The Importance of Proofreading

What is Proofreading?

According to the Business Dictionary, the definition of proofreading is: “Careful reading (and rereading) of a (yet to be finally-printed) document, to detect any errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar. It may also involve checking of different elements of a layout (such as headlines, paragraphs, illustrations, and colors) for their correct dimensions, placement, type, etc. Every author knows that (despite the spelling checking abilities of modern word processors) a human proof reader is indispensable. See also editing.”

Proofreading and copy editing are not interchangeable terms, though they very often occur at the same time or are performed on the same document at different times. Copy editing addresses concerns such as awkward sentences, logic flow, fact-checking, voice, etc, depending on what is needed. Copy editing is usually the step after writing a document, but before proofreading it (I will cover copy editing in another blog post later). Proofreading is one of the final stages before sending a document to print (a human reads the “proofs” before sending them to be published).

What Proofreading is NOT

Proofreading is not revising or editing a document.

What Does a Proofreader Do?

In some cases, proofreaders will work in tandem if one document has been copied into another. One proofreader will read off material while the other checks that it has been accurately transferred or copied into the other. Proofreading includes not just checking for misspelled words, but also wrong words. Spellcheck will not check that the autocorrect on your word processing program chose the correct word. Only a human can distinguish, for example, whether “form” or “from” is needed, or that the writer meant “who” rather than “whom” or “how”. And only a human will be able to tell if numbers have been switched or lists misnumbered when transferring data from one document to another.

Proofreaders also check for grammar and punctuation errors. These errors can include (but are not limited to): repeated words, run-on sentences, misplaced commas, whether an apostrophe is needed and where (”its” v. “it’s” for example), dropped periods, proper capitalization, pronoun agreement, dropped words, proper use of other punctuation marks such as em-dashes, colons, and semi-colons, paragraph formatting, and other common problems (”you and I” v. “you and me” for example). Proofreaders are not perfect, but they do try to make sure the copy they are proofing is as perfect as possible before it gets printed and read by the outside world.

How to Proofread a Document

First and foremost, the proofreader makes sure they have the proper tools: dictionary (New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, for example, or the good old-fashioned Merriam-Webster), word usage or grammar book (Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is a favorite), and/or document reference manual (Gregg Reference Manual, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and the AP Stylebook, are four examples). These are typically not cheap books to find, so you may decide to bookmark special sites that can help you in proofreading your documents, such as: Grammar Girl, The Owl at Purdue, and the Quick Reference Associated Press Style. There are also a variety of free dictionaries on the internet to help you with spelling and word choice, such as Your Dictionary, Dictionary.com, and the Business Dictionary quoted above.
Next, decide on whether proofreading will be done on the computer screen or on a hard copy. Proofreading a hard copy is better in the long run as the reflected light off paper and ink is easier on the eyes than the constantly moving pixels on a computer screen. This means mistakes are more easily seen and corrected on a paper copy than they may be on the computer screen. However, proofreading may done either way.

When proofreading for yourself on hardcopy, you can use whatever marks work for you, and whatever type of pen or pencil you like. However, if you are proofreading for someone else, pencil or red pen may be the accepted tools. Below is a list of some proofreading marks, which may also be found in many reference manuals.

For proofreading on the computer screen you may simply read and make changes as you see fit. However, when working with people in a team, or for someone else, using the Track Changes feature in MS Word may be a good option. This way the owner of the document or team member may decide whether or not they want to keep your corrections or changes.

Now it’s time to settle in and use your brain. There is no short-cut to proofreading. In the end, as the definition says at the beginning of this article, proofreading is the “careful reading (and rereading)” of a document. However, it is sometimes easier to catch mistakes by scanning a document. When reading a document, your brain will often fill in and correct where there are dropped or misspelled words. While you still need to read the document to make sure it makes sense, and to check for whether a paragraph mark needs to be started or deleted, etc., it is also good to scan.

One way to do this is to begin by reading a page of the document from beginning to end. Then, read/scan back through the page from end to beginning. Because the words are being scanned/read out of order, your eyes may be able to pick up on out of place words and misspellings more easily. Do this page by page until the whole document has been proofed. Another way to do this is to read through the document completely, marking what you see the first time through. Then, go back through the document more thoroughly the second time, checking for mistakes your eye glossed over the first time. One of the better ways is to start off with proofing the hard copy, then when making corrections to the document on the computer; you’ll probably find more problems you didn’t see when reading through the hard copy.

If something looks wrong, but you’re not sure, look it up. That’s why you have your tools. They don’t just sit on your desk to look pretty or impress people.

If you are proofreading a document you have written yourself, it is best if you have not looked at that document for a week. This way, you can come at the document with fresh eyes and will probably see mistakes that you glossed over when writing it. Most of the time, however, people do not give themselves the time to be able to lay aside the document and come back to it later. If you can at least wait a day, though, that would be good.

There is no magical way to bypass the proofreading process. Even the best writers need to have their work proofread. No matter how many drafts they have written of something, chances are there is a mistake somewhere that needs to be corrected. Proofreading is an important step in finding and correcting those mistakes.

If you would like more information on finding someone to proofread your documents for you, contact me at Putt Putt Productions.

Cross posted everywhere.