Whenever you are
writing an article, an email, a manual etc, it is important to ensure that it is
free of mistakes. The spell checker is good to use but is far from foolproof. This is when proof reading comes into
picture.
Below are a few tips
that will make proofreading effective.
Print the document
It is a well known
fact that people read differently on screen and on paper. Proof reading works
better on paper then on screen.
Avoid distraction
Since the job
demands you to spot mistakes, you need to concentrate. Switch off the mobile
phones, log-off from the chat, any social networking sites. For sure, silence
will work wonders for this activity.
One at a time
Never try to find
all mistakes at the same time. List the
mistakes that you intended like the
following
- Typos
- Missing words
- Formatting mistakes
Know the rules of
the game
Some rules of the game
include:
- Look out for
homonyms
- Check punctuation
- Use and so on instead
of etc
- Use through instead
of via etc
- 1 t0 9 in figures,
10 and above in words
Read backwards
When you read
backwards you concentrate on the words and not the meaning.
Check for the number
value
Ensure the number
used and the place value of the numbers are correct.
A last step
Once you have
finished proofreading, get another person to proofread it again. You will be
amazed to see mistakes you have missed. Ensure
the mistakes are corrected.
Proof reading marks
and symbols
We have a set of certain proofreading symbols used,
get familiar with it.
See the link below
for the proof reading symbols
