43 Responses to “10 Quick Tips for Powerful Proofreading”

Comments

Read below or add a comment...

  1. I do most of these – but weirdly, another thing that helps is to print what you think/hope is the final version into a draft blog page then preview it. I spot more typos in a ‘finished’ piece on screen than I do in my draft box. It’s almost as if my reader’s eye takes over from my inner editor/proofreader.

    There is a danger in having the same person proof read all the time, though; over time they can get as used to the sight and sound of your writing as you do. One of my editors spots less than she used to, and my husband is spotting less after years of being my first stop editor.

    Another useful post!

  2. Terrific post! Getting an outside set of eyes or a Professional grammar editor to proofread ones resume is the surest way to get all the misspelled words and awkward phrases corrected.

  3. This is a wonderful post. Will definitely apply these when working on my editing tasks. My advise is not to count on MS Word spell checker or any software. Just get someone else to look at your work.

  4. Thanks for the helpful hints. One other that is similar to #7 is to turn the sheet upside down and try to read it properly.
    BTW, the phrase “all to easy” in #7 probably should be “all too easy” .

  5. Michael

    Just nit-picking for fun…

    “…I can write well, even with music in the background, my children juggling toys, and the neighborhood basketball going into overtime right outside my window…”

    Basketball…GAME?

  6. Jeff

    Please skip / delete #6. Be nicer to our environment. Your eyes can handle it, our planet (eventually) won’t.

  7. Another Editor

    @Professional Grammar Editor

    Surely that should be “proofread one’s resume”?

    Then again, you did say grammar and not punctuation.

    PS Good article!

  8. Joseph

    Jeff, actually that is not true. For every tree that is made into paper there are at least two new planted instead. So actually you should try to use as much paper as you can. Of course the companies that create paper want to ensure the longterm profitability of their business and they do that exactly by doing this.

  9. Callimaco

    I use a text-to-speech program to read what I wrote back to me. I think that works even better than reading it out loud.

  10. Awesome tip! Good points.

  11. I never print because I don’t have a printer, but I always do #5—reading it out load. I’ll try the backwards one LOL.

  12. Ken

    A bit like Michael above, just grammar nazi-ing for the fun of it…
    In your intro:
    “(…) a writer mustn’t only write, they must also make certain their words (…)”
    “a writer” ==> “they must” ?
    How about just “writers mustn’t only write, they must also make certain their words (…) ?
    All in good fun of course, and thanks for the useful tips.

  13. Great post.

    I also find that reading out what I have written in a funny voice or accent makes errors even more obvious…

  14. These are excellent suggestions for better proofing and editing. I usually read my work a couple of times, then get up and walk away for a few minutes so when I come back the material is fresh again. I also make my husband check it for too many ‘thats’ and such. Proofing and editing can be tedious, so it helps to have a fresh perspective on ways to do it better.

  15. Wonderful post! Must read for any content author. Thanks for sharing it.

  16. Great article!
    “Otherwise you will find yourself crashing right into the wall of diminishing returns.”
    I’m very, very familiar with that wall.

  17. Sean Platt

    Janice: It took a while, but check out the comment explosion, eh? Thanks for being the first!

    Ray: Thanks for the catch, Ray! Noted and fixed. : > )

    Michael: My head is hung in shame. Yes, the word game is missing.

    Another Editor: Yes it should be. : > )

    Jeff/Joseph: I see nothing wrong with using a small amount of paper in moderation. 95% of my work is paperless. 5% is no big deal at all.

    Callimaco: I would LOVE a great text-to-speech program. That would be awesome for sure.

    Belkis: Thanks!

    Ryan: It works shockingly well.

    Ken: Your way does sound better. : > )

    Kaizan: I’m totally with you! I LOVE reading my work back in a stiff British accent.

    Trina: Fresh perspective is ALWAYS useful. Us indoor writers could all do with a bit of outdoors to make things look new again.

    James: My absolute pleasure. Thanks.

    Mari: I think most of us are. It’s recognizing it that’s so important.

  18. This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing.

  19. Great tips, just discovered your blog, thank you.

    The only critcism: I found #2 to be a little out of place. It seems to be more of an editing tip rather than an “effective proofreading” tip. There is a fine line there, but I thought the other 9 tips were more appropriate for this particular theme.

    Thanks again, good job.

  20. David B

    Great tips here Sean. I’ll totally be using a few of them for my projects.
    -

    @Jeff, you really believe that printing paper is hurting our environment? If so, get off the computer. Creating electric parts does ‘more harm’ than printing stupid pieces of paper. The “green” movement IMO is a crock anyways.

  21. Great tips! Remember when strikeouts were part of blog posts.

  22. Sean Platt

    David: My pleasure, man. Any time. : > )

    Louis: You’re right, it is more of a proofreading tip than an editing tip, but if you are in that final read and you notice something that can be sliced from the copy, it’s a good time to cut it. Besides, ten sounds a lot cooler than nine! : > )

    David: Glad to help my friend.

    Susan: Yes, yes I do… and now I feel old.

  23. Adv. Ranjith

    Thanks Sean Michael, for your wonderful article… it’s so true!! I am going to try each of your suggestions from now on.

  24. A list of ‘thorny’ words from my No-Nonsense Proofreading Course:

    Accept/Except
    Affect/Effect
    A lot/Allot
    All Ready/Already
    All Together/Altogether
    Alter/Altar
    Ascent/Assent
    Breath/Breathe
    Canvas/Canvass
    Complement/Compliment
    Course/Coarse
    Council/Counsel
    Decent/Descent/Dissent
    Desert/Dessert
    Elicit/Illicit
    Eminent/Imminent
    Flaunt/Flout
    Forego/Forgo
    Forth/Fourth
    Grisly/Grizzly
    Hoard/Horde
    Incidence/Incidents
    Its/It’s
    Lead/Led
    Loath/Loathe
    Lose/Loose
    Palate/Palette
    Passed/Past
    Pedal/Peddle
    Plain/Plane
    Precede/Proceed
    Principal/Principle
    Proscribe/Prescribe
    Rain/Rein/Reign
    Stationary/Stationery
    Their/There/They’re
    Weather/Whether
    Who’s/Whose
    Your/You’re

    Hope you find them useful.

    Kind regards,
    Mike

Leave A Comment...