So, you’ve been revising until your eyes gloss over? Words are all starting to look the same and you’re reciting your admissions essay in your sleep? Professional authors spend a long time figuring out just what proofreading process works for them. Here’s the trick for the last step of this writing process: start off with plenty of material (don’t worry about word count until that whole story is there on the page) and then get ready to polish it using the following tips. 

TAKE AT LEAST A WEEK OFF.

During this time, don’t look at or open your doc. Your brain has to forget this document to catch typos. Why? A neuroscientific phenomenon in your prefrontal cortex occurs when you stop staring at the same words over and over again that allows you to analyze them from a new perspective. It’s literally a fresh start. Plus, studies show that taking a break can actually improve quality of work and reignite your motivation.

CHANGE THE FONT SIZE & COLOR. 

You literally have to trick yourself to see your draft anew. Your brain gets used to the Times New Roman twelve point font, but a bold Arial in size fourteen should shock your prefrontal cortex into action. There’s something magical about this approach that forces you to see your words with a fresh perspective. 

PRINT YOUR ESSAY OUT. 

Again, you need a new background to trick your eyes. Seeing it on paper versus your laptop makes a huge difference for some reason, trust me. Get out that red pen and read it forwards and backwards on that white printer paper and go to town. Reading it backwards makes it easier to notice punctuation mistakes (this has been a lifesaver for me!).

READ THE DRAFT OUT LOUD. 

This will help you catch anything that sounds off or should be cut. Reading my pieces out loud helps me catch any awkward flow or grammatically incorrect phrases. That’s because this is a new way for your brain to process your writing, so make sure to include it in your standard editing strategy as a final step. 

GET THE FREE GRAMMARLY APP.

Grammarly is a digital guardian angel that will alert you about missing commas, and more importantly, misspelled words. The last thing you want is a beautifully crafted personal narrative to be perceived as lazy writing because of an accidental typo. It’s not perfect and won’t stand in for a real human editor, but it’s great in a pinch when you’re done reading your essay for the 27th time. 

FINALLY, GIVE YOUR ESSAY TO A PAIR OF FRESH EYES. 

Have someone who has never seen your draft before read it for typos. Whether it’s a peer, a trusted teacher, or a professional, someone new will notice the holes in your personal statement like no other. Try to get this done with ample time before your deadline. Trust me, procrastinating isn’t worth it. Ideally, this person wouldn’t know you or your story at all, so they can catch anything that doesn’t make sense to a stranger (i.e. the admissions officer reading your draft).