Check the information
- Recipient: confirm the person’s name, title, email address, and whether everyone copied on the message needs to receive it.
- Purpose: identify the one thing the reader should understand or do. Put that request or update where it is easy to find.
- Dates and timing: check the calendar date, day of the week, deadline, and relevant time zone against the actual source.
- Numbers and references: verify amounts, quantities, invoice numbers, addresses, and links. A plausible number can still be the wrong number.
- Attachments: attach the file you mention, check its name and version, and make sure the recipient can access any shared link.
- Commitments: review promises, conditions, exclusions, and uncertain language. ‘We expect to’ and ‘we guarantee’ have different meanings.
- Sensitive information: consider whether the message, recipients, and writing tool are appropriate for the information involved.
Grammar alone will not catch this
| Text you may write | What still needs checking |
|---|---|
| Please review the attached proposal. | Attach the correct proposal and confirm the version. The sentence can be grammatically correct even when no file is attached. |
| The payment is due on Friday. | Check the actual invoice or agreement. A grammar check cannot establish the right due date. |
| Please send the signed copy by five. | Confirm the day and relevant time zone, then supply those details yourself. More specific wording helps only when the details are accurate. |
Read through the wording
Read for meaning
Read the message once as the recipient. Look for unclear references, hidden requests, and sentences that ask the reader to guess what happens next.
Check the mechanics
Look for agreement, spelling, repeated words, missing punctuation, and inconsistent names. Reading a sentence aloud can make a missing word easier to notice.
Choose the right tone and length
Keep enough context for this relationship and situation. Remove repetition, and make sure a polite edit has not changed your decision or deadline.
Review the final version
After applying a correction or rewrite, read the result in the full message. An improved sentence should still fit the surrounding paragraph and the facts you checked.
Where TextFixed can help with the final pass
In a supported Chrome or Safari writing field, select the sentence or paragraph and choose Fix to preview a corrected version. Use Review suggestions in the more menu when you want to inspect individual grammar and spelling changes. Friendly, Professional, and Shorten address a different editing goal: how the message sounds or how much it says.
Treat a writing suggestion as one part of proofreading. TextFixed does not verify your calendar, check whether you attached the correct file, or establish the truth of a statement. You approve the replacement, and you decide when the complete message is ready to send.