Proofreading: It Matters More Than You Think! - The Grammar-Us Blog - Grammar-Us

Recently, I went to an event held to raise money for charities. The organizers were selling T-shirts bearing a small-sized logo of the event and its name, and I bought one, both to help support the charities involved and as a souvenir. A few days later, I decided to wear the shirt. That is when I realized that there was a glaring typographical error in the name of the event, which completely changed it to one that made absolutely no sense! I wondered if other potential buyers had noticed this prior to making their purchases, or if, like me, they got their shirts home before they noticed. I also wondered if the typo had caused the organizers to lose sales which might have benefitted the charities they were trying to help. The moral of this story: PROOFREAD YOUR WORK!

We are surrounded by technology that does everything but press the keys on the keyboard for us (and, I suppose, it could be argued that the “autocorrect” feature of some programs even does this)! As a result, fewer and fewer people are actually checking for errors themselves, relying instead upon word processing or other computer programs to do the job. What they don’t seem to realize is that computers do not have a sense of the context of their words. They can mechanically check the typing against what is stored in their databases, but if the writer types the word “to” when he/she actually means “two,” the computer has no way of knowing that this is wrong in the context of the communication!

As you are no doubt aware if you are reading this blog and have looked at the rest of my website, proofreading my business. Through the years, I have developed some practices that I use when proofreading – whether it is my own or a client’s work – and I have a few tips to share with you for effective proofreading.

1. READ IT MORE THAN ONCE. I always read a document at least three times. The first time, I read for content only, to get a sense of what the document is about and what the writer is trying to communicate. The second time, I read the document with an eye toward locating and correcting errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. The third time, I reread the document to make sure that it still makes sense after the corrections have been made, that I have not missed any errors, and that my proofreading notations (and edits, if the client has also requested my editing services) are clear, understandable and legible.

2. LET IT REST. This is especially important if you are proofreading your own work! I find that the longer I spend on a writing project, the more immersed in it I become and the more apt I am not to recognize my own errors. This is because I have committed the gist of my message to memory, and when I reread it, my brain often “sees” the words on the page as depicting the ideas I had intended, not necessarily the actual words I have typed. In other words, my brain fills in the blanks I may have left, autocorrects any mistakes, etc. To overcome this, I like to let my finished work “steep” for some time – at least 24 hours, but more if possible. Then, when I come back to it, I am looking at it with fresh eyes, in a more objective way, and can more easily see the defects and correct them.

3. READ IT ALOUD. Reading your work aloud is not going to help you with punctuation or spelling mistakes, but it will help you to identify such things as run-on sentences, poor grammar, or even mistakes in facts or miscommunication of exactly what you wanted to say! This may be more of an editing practice, perhaps, than a proofreading one, but I think it is very important nonetheless.  Even better, sometimes, is to have someone else do the reading aloud, so you can concentrate solely on the way the words sound when read by a third party and whether the message is being communicated accurately and to your satisfaction.

4. WHEN IN DOUBT, FARM IT OUT. There are many reasons why someone may choose a professional to edit and proofread their writing.  And that’s why people like me exist!  If your communication is extremely important, if you want to ensure that it is the best it can possibly be, or if you simply don’t have the time or feel you have the expertise to write, edit or proofread your work, you can always seek the services of a professional writer/editor/proofreader to help you make the best possible impression with your communication.  More information on the services I offer is located elsewhere on this website.