Literature HOMEWORK

WEEK FOUR FINAL DISCUSSION: PROOFREADING ACTIVITY

Proofreading Activity

This is a proofreading activity and discussion. In this activity, you are asked to make a very short

video or audio recording of yourself reading a paragraph or two from your finished paper, once

you have proofread it thoroughly. For the paragraph you will be recording, select either the first

paragraph or another one (or two) paragraphs that you take to be the strongest, best

paragraph(s) of your paper. Choose the section of your paper that gives the audience (your

classmates and instructor) a clear idea of your topic and thesis. This might be a body paragraph

where you develop decisive points in support of your thesis or it may even be your conclusion.

But in most cases, the best choice for presenting a brief snapshot of your paper will be the

opening paragraph.

A completely optional alternative would be for you to construct an abstract (250-500 words

maximum) of your paper and make a recording of that. Since we have not practiced writing

abstracts in this course, you may not be ready to include that as part of your coursework. However,

be aware that in academic publications, it is standard to include an abstract of your paper, or at

least have one on hand to share with anyone interested in your work.

Note that it takes about one minute to read 300 words, and a little under two minutes to read 500

words aloud. Please shoot for a time duration of between one and two minutes for your recording,

and please do not go longer than three minutes. If it’s a little under one minute, that is fine.

2

Note: If you have already submitted your paper and in proofreading it you find errors or see changes that

need to be made, you may re-submit the revised paper (use the same assignment link).

Introduction: Why bother proofreading?

When we proofread a document, we are, in the very first place, looking for small errors such as

misspellings or accidental omissions. However, in proofreading the final version—or what may

turn out to be the penultimate version of your paper if you find errors—you will also have the

opportunity to observe the flow of the analysis or argumentation and general sense of flow in

your writing. It is never too late to make changes (unless the final due-date deadline has

passed!). Most professional writers review, edit, and proofread their work numerous times, not

just once or twice. By contrast, most students fail to proofread their work even a single time.

Don’t fall into this category; this assignment is intended to bring home to you the value of

proofreading your work.

Have you ever sent off an email message or submitted a school paper only to later discover

that it was full of typographical errors? How could you have missed all of these errors?

The answer seems to have something to do with how our brains work. Our brains recognize

patterns. This is part of the reason why people who read a lot become fast readers: their brains

more speedily recognize and process patterns of words. Texts that we write ourselves are the

texts that we can read fastest of all, because our brains are already deeply familiar with the

patterns of our own words.

But what helps us as readers can hurt us as proofreaders. When we read our own work, our

brains move quickly across the familiar patterns, scarcely focusing on individual words. We see

what we meant to write, and not necessarily what we actually wrote. To our readers, however,

who are not as familiar with our words, the errors are apparent, and more importantly, they

detract from our credibility as authors.

The key to effective proofreading is being able to read a text with “fresh” eyes. This is why

teachers often recommend that students set their papers aside for a few hours—ideally

overnight—before trying to proofread. This assignment will help you to not only see your

writing with fresh eyes, but to hear your words as they express your intended meaning to your

audience. It’s a good idea to print out a document before trying to proofread it, as problems are

harder to catch on the screen. If printing isn’t an option, then open your document on your

computer screen in a way that makes it easier to read. For example, consider viewing it at

120% (or even larger) instead of 100%.

3

Strategies

Here are some other ways to force yourself to see what you’ve actually written on the page:

• Read your paper aloud (if you’re concerned about disturbing others, you can whisper). Read

slowly. Make sure you are reading the text itself rather than reading from memory.

• Read the paper backwards–not word-by-word, but sentence-by-sentence. Again, read

slowly.

• Ask a friend or family member to read your paper out loud to you while you silently read

along on a second copy of the paper. (This two-reader method is used by many

professional proofreaders).

• Run your paper through a text-to-speech converter, and have a computer read it to you.

The computer voice defamiliarizes your words and sets a slow pace that prevents you from

skimming over sections of text that you know well.

• Make a recording of yourself reading the paper aloud for

presentation to an audience of peers.

The second-to-last strategy—proofreading with a text-to-speech converter—is the one most

likely to be new to you. You are encouraged to try it! Instructions for converting text to speech

are available here: https://info260.hcommons.org/how-to-convert-text-to-speech/

For the Activity: Post an Audio or Video Recording in a Discussion Thread

There are tools built into the discussion tool that will allow you to make either an audio or video

recording. Please consult the steps for both processes below:

You can record up to a five-minute audio message or a three-minute video note in D2L

Brightspace in a number of locations in the course, including discussions. These instructions

refer to Discussion posts since that is the location you will be posting your recording. Note: You

may also simply upload a file of a recording you have made through a different method.

Step-by-step instructions for creating an Audio or Video Recording in Discussions

1. Go to Course Work > Discussions. (You may also access the discussion forums through links in the weekly Content area.)

2. Open the discussion forum that you wish to use.

3. From within a new thread or a response to another’s discussion post, click

the Add Attachments link to display the Record button, which provides the

option of making an audio or video recording.

4. Click Record Audio or Record Video, depending on the modality you prefer for this assignment. [Videos are encouraged!]

4

5. If you select Record Audio (allow use of mic if asked), a screen for making a new audio recording will open; when you are ready to start, hit the “New Recording” button. If you select Record Video (allow use of webcam/camera if asked), a screen, with your video image, will open; when you are ready to start, hit the “New Recording” button.

In either case, once you hit the record button, the

timer will start, and a “Stop Recording” button will

open. Hit that when you have finished recording. A

new screen will open that allows you to review your

recording. Next, give your recording a title (and

description, if you wish—you can also select to have

the language captioned), then click “Add.”

5

6. Now your recording is ready to

post in your discussion

thread. The final image on this

page shows a completed

thread with the link to the

recording, “Video test,”

embedded in the thread, in

this case in the Introduce

Yourself☺ discussion topic.

7. This completes your work for

this discussion assignment.

No replies or peer

comments are required. But

definitely DO check out the live

recordings of your peers

presenting a portion of their

paper!

Note: You will receive FULL CREDIT for

this assignment as long as you submit a

recording, audio or video!