Proofreading : Final touchup to your writing.
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Proofreading : Final touchup to your writing.
Humans are fundamentally flawed; especially when it comes to proofreading something we have written ourselves. Our brain’s capacity for auto-correction causes us to read what we expect to be there as opposed to what is actually there.
Proofreading is the quality inspection stage for all kind of documents, whether it is business documents or literature work. It is your last chance to make sure that your document is ready to carry your message and your reputation to the intended audience. An important aspect of written work, proofreading eliminates or minimizes the chances of mistakes, removes imperfections, punctuation marks and looks for grammatical mistakes which makes a bad impact to the reputation & credibility of the self or organization.
Proofreading is to writing what buffing and polishing is to woodworking: One little blemish detracts from the entire piece, causing the overall impression to suffer. Mistakes in any kind of work convey carelessness, and in the workplace, the stakes are even higher: A piece that is ridden with spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors is difficult to read and undermines your credibility and authority that probably you have worked hard to achieve.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of creating documents that are accurate, attractive and polished.
What are the common mistakes we do ?
1. Homophones
Homophones are words that have the same sound but different meanings. They occur when we type quickly and because they don’t look wrong, we don’t see them. Unfortunately, spelling and grammar checkers won’t spot these.
Example
Break/brake
Compliment/complement
Fair/fare
2. Inconsistency
Many times we unknowingly use different formats at different place in the document. We don’t spot them because individually they’re not wrong. But they may be irritating for the readers.
For example, use of different formats of date like 4 June 2016, June 4 2016, 4th June 2016, July 4th 2016 or compound words – proof-reading, proofreading, proof reading.
In American and British English, a few words are spelled differently. For example – colour/color, programme/program.
Staying consistent throughout the document is important.
3. Apostrophe problems
Apostrophes being used to show possession. But many times use of it in wrong place creates a complete different meaning.
For example,
Wrong: We’re going to Radha’s and Raj’s party.
Right: We’re going to Radha and Raj’s party.
4. Poor syntax
Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences. Poor syntax is often due to missing a key word; sometimes it’s simply the right words in the wrong order.
For example, instead of writing – She served sweets to guests on paper plates, better syntax would be to write – She served sweets on paper plates to guests.
5. Reusing same phrase or word
Many times, while writing authors get into trap of using same phrase or word or convey the same message repeatedly. It is important to avoid duplication or over use of the same phrase or word.
6. Not taking break between the writing and proofreading
The number one mistake writers often make before checking their writing is not taking a break. One must take time to distance oneself from their work.
Why Proofreading is important?
Proofreading can sometimes be seen as something which isn’t necessary or a costly exercise or something which doesn’t apply to you, but it is very important to have proofread any document for three simple reasons:
- The cost implications of the error
- Damage to the image or brand
- Avoiding unintended meaning
The writing that seems quite all right to you, but the readers who get to see will notice all the mistakes immediately.
Here is a quick checklist, which one can follow for Proofreading –
- Look for adherence to the format or standards
- Look for writing errors
- Typographical
- Misspelled
- Grammatical
- Punctuation
- Look for missing elements
- Missing text section
- Missing exhibits (drawings, tables, photographs, charts, graphs, online images etc.)
- Look for design, formatting and programming mistakes
- Incorrect or inconsistent font
- Problems with column sizing, spacing and alignment
- Incorrect margins
- Special characters
- Page breaks, page numbers
- Inactive or incorrect hyperlinks
Some useful Proofreading techniques which will ensure high-quality output:
- Make multiple passes through the document focusing on a different aspect every time. For example, look for content errors the first time and layout errors in the second time
- Use perceptual tricks, by changing the way you read the document. Example first time from start to end. Second time may be from middle to start.
- Double check high priority items , the spelling of names, accuracy of dates, addresses and any numbers
- Give some gap between reviews
- Stay focused
- Review complex digital documents on paper
- Take your time, do not hurry
Proofreading includes reviewing for grammar, correct use of language, and format. It’s the final touches needed to ensure a document is correct, consistent, and professional. Errors in written documents can damage trust, lose business and lead to misunderstandings.
Proofreading may seem like a simple task in written work. However, the attention to detail and intense focus it requires means that proofreading is as challenging as it is important.
–
Rakhi Sunil Kumar