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Don't Forget Punctuation and Spelling

This final list of questions should help you edit for punctuation and other remaining errors that could distract your readers:

• Have I used commas only where they belong and can I explain each one I use?
• Have I used apostrophes to show possession for nouns? Have I used apostrophes to show contractions with pronouns (if that level of informality is appropriate for your paper)?
• Have I checked commonly confused words, such as affect/effect, to make sure I have the correct one where I use it?
• Have I used the spell checker on my word processor? Have I read the paper again to check for misspelled word the checker doesn't catch?
• Are there other errors I know I make that I need to check for?