Writing an essay in Spanish, or in any other language, can be difficult, but sometimes the hardest part is to proofread it. Here you have some sources to do it better.

Proofreading, being the final process of writing, is crucial for effectiveness. Some people confuse the terms editing and proofreading, because they are the last stages of the writing process and they complement each other, but are different.

Editing is done after the first draft, and it involves checking the content in terms of semantical coherence. Proofreading on the other hand, comes after editing and it involves checking the grammatical format of the text, that is syntax, spelling and punctuation. Proofreading isn’t just about reviewing the text though. The document design has to adhere to a certain writing format that incorporates as page numbering, citations, fonts, sizes, headlines, captions, footnotes etc. The most common and thus the most elaborate writing formats are APA, MLA and CMS.

1. APA style is used by the American Psychological Association and it is the most recent and commonly used editing and proofreading format. It is used for a variety of different fields, with a focus of social sciences. It establishes standards of written communication in terms of content organization, writing style, citation and publication. Its guidelines with an excellent overview can be found on the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Even though APA is considered to be slightly more demanding and detailed than all the previous writing formats, it is more and more implemented into the educational and working environments of today. As the APA Overview and Workshop as well as the APA Formatting and Style Guide are accessible and thoroughly explained online, once you have explored all avenues, you are ready to go with almost no chance of mistaking.
2. The MLA or Modern Language Association writing format is seen to be one of the simpler ones to follow and has been integrated for a long time. It is commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. As it has been used the most of all writing styles, one has the benefit of researching and adhering to many academic online samples according to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. As well as for APA, an extensive overview of MLA can also be found on the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
3. CMS, or Chicago Manual (of) Style is developed by the Chicago University Press Staff for social science and historical journal publications. It is one of the oldest writing formats, completely searchable and easy to use, primarily focused on American grammar and usage. Having in mind it is fairly one of the earliest, it establishes standards for research and citation methodologies which are simpler and easier to follow than the most recent ones. Still, that opens many disputable discussions over certain rules or its exceptions. The manual to use for CMS is the Chicago Manual of Style and there is a Chicago Manual of Style Online as well.

It is not possible to determine which style of all mentioned is best when proofreading. What is important though, is that if you decide to go with one, you have to stick to it. The best would be to pick one and do extensive research until you feel confident using it, and let that be your writing style always, unless specified different from your employer. After you have burnt the candle at both ends, you are good and ready.

When writing in Spanish language all these guide Styles can be used and actually are also the most common. If you need your Spanish essay proofreaded just contact me.