and Grammar window opens, and Word begins spell checking.
4.Check the Suggestions window in the lower-left corner of the Spelling and Grammar window for correction suggestions.
5.Click the Change button to make the suggested correction.
[CDU5]Student A:
SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT.
Subjects and verbs must AGREE. If a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural. In this case “Medical Science” is a singular, the helping verb must be singular “has”.
[CDU6]MISSING PUNCTUATION that signifies the end of a sentence (Full Stop).
Full stops are used to divide text and create boundaries, by marking the end of a sentence
[CDU7]MISSING PUNCTUATION (Comma).
Use comma to help you pause and to separate items in a series.
[CDU8]MISSING ARTICLE (A).
"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group.
[CDU9]USE OF ‘WRONG WORD”.
I believe the word you are looking for is “FINDINGS” and it is spelled F I N D I N G S.
[CDU10]USE OF SPOKEN ENGLISH.
Spoken English is different from written English. The vocabulary of Written English is precise, clear and concise. So, Instead of saying ‘the essay will talk about…’, we can say, ‘the essay will examine five..
[CDU11]USE OF CONTRACTION.
In everyday spoken English forms of the verb 'to be' and other auxiliary verbs are usually contracted. However, in academic writing, do not use contractions
[CDU12]SPELL CHECK.
We can use the spell check on word processing, but don’t rely on this tool alone. Here how we do it;
6. Select the text you want to spell check, or place the cursor anywhere in the text to spell check the entire document.
7.Go to the Tools menu
8.Select Spelling and Grammar. The Spelling and Grammar window opens, and Word begins spell checking.
9.Check the Suggestions window in the lower-left corner of the Spelling and Grammar window for correction suggestions.
10.Click the Change button to make the suggested correction.