# Stronger Writing: A Revision & Proofreading Checklist

A modernized writing checklist that works from large decisions to small ones: **content and argument first, organization second, paragraphs and sentences third, proofreading last.**

## Pass 1 — Purpose & content
- [ ] Can I state what this piece is trying to accomplish in one sentence?
- [ ] Does the draft actually answer the question, assignment, problem, or purpose?
- [ ] Is the central claim or controlling idea clear enough that a reader can follow it?
- [ ] Have I included the evidence, examples, explanation, or context a reader needs?
- [ ] Have I removed material that is interesting but does not serve the purpose?
- [ ] Have I distinguished evidence from my interpretation of that evidence?
- [ ] Are any important claims unsupported or more certain than the evidence permits?

## Pass 2 — Structure
Try a **reverse outline**: beside each paragraph, write what that paragraph actually does in a few words.

Then ask:
- [ ] Does every section have a clear function?
- [ ] Does the order make the argument easier to understand?
- [ ] Does each paragraph advance the piece rather than merely repeat it?
- [ ] Are important ideas buried in places where readers may miss them?
- [ ] Would combining, splitting, moving, or deleting any paragraphs improve the logic?
- [ ] Do transitions show the relationship between ideas rather than simply announce a new paragraph?

## Pass 3 — Thesis / central claim
For argumentative or analytical writing:
- [ ] Is the claim specific enough to be meaningful?
- [ ] Is it arguable rather than merely descriptive?
- [ ] Does the body of the piece actually support the claim I make?
- [ ] Has the argument changed during drafting? If so, have I updated the introduction and conclusion to match the argument I actually wrote?
- [ ] Does the claim acknowledge necessary qualifications or limits?

## Pass 4 — Paragraphs
For each paragraph:
- [ ] What is this paragraph doing?
- [ ] Is its main idea clear?
- [ ] Does the evidence belong with that idea?
- [ ] Have I explained why the evidence matters rather than expecting it to speak for itself?
- [ ] Does the paragraph connect logically to what comes before and after it?
- [ ] Is the paragraph trying to do too many jobs?

## Pass 5 — Evidence & sources
- [ ] Are quotations, paraphrases, data, and outside ideas accurately represented?
- [ ] Have I provided citations wherever the genre or assignment requires them?
- [ ] Is every quotation doing work that paraphrase or summary could not do as effectively?
- [ ] Have I introduced quotations so the reader understands their context?
- [ ] Have I analyzed important evidence after presenting it?
- [ ] Have I checked names, dates, page numbers, statistics, titles, links, and other factual details?
- [ ] Is my citation style internally consistent?

## Pass 6 — Sentences
- [ ] Are subjects and verbs clear?
- [ ] Can I replace vague abstractions with more precise nouns or verbs?
- [ ] Have I used active voice where it improves clarity while retaining passive voice where the actor is unknown, irrelevant, or deliberately deemphasized?
- [ ] Are sentences unnecessarily long or syntactically overloaded?
- [ ] Are several consecutive sentences built exactly the same way?
- [ ] Have I removed filler, repetition, throat-clearing, and empty intensifiers?
- [ ] Are pronoun references unambiguous?
- [ ] Have I checked fragments, run-ons, comma splices, agreement, and punctuation?

## Pass 7 — Word choice & tone
- [ ] Is the language appropriate for the audience and genre?
- [ ] Have I used the most precise word rather than the most elaborate one?
- [ ] Have I defined specialized terms when the audience may not know them?
- [ ] Have I removed clichés or stock phrases that obscure the actual point?
- [ ] Is the tone consistent with the purpose?
- [ ] Have I avoided unnecessary assumptions about the reader?

## Pass 8 — Introduction & conclusion

### Introduction
- [ ] Does it give readers the context they need without delaying the point unnecessarily?
- [ ] Does it establish the problem, question, or purpose?
- [ ] Does it accurately prepare readers for the piece that follows?

### Conclusion
- [ ] Does it do more than repeat the introduction?
- [ ] Does it explain the significance, implication, consequence, or next question?
- [ ] Does it avoid introducing a major new argument too late to develop it?

## Pass 9 — Format & accessibility
- [ ] Are headings, fonts, spacing, indentation, and page elements consistent?
- [ ] Are headings descriptive enough to help readers navigate?
- [ ] Are tables, figures, links, captions, and references labeled appropriately?
- [ ] If the document will be digital, is meaningful link text used instead of unexplained raw links where possible?
- [ ] Have I considered readability, contrast, document structure, and alternative text where relevant?
- [ ] Does the final format comply with the assignment, publication, or organizational requirements?

## Pass 10 — Proofreading
Do not rely on one reading pass.

- [ ] Step away from the draft if time permits.
- [ ] Read once specifically for missing or duplicated words and obvious errors.
- [ ] Read aloud or use text-to-speech to hear awkward syntax and repetition.
- [ ] Review slowly from the end toward the beginning when you need to interrupt your familiarity with the prose.
- [ ] Search for errors you know you personally make often.
- [ ] Check names, numbers, dates, headings, citations, and formatting separately.
- [ ] Review the final exported or submitted format, not only the editing view.
- [ ] Make sure late corrections did not introduce new errors.

## The 5-minute version
When time is short:

1. State the central point of the piece. Does the draft actually make it?
2. Read the first sentence of every paragraph. Does the structure make sense?
3. Circle or highlight every major claim. Is there evidence or reasoning for it?
4. Read the piece aloud or with text-to-speech.
5. Check names, numbers, citations, formatting, and the final file.

## Revision log

**What is the most important change this draft still needs?**

**What did I change in this revision?**

**What did I deliberately not change, and why?**

**What feedback do I need from another reader?**

## About this checklist

Created in 2026, this checklist expands the familiar progression from substantive revision to proofreading with additional attention to evidence, accessibility, factual verification, qualification of claims, and revision-process reflection. It is independently written; established proofreading guidance is credited to its original sources where relevant.