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- Nov 9, 2012
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I'm trying to spot it in my writing, but the problem is, even when I think I see it, I find out I missed one.
Read it aloud. If it's awkward to say, then it's awkward writing.
I think the "read it aloud" advice needs qualification.
If you're writing something that is meant to be read aloud - a TV script or a speech - then it is certainly 100% necessary to read it aloud before signing off on it. Things that look ok on the page can trip up on your tongue.
Reading it aloud can help, but also, it just takes time and practice to develop an ear and eye for good prose.
But however you do it, aloud, or faux-aloud (JAR's suggestion), the main point is to get past simple sight-reading. It's waaaaay too easy for the eye to zing right past things that beg to be fixed. People even "see" words that aren't actually on the page when reading fast by sight alone.