Avoid typos and grammatical mistakes by listening to your writing

When reading something I wrote, sometimes I see what I meant to write—not what I did write. My ears aren’t as easily fooled as my eyes, however. So when reviewing what I wrote, I have my iBook read it back to me. Having the computer speak it, instead of reading it aloud myself, allows me to focus on the content.

To have your material read back to you on a Mac, highlight the text, go to the application’s menu on the toolbar and select Services > Speech > Start Speaking Text. Then read along as the computer dictates what you wrote.

This step helps you pick up missing words that you’d normally add in your mind when reading, as well as when you misspell a word, but in doing so, correctly spell a different word (something spell check doesn’t catch).

(And welcome to the Lifehacker readers who clicked through that site’s post mentioning this entry.)