Mastering the Art of Proofreading

Why proofread?

After putting in effort, you would expect maximum readership for your written document. Does that always happen? Well, the answer is sadly NO! And many times well-crafted content and elevated ideas experience oblivion and neglect. The reason is that we often load our documents with sublime ideas to make it grand but forget the basic elements of comprehension - grammar and vocabulary.

A technique that can be really helpful in overcoming this readership challenge is proofreading. Unfortunately, most people find proofreading to be either a job of low order or one too difficult, to leverage its full potential.

Discussed here are best practices which can be instrumental in helping you master the art of proofreading.

Best Proofreading Practices:

• Step- by- Step approach: Don’t try to cover the entire distance with one giant leap. Break the paragraph into independent sentences and analyze them separately for small but critical errors. Modular approach towards proofreading can be effective in comparison to reading the entire paragraph at one go.
• A focused approach: A focused approach of looking at one kind of error at a single point of time is helpful in proofreading. Scan the document first for spelling errors, then punctuation errors, and so on rather than indulging in a simultaneous review of things.
• Backward Reading: Backward reading might sound claptrap but it helps in removing the focus from content flow to surface elements of grammar and vocabulary. Read the last sentence of the page first and then move upwards to discover small but significant errors like inappropriate usage of punctuation, inconsistency of plurals or tense, and rest of the ilk.
• Avoid Spell-Checkers: You may have been wowed by the automation of manual tasks but remember that spell checkers are software programs with limited dictionary, capability, and intelligence. For example, both words “effect” and “affect” would be right according to spell-checker but choosing the relevant word for a sentence is something which the automated software cannot make. Thus, intervention of human mind is required for better proofreading results.
• Overcoming personal loopholes: We all know that to ‘err is human’. You too may have your own restrictions in terms of punctuation or spelling. Instead of glossing over your drawbacks, take out extra time exclusively for your shortcomings; scan the document particularly for your often committed errors so that the final document is error-free.

Writing involves passion; proofreading demands precision. It is only when writing is followed by proofreading that a piece of document becomes publishable. Mastering the art of proofreading is not a herculean task; it’s all about a structured and disciplined approach.