Document Proofreading

Proofreading is to business communication what buffing and

polishing is to woodworking: One little blemish detracts from the

entire piece, causing the overall impression to suffer. Mistakes and

imperfections in any kind of work convey carelessness, and in the

workplace, the stakes are even higher: A piece that is ridden with

spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors is difficult to read and

undermines the credibility and authority you probably have worked

hard to achieve. Learn some proofreading steps and apply them

judiciously to every piece of written communication -- from short

emails to lengthy financial reports -- and savor a reputation for

conscientiousness and precision.

Importance of proofreading

1. Allow your piece of written communication to “get cold” before you proofread it. With a fresh set of eyes, you will be more apt to spot errors.

2. Read your work out loud, and slowly. If you find yourself stumbling over a clause or sentence, chances are that your readers will, too. You are more likely to catch missing or misplaced words when you read aloud, as well.

3. Force yourself to read your piece three times: once for spelling, once for punctuation and once for grammar. By focusing on one writing infraction at a time, you’re bound to find more mistakes, making the time investment worthwhile.

4. Buy a dictionary or use an online dictionary to check your spelling. Don’t rely on spell-checking devices, as they cannot “read” for context with regard to homophones, or words that sound alike but are spelled differently, such as “two” and “too” and “team” and “teem.”

Steps to proofread your document

5. Look up every word unless you are absolutely certain it is spelled correctly. This is one way, albeit tedious, that good spellers are created. Check your piece for typographical errors and transposed letters, too.

6. Scrutinize every single punctuation mark -- every comma, period, semicolon, colon and apostrophe. In the haste of writing, it’s easy to misplace or forget punctuation that will impede the flow of your writing.

7. Examine your sentences for proper grammar, including subject-verb agreement, parallelism, pronoun-reference agreement, correct verb tenses, fragments and run-ons.

8. Track the errors you are most prone to make and review your work specifically for these errors. For example, if you know you tend to write run-on sentences, check every sentence for this infraction.

Steps to proofread your document

Proofreading Symbols

© RGT

New Paragraph

C

C Many Children have ^lived in the

White House. © RGT

Capital Letter

Theodore roosevelt’s family may have

been the most spirited bunch

© RGT

Lowercase letter

His son, Quentin, once snuck a Pony inside.

© RGT

Insert

^

Why did Quentin do that ^He wanted to cheer up his brother^

© RGT

Delete (take out)

Theodore Roosevelt he had six kids.

© RGT

.

Add a period

Archie and Quentin were the youngest

© RGT

Add an apostrophe

,

Alice and Theodore Roosevelts oldest child.

© RGT

Add a comma

^ ,

Some people thought Alice was too wild ^ and they criticized Roosevelt.

© RGT

Add quotation marks

V V “ “

He responded, I can be president or I can supervise Alice. Nobody could do both. © RGT

V

Transpose (reverse)

The Rooesvelt kids had fun in the White House.

© RGT

move

[

They slid [ on silver trays down the stairs .

© RGT

Stet (leave as it is)

They walked through the hallways on stilts.

……………………

© RGT

Insert space

#

The president evenplayed sometimes. #

© RGT

Close up space

He liked Hide-and-Seek and pillow fights!

© RGT