10 Tips for Proofreading

Nothing hurts your business image more than misspellings, typos and grammatical mistakes. Fortunately, proofreading can be easy if you know how to get the job done. Follow these 10 quick tips for proofreading ease and leave embarrassment behind.

Written Mar 18, 2008, read 405 times since then.

Proofreading can be tricky but it is essential. We are all human and no one is perfect. Typos happen to the best of us. If your business depends on the written word, make sure you follow these ten quick and simple tips to help eliminate those pesky grammar and spelling mistakes.

Read and re-read. Make sure that you read your material carefully and more than once. If necessary, print off a copy. Some people find it easier to proof if they can highlight a hard copy.
Take your time. Time is money but not when proofing. Take it slowly. If you write quickly, chances are that you will jump over thoughts and miss jotting down important words. If you must write a thought down quickly before you lose it, just remember to go back over your work later.
Speak your words aloud. Sometimes we can read silently to ourselves and fill in words that aren’t actually there. When reading aloud, this may still occur but the chances are that you will discover the skipped words.
Check your spelling. Software capabilities make it so much easier nowadays to catch spelling and grammatical errors. Utilize these functions. They lessen the burden on your own eyes. Do not depend on these tools. Software spell checkers cannot detect a misplaced or duplicated word in a sentence when it is spelled correctly.
Get a second pair of eyes. Have someone else look over your copy. It is amazing how much can be missed when you are absorbed in the material. When someone else looks at your copy for the first time, they can spot the smallest errors glaring out at them. Get a friend if you cannot hire a proofreader. For example, a second pair of eyes can find a double ‘it it’ when it should read ‘it is’.
Come to the table fresh. Do not start proofing your copy at midnight. Keep distractions to a minimum. Turn the TV, music, or cell phone off. Proofreading does require focus and concentration. Make sure your lighting is adequate. Dim and flickering lighting should be avoided.
Check formatting. Format errors are those little mistakes you find that involve fonts, spaces, extra tabs, page numbering, headers and footers, inactive links and the like. These errors can creep up on you.
Double check facts. Check important information within your copy. Make sure your information is the most current and accurate.
Read backwards. Reading backwards can help you focus on the words and not get distracted by meaning. Start from the last sentence and read until you reach your first sentence.
Tackle tables separately. Check your index or table of contents one by one to avoid missing typos in these vital areas.

These tips should help any business owner with their proofreading skills. It pays to use your time and energy wisely when proofing business material. If you don’t, you could be confronted with an embarrassing situation or a waste of money. Proofreading effectively can save your business image. Have you ever embarrassed your business image with a proofreading error?

Learn more about the author, Colleen Johnson.

Comment on this article

Posted by Jim Donegan, Greenwood Village, Colorado | Mar 24, 2008

My top 6 mistakes I've seen lately:

your vs. you're, advice vs. advise, there vs. their, to vs. too, desert vs. dessert, prospective vs. perspective.

Good article.
Posted by Dan McComb, Seattle, Washington | Mar 24, 2008

To your list, Jim, I'd add: who/whom, and misspelling of embarrassed (it always has two rs and two ss, and it's embarrassing if you forget that!)

The other biggie that drives me nuts: writers choosing big, important sounding words when a simpler word communicates the same thing only much better. Exhibit A: the word "leverage." If I had a penny for every time I saw writers "leverage" their vocabulary instead of simply, um, using it...

Can you tell I used to be a journalist yet?

Biznik Business Networking
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Mar 24, 2008

Colleen,

These are all good tips. The one I find especially helpful is #9, Read backwards, and, I suppose, getting someone who has not been focused on the piece for two weeks or more to lend that "objective eye."

Dan, that's funny. My biggest peeve is "utilize" instead of "use." It doesn't have anything to do with proofreading, but using quarter words when nickel words will do drives me nuts.

We were at a business lunch recently where a speech was made by a city official. I heard so many cliches and tired phrases that I couldn't focus on the message. I started writing them down and Bob and I played the "cliche game" (one of our favorites) in the car on the way back to the office. The winner is the one who has constructed a single sentence with the most overused words and phrases. We had a great time with: "strategic," "accountability," "measurable results," "partnerships." "comprehensive," "integration," "sustainability," etc., etc., etc.!

Seattle Copywriter
Posted by Richard Whitaker, Federal Way, Washington | Mar 24, 2008

One of my biggest mistakes is leaving the R off your so it comes out you.

Thanks, very helpful.

Success Connection
Posted by Colleen Johnson, Ruther Glen, Virginia | Mar 24, 2008

Jim, Dan, Judy and Richard - I am so glad that you all enjoyed the article. Thank you for commenting. These are all great examples of words that often get people in trouble.
Posted by Steven Bradford, Seattle , Washington | Mar 27, 2008

Another technique, I learned when I was a copyeditor a long time ago, was to proofread with two people, one person reading aloud, the other following along and checking the copy. We would also spell out all names as we read them.

It was also drummed into us to NEVER use "now". It's so easy to misspell as "not"-- which flips the meaning of the sentence, without being grammatically incorrect, so it is easily missed when proofed. Great article!

Taking the mystery out of video: web, DVD or 3D
Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth, Mill Valley, California | Mar 27, 2008

Proofread, change your margins, and proofread again. Where the words sit on the page affect how your brain sees them.
Posted by Dan McComb, Seattle, Washington | Mar 27, 2008

That's a great point, Jay. I once had a college professor make me read a paragraph of my paper out loud in front of the class, then he stopped me and made me re-read it, saying "read what is says, not what you meant to say." It took me re-reading it three times before I realized the point he was trying to make: that our brains literally don't see grammatical mistakes because we read what we mean, not what we say.

Biznik Business Networking
Posted by Jim Donegan, Greenwood Village, Colorado | Mar 27, 2008

Another issue is spellcheck.

When a word is improperly used (or misspelled) but it is still a real word spellcheck doesn't catch the error. Think of the word "now" (as Steven said) that mistakenly becomes "not" and spellcheck will not show it as wrong.
Posted by Colleen Johnson, Ruther Glen, Virginia | Mar 27, 2008

Jim - I run into that problem quite a bit.

Dan & Jay - Bravo. Great point. My journalism teacher taught me that one also.

Steven - I was not aware of that point. Thank you for sharing it.

Thanks to everyone for reading and enjoying the article.
Posted by Marte Cliff, Priest River, Idaho | Mar 27, 2008

Great article - so many people don't pay attention to those details and they definitely do make a difference in the impression you make.

One big problem I see is with people who think that since they know all about their business, they have the ability to write their own promotional materials. Sadly, the fact that they don't know the difference between "there" and "their" and even "are" and "our" projects an image of incompetence.

Proofreading won't help these folks unless they can enlist the help of a second set of eyes - a set belonging to someone who does know the difference.

There's an old saying "If you know not and know not that you know not..."
Posted by Marte Cliff, Priest River, Idaho | Mar 27, 2008

Great article - so many people don't pay attention to those details and they definitely do make a difference in the impression you make.

One big problem I see is with people who think that since they know all about their business, they have the ability to write their own promotional materials. Sadly, the fact that they don't know the difference between "there" and "their" and even "are" and "our" projects an image of incompetence.

Proofreading won't help these folks unless they can enlist the help of a second set of eyes - a set belonging to someone who does know the difference.

There's an old saying "If you know not and know not that you know not..."
Posted by Alana Jelinek, Santa Rosa, CA, California | Mar 27, 2008

Here's one from me. Being a graphic designer, I'm very sensitive to this issue because it is one that can be expensive for me! I usually assign the final proofing responsibility to the client because I spend a lot of time looking at letter spacing, line spacing, kerning, etc..... the words loose meaning after a while.

Here's my tip: CALL every phone # and fax # on your printed material. EMAIL every email address and paste every url into your browser before sending a job out to print.
Posted by Jim Donegan, Greenwood Village, Colorado | Mar 27, 2008

Hey Alana, You meant lose, not loose, right?

I couldn't resist. Jim
Posted by Alana Jelinek, Santa Rosa, CA, California | Mar 27, 2008

Nice, Jim. That's why I always have the client do the final proofing! My point exactly. Alana
Posted by Brandie Kajino, Vancouver, Washington | Mar 27, 2008

Colleen, Great tips. I use another set of eyes as well. Sometimes I just don't want to look at the copy anymore!
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Colleen Johnson, Ruther Glen, Virginia | Mar 28, 2008

Love your tip Alana and you have a great sense of humor.

Funny Jim!

Marte and Brandie - I agree that a second set of eyes are needed on everything.

Thanks for reading.
Posted by Sherri Schultz, San Francisco, California | Mar 28, 2008

As a professional editor and proofreader, I'm thrilled that there's so much interest in this topic!

It's always a challenge for anyone -- even editors -- to proofread their own work. For those really important pieces, such as your website or a brochure representing your firm, you may wish to consider hiring a professional to give your work a final check; you can find a good one through organizations such as the Northwest Independent Editors Guild, the Bay Area Editors Forum, or the Editorial Freelancers Association.
Posted by Alana Jelinek, Santa Rosa, CA, California | Mar 28, 2008

Hi Sherri,

Thanks for the info! Some things are particularly difficult to proof, such as esoteric ingredients on packaging labels, or something that should be there but got deleted in an iteration.

Great!