When months of toiling have come to an end and you have the full manuscript of your academic paper, thesis, or dissertation before you, there is one step remaining before you can finally call it “finished” and submit: Proofreading（校正）.

Proofreading, the process of ensuring that your grammar and formatting is in place, is the last but very essential step to writing the perfect paper. It is only with proofreading that you could make certain you’ve followed all the submission guidelines （投稿規定）and met the required standards, and that your work is a pleasure to read, conveying your message fully in the best possible way.

Proofreading is a matter of perfection. The goal is not to let even the tiniest error slip through the cracks. So, while you might expect to make short work of this task after the herculean effort of gathering your contents down on the page in the first place, it might actually get very tedious.

You could, if your university or journal allows it, hire an expert to proofread for you; but if you’re planning to proofread yourself or for a friend, here are eight tips to help you get pruning!

1. Lay out the plan