Grade by Grade
Writing · Writing: Planning, Drafting, Revising and Publishing

Proofreading, Publishing and Producing Finished Work

3.5 3.6 3.7About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can proofread in focused passes using a checklist developed with my teacher and peers.
  • I can use strategies such as reading aloud, changing the look of the page and reading backward to find errors.
  • I can format an essay in MLA style and use fonts, headings, graphics and layout to make other forms clear and appealing.
  • I can check a finished work against the prompt and criteria before submitting it.

Words to know

proofreading
The final check for surface errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar and format.
publishing
Preparing and presenting writing for its audience.
presentation features
Fonts, headings, graphics, layout and handwriting choices that affect how a text looks.
layout
The arrangement of text, white space and images on a page or screen.
caption
A short text that explains a graphic or photo.
alt text
A written description of an image for readers who use screen readers.
MLA format
The page layout rules of the Modern Language Association: margins, spacing, heading, header and Works Cited.

The last five per cent

You have planned, drafted and revised. Your ideas are strong. Now imagine your essay arrives with a typo in the title, the author's name spelled two different ways, and the Works Cited in the wrong font. Before reading a single idea, your reader already doubts you.

The final stage of the writing process is proofreading (finding and fixing surface errors), publishing (presenting your work so it is clear and appealing) and producing a finished work that meets the criteria. It is often the fastest way to raise a mark, and the easiest to skip.

Remember from Grade 9

In Grade 9 you proofread with word-processing tools, published for real venues, and used design principles such as CARP (contrast, alignment, repetition, proximity) and focal points. This lesson adds proofreading in passes, guidelines you develop with your teacher and peers, and the presentation conventions of a formal MLA essay.

Proofreading strategies that work

Your brain is very good at seeing what you meant to write instead of what you did write. Proofreading strategies trick it into seeing the page fresh.

  • Take a break first, ideally overnight.
  • Change the look: print it, or change the font and size on screen. Errors jump out on an unfamiliar page.
  • Read aloud, slowly, or use your device's text-to-speech. You will hear missing words and doubled words (the the).
  • Read backward, sentence by sentence to check spelling: it breaks the flow of meaning so you look at each word.
  • One pass per error type (see the diagram). Trying to catch everything at once catches less.
  • Use a checklist developed with your teacher and classmates, plus your personal error list from the last lesson.
  • Trade with a peer for a final check: a fresh pair of eyes sees what yours skip.
Proofread in passes: one kind of error at a timePass 1spelling +homophonesPass 2punctuationPass 3grammar: agree-ment, tensePass 4my personalerror listPass 5format +citations
Each pass looks for one kind of problem. Your personal error list gets its own pass because those are the mistakes you are most likely to make.
Proofreading checklist itemCheck
Every sentence is complete (no fragments, run-ons or comma splices)☐
Subjects and verbs agree; pronouns are clear☐
Verb tense is consistent (literary present in essays)☐
Commas, apostrophes and quotation punctuation are correct☐
Homophones checked (their/there/they're, its/it's...)☐
Names, titles and quotations match the source exactly☐
Every in-text citation matches a Works Cited entry☐
Formatting meets the teacher's requirements☐
A sample checklist. Your class may add items; that is what developing guidelines with your teacher and peers means.

Publishing: presentation features

The curriculum asks you to use presentation features (print and script, fonts, graphics and layout) to make your work clearer and more appealing for its audience.

  • Fonts: use one readable body font at a normal size (often 12 point for essays). Use at most one or two fonts in a document. Decorative fonts are for headings on posters, not paragraphs.
  • Headings and subheadings help readers navigate reports and informational texts (but are not usually used in short literary essays).
  • White space and layout: margins, short paragraphs, bulleted lists and columns make information easier to scan.
  • Graphics: charts, diagrams, photos and maps should have captions and sources, and should be placed near the text they support. Online, add alt text describing images for readers using screen readers.
  • Print and script: handwritten work should be legible. Cursive (script) can make a personal note or invitation feel warmer; neat printing is clearer for forms and labels.
  • Consistency: headings, spacing and citation style the same way throughout.
First page of an MLA essay (not to scale)Chen 1Ava ChenMs. OkaforENG2D14 October 2026Small Notes, Big Meaning in"Notes on the Fridge"← last name + page numberheading: name, →teacher, course, date← title centred, plainindent each →paragraph← double-spacedthroughout1-inch (2.54 cm) →margins
The standard MLA first page. Your teacher may change details (for example, a title page or a different date format), so always check the assignment.

Producing a finished work

A finished work is revised, edited, proofread, formatted and checked against the criteria. Before you hand anything in:

  1. Reread the prompt (Lesson 1) and tick off every requirement.
  2. Read the rubric one more time and ask: What level would I give this, honestly?
  3. Check the format (MLA or as assigned), the file name (Chen_ENG2D_LiteraryEssay) and the file type your teacher asked for.
  4. Keep a copy of the final version and your earlier drafts for your portfolio.
Worked example

Let's proofread a passage in passes

Proofread this paragraph from an essay on "Notes on the Fridge": In the begining, the narrators notes are short and cold. When Mom ask's about the math test the narrator answers with "one line, then two". This shows there relationship is changing, the fridge door slowly fills up.

  1. Pass 1, spelling and homophones: begining → beginning; there relationship → their relationship.
  2. Pass 2, punctuation: narrators notes → narrator's notes (one narrator owns the notes); ask's → asks (no apostrophe in a verb); comma after the introductory clause When Mom asks about the math test; period inside the closing quotation mark: "one line, then two."
  3. Pass 3, grammar: Mom ask → Mom asks (agreement). The last sentence is a comma splice: ...is changing, as the fridge door slowly fills up.
  4. Pass 4, personal error list: suppose my list includes vague "This shows". Replace with a precise subject and verb: These longer replies reveal that...
  5. Pass 5, format and citation: the quotation matches the story exactly (one line, then two). If the story had page numbers, I would add a citation after the closing quotation mark.

In the beginning, the narrator's notes are short and cold. When Mom asks about the math test, the narrator answers with "one line, then two." These longer replies reveal that their relationship is changing, as the fridge door slowly fills up.

Hands-on activity

Publish it properly

You need: a finished piece of your writing, a computer (or neat paper), and a family member.

  1. Proofread the piece in five passes using the diagram. Keep a tally of how many errors you find in each pass.
  2. Format it as an MLA essay (or as a newsletter article, poster or booklet if it is not an essay): check font, spacing, heading, header and margins.
  3. If it is informational, add one graphic with a caption and source, and a heading structure.
  4. Hand the printed or on-screen version to a family member and ask them to find any error you missed. Add that error type to your personal list.
  5. Save it with a clear file name in a folder called Portfolio.

What to look for: a tally showing errors found in more than one pass, formatting that matches the MLA diagram (or the chosen form's conventions), and a clear, consistent layout.

Just for fun

Proofreading tip from experienced editors: the one error you miss will always be in the title. In 72-point font. On the cover.

Your turn

1

Why does reading your work aloud help you proofread?

2

What goes in the top-right header of an MLA essay?

3

List the four lines of an MLA heading, in order.

4

Why proofread in separate passes?

5

Name two presentation features that make a report easier to read.

6

What should every graphic in a report include?

More practice: warm-up

1

How should an MLA essay be spaced?

2

How big are MLA margins?

3

Should an MLA title be bold or underlined?

4

Name one way to make a familiar page look new for proofreading.

5

What is alt text?

More practice: on your own

1

Proofread: The Smith's went to there cottage, it was to cold to swim.

2

A student uses five fonts, three colours and a cursive font for body text in a report. Give two pieces of advice.

3

Why should you check quotations against the original source during proofreading?

4

Write a correct MLA heading for yourself for an ENG2D essay due 20 November 2026 (teacher: Mr. Grant).

5

A student proofreads by running spell check once and submitting. Name three error types this could miss.

Challenge

1

Create a five-pass proofreading plan personalized to your most common errors, and explain why you ordered the passes that way.

2

A newsletter article about a school fundraiser has accurate content but is one long block of text in a small font. Describe four presentation changes and how each helps the audience.

3

Explain the difference between a revised draft (2.7) and a finished work (3.7), and describe what happens between them.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which proofreading strategy best catches missing words?

2.

In MLA format, the header in the top-right corner contains:

3.

Which is the best body font choice for an essay?

4.

Why proofread in separate passes?

5.

What should a graphic in a report include?

6.

Which is the correct order?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectations 3.5 (proofreading with guidelines developed with the teacher and peers), 3.6 (presentation features such as fonts, graphics and layout) and 3.7 (producing finished works to criteria) are the final stage of the writing process.

How to help: offer to be the fresh eyes for a final read, but ask your teen to fix what you find. Encourage printing important assignments for a last check. Help them set up a folder system so drafts and final versions are easy to find for portfolio work.

Common difficulties: proofreading too quickly right after writing; relying only on spell check; inconsistent formatting; misspelled names and titles; skipping the final check of the prompt and rubric.