Foolproof proofreading

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it, right? Proofreading might not be glamorous, but it’s important, so here are a few tips to make sure a simple grammar or spelling mistake doesn’t distract readers from your message.

Find your happy place
Find a quiet place where you can concentrate – away from music, chatter and other distracting background noise. And once you’re comfortable, make sure your eyes are too. Tired eyes miss errors, so use a decent desk lamp, or proofread in hard copy if staring at a computer screen for hours on end is too draining. Just make sure you can recycle the paper…

Take your time
When are your eyes at their best? Some people focus best first thing in the morning, while others need to wait until after a midday coffee break. Either way, make sure you give yourself enough time to read each and every word carefully. A ‘rush job’ could result in a major blooper.

Take a break
If you’re proofreading your own writing (which we don’t recommend, see below), it’s best to leave it for a couple of days before doing a final proofread. Eyes are easily deceived, so looking at your work with ‘fresh’ eyes can help you spot all those sneaky mistakes.

Get a second pair of eyes
Well, not literally. But do have someone else read your text. Even if you’ve already put each paragraph under a microscope three times, chances are another person will catch quite a few overlooked mistakes.

Read out loud
Even if you’re just whispering to yourself, reading your copy out loud will slow you down and force you to enunciate every word. And that’s what a thorough proofread is all about.

Spell-check: your greatest frenemy
Use your computer’s spell-check function – but don’t depend on it. Unfortunately, this handy tool won’t catch every mistake, and it won’t find misspellings that form other valid words (complement/compliment or their/there, for example).

Get out your checklist
Last but not least, use a thorough proofreading checklist. A great way to safeguard the quality of your company’s written communications, a checklist should contain basic spelling and grammar guidelines to ensure your text is clear, consistent and error-free.

So the next time you’re faced with a daunting proofreading task, keep the above tips in mind – and contact us if you need help.