← Chapter 14
English Composition · Chapter 14 · Section 3

One Pass, One Problem

You cannot read for everything at once, so stop trying. Pick one defect, read the whole draft hunting only that, then start again with the next. Choose a pass below and click every sentence that breaks that rule — wrong flags cost you, and each real hit earns you a word-by-word look at the revision.

Choose your pass

The draft

What you are hunting

0
Words in the draft
0
Words after revision
0
Words cut
Start hereStart with the Verb pass. Each pass is fast precisely because you are ignoring almost everything else — and several narrow passes beat one comprehensive read, every time.

Your personal error log

Not all possible mistakes — yours. This log builds itself as you work, and it is what turns your next proofread into four targeted searches.
Everybody’s error set is small, stable and personal. Four items is a normal log. Five minutes with it before you submit is the highest-return five minutes in the whole writing process.