There is a very important reason to take time when proofreading your work – your reputation. No matter what profession you are in, you will be judged and possibly condemned if the work you produce is riddled with errors.
A proofreader, whether it be yourself, a colleague or sourced out, is an important element in producing the final product. There is a well-known fact that states it is much easier to notice writing errors in work other than your own. This is why proofreading services are popular even for students wanting to ensure their essays are well-written.
When proofreading, take nothing for granted because unconscious mistakes are easy to make. Most errors in written work are made unconsciously. Research indicates there are two sources of unconscious errors:
- Inaccurate information from your kinesthetic memory. If you have always misspelled a word, you will unconsciously misspell it again.
- A split-second of inattention.
Proofreading Tips:
- Always doubt what you are reading to help catch the errors.
- Read slowly, and word-for-word what is on the paper (or monitor); and be sure to read it out loud. Catching errors is much easier when you read your work out loud. Silent reading does not promote positive results.
- Proofread more than once. There are professional proofreaders who ritually read work five times and even on the fifth time, may still catch an error.
- Never trust word processing spelling and grammar checks 100%! This is essential. Spelling and grammar may come clean buy simple typos will not get caught! This is a great tool but by no means can it do the job of a real person!
- Last but not least, print out what you want to have proofed. More often than not, getting away from the monitor and reading your work on paper, in another room is an amazing tool that helps to effectively proofread!