Ten Tips for Proofreading Effectively
The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter — it’s the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.
-Mark Twain
There’s a widely circulated story that Mark Twain’s renowned observation on editing once appeared at the top of the “Language/Writing” page of a university’s website, just above a subhead on “Mistake-Free Grammar & Proofreading.” But, the story goes, the university twice misspelled the word lightning as lightening.
Anyone who writes and publishes regularly knows the pain of such errors. Compounding the trouble is the speed and pace of publishing today. Blogs, websites and electronic communications are published and distributed at the hasty and often rushed push of a button, and no matter how often you do it, there always seems to be one more little blunder waiting to be discovered.
Twain, himself a seasoned newspaper reporter, knew all too well how difficult it is to proofread effectively. In a 1898 letter to novelist and historian Walter Bessant he wrote:
You think you are reading proof, whereas you are merely reading your own mind; your statement of the thing is full of holes and vacancies but you don’t know it, because you are filling them from your mind as you go along. Sometimes — but not often enough — the printer’s proof-reader saves you — and offends you — with this cold sign in the margin: (?), and you search the passage to find that the insulter is right — it doesn’t say what you thought it did: the gas-fixtures are there, but you didn’t light the jets.
-Mark Twain
How true! Even the best editors and proofreaders are human. But no one likes the hot rush of adrenalin that such errors induce, especially when they can’t be corrected. So we thought we’d post some advice for anyone that might want to avoid it. The following 10 tips should help you see (or hear) your errors before anybody else does. We use many — sometimes all — of the following to hedge against error.
Ten Tips for Proofreading Effectively
- Give it a rest. If time allows, set your text aside for a few hours (or days) after you’ve finished composing, and then proofread it with fresh eyes. Rather than remember the perfect paper you meant to write, you’re more likely to see what you’ve actually written.
- Look for one type of problem at a time. Read through your text several times, concentrating first on sentence structures, then word choice, then spelling, and finally punctuation. As the saying goes, if you look for trouble, you’re likely to find it.
- Double-check facts, figures, and proper names. In addition to reviewing for correct spelling and usage, make sure that all the information in your text is accurate.
- Review a hard copy. Print out your text and review it line by line: rereading your work in a different format may help you catch errors that you previously missed. Double spacing your reading copy helps.
- Read your text aloud. Ask a friend or colleague to read it aloud. You may hear a problem (a faulty verb ending, for example, or a missing word) that you haven’t been able to see. Most current desktop operating systems now offer text-to-speech functions. If no one is around, have your computer read the text aloud to you!
- Use a spellchecker. The spellchecker can help you catch repeated words, reversed letters, and many other common errors — but use it knowing full-well that it’s not goof-proof.
- Trust your dictionary. Your spellchecker can tell you only if a word is a word, not if it’s the right word. For instance, if you’re not sure whether sand is in a desert or a dessert, visit the dictionary.
- Read your text backward. Another way to catch spelling errors is to read backward, from right to left, starting with the last word in your text. Doing this will help you focus on individual words rather than sentences.
- Create your own proofreading checklist. Keep a list of the types of mistakes you commonly make, and then refer to that list each time you proofread. Many writers make patterned typing mistakes. Knowing them can save you time and embarrassment.
- Ask for help. Invite someone else to proofread your text after you have reviewed it. A new set of eyes may immediately spot errors that you’ve overlooked. If the job is important and your budget and timelines can support professional proofreading, go for it!