Review: Proofreading a Paragraph for Confused Words

Find and fix commonly confused words in a short paragraph.

Strong readers notice when a word does not fit, and strong writers fix it. Read this paragraph, which has four mistakes: 'Their going to the museum today. The weather is nice, accept for some wind. Its a short walk, but the bus is faster then walking. ' Let's check each one. 'Their going' should be 'They're going', because it means they are.

'Accept for' should be 'except for', because the wind is being left out. 'Its a short walk' should be 'It's', because it means it is. 'Faster then' should be 'faster than', because it compares. The word 'weather' was correct. Use your tests: expand contractions, check if it is an action, and look for comparisons.

• 1Read slowly to catch words that do not fit.
• 2Expand contractions to test them.
• 3Ask: Is it an action? A comparison? Ownership?