Proofreading And Editing Skills

[Kim Veller]

Thishandout provides some tips and strategies for revising your writing. To give you a chance to practice proofreading, we have left seven errors (three spelling errors, two punctuation errors, and two grammatical errors) in the text of this handout. See if you can spot them!

Not exactly. Although many people use the terms interchangeably, editing and proofreading are two different stages of the revision process. Both demand close and careful reading, but they focus on different aspects of the writing and employ different techniques.

Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You reread your draft to see, for example, whether the paper is well-organized, the transitions between paragraphs are smooth, and your evidence really backs up your argument. You can edit on several levels:

Have you done everything the assignment requires? Are the claims you make accurate? If it is required to do so, does your paper make an argument? Is the argument complete? Are all of your claims consistent? Have you supported each point with adequate evidence? Is all of the information in your paper relevant to the assignment and/or your overall writing goal? (For additional tips, see our handouts on understanding assignments and developing an argument.)

Does your paper have an appropriate introduction and conclusion? Is your thesis clearly stated in your introduction? Is it clear how each paragraph in the body of your paper is related to your thesis? Are the paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Have you made clear transitions between paragraphs? One way to check the structure of your paper is to make a reverse outline of the paper after you have written the first draft. (See our handouts on introductions, conclusions, thesis statements, and transitions.)

Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does each paragraph stick to one main idea? Are there any extraneous or missing sentences in any of your paragraphs? (See our handout on paragraph development.)

As you edit at all of these levels, you will usually make significant revisions to the content and wording of your paper. Keep an eye out for patterns of error; knowing what kinds of problems you tend to have will be helpful, especially if you are editing a large document like a thesis or dissertation. Once you have identified a pattern, you can develop techniques for spotting and correcting future instances of that pattern. For example, if you notice that you often discuss several distinct topics in each paragraph, you can go through your paper and underline the key words in each paragraph, then break the paragraphs up so that each one focuses on just one main idea.

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, focusing on surface errors such as misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation. You should proofread only after you have finished all of your other editing revisions.

Sure, this takes a little extra time, but it pays off in the end. If you know that you have an effective way to catch errors when the paper is almost finished, you can worry less about editing while you are writing your first drafts. This makes the entire writing proccess more efficient.

You probably already use some of the strategies discussed below. Experiment with different tactics until you find a system that works well for you. The important thing is to make the process systematic and focused so that you catch as many errors as possible in the least amount of time.

To keep track of your progress, it can help to break large assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks. And be sure to keep a detailed calendar or use project management software to keep track of your clients and jobs.

A style guide is a crucial part of proofreading and editing, and different clients will provide their own specific guides for you to follow. A style guide includes guidance on referencing, vocabulary, formatting, tone of voice, etc.

CPD can take many forms, like being mentored, reading books, watching training videos, taking courses, or gaining a new qualification. It usually involves a mixture of activities, depending on your particular career goals.

For example, you might consider undertaking a professional training course. Many training courses are CPD accredited, making them a great way to showcase your skills and eagerness to learn to potential employers or clients.

Proofreading what you have written can be very dull. There are many different ways to proofread writing. What works for one person may constitute a painful process for another. Regardless of the method you choose, proofreading is a critical part of the writing process and should never be overlooked. Here are some effective methods for proofreading your documents.

Spell checkers are great as a first step and will be useful in assisting you to identify high-level errors. However, automated spelling and grammar checkers are severely limited. They cannot identify many common grammatical errors. Furthermore, they often make serious mistakes that can mislead even the most diligent writer. It is important to remember that spell checkers identify misspelled words only. They do not alert you to correctly spelled words that are grammatically incorrect.

Proofreading really is a meticulous and time-consuming process, but the more you put into it, the more you get out. If you attempt to identify and correct all errors within one sitting, you risk losing focus and you many find that you miss major mistakes. Sometimes it is useful to check for spelling mistakes and punctuation errors separately. This will make it easier to spot issues. You can then use a variety of proofreading techniques for the different types of mistakes you find.

One technique that the majority of professional proofreaders use is to read the writing they are proofreading out loud. This forces you to voice every single word and involves your auditory senses in the process, meaning that you can hear how the text actually sounds when it is read. Trying to read something quickly forces your brain to skip some words and to make unconscious corrections.

Dividing the text into separate sections provides you with more manageable tasks. Read each section carefully. Then, take a break before you progress to the next. This will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by the task ahead and will allow you to concentrate more effectively on the section of writing that you are proofreading. This technique is especially useful if you are proofreading a very large document such as a thesis, research paper or practicum project.

This method may seem somewhat excessive, but it is one of the most effective methods used for identifying punctuation mistakes. By circling every single punctuation mark, you force yourself to look at each one in turn and to question if it has been used correctly.

This proofreading method is useful for identifying spelling mistakes because it forces you to concentrate on each word in isolation. Start with the last word in your text and follow each one separately until you reach the beginning of the document. While you are doing this, you are not really interested in punctuation and grammar; you are focusing entirely on how the words have been spelled. Many proofreaders also recommend reading papers backwards, sentence by sentence. This encourages you to consider each sentence in isolation out of the context of the rest of the writing and is great for helping you to identify grammatical errors.

Proofreading your writing on a regular basis can help you identify your own strengths and weaknesses and understand where you make mistakes. If you are aware of the common errors you make, you can learn to look for them during the writing process itself. Over a period of time, will learn to avoid them altogether. Keep style guides and grammar rules at hand as you proofread. Look up any areas of which you are uncertain. Over time, you will develop your knowledge and your writing skills will improve.

Hello Liz,

I have adopted Proofreading as my profession. Now my internship is going on in a [Link removed] in starting It was really hard for me to proofread a complicated document but now i have started enjoying my work and i am performing well..

Thank you for your comment, Sylvie. I think that contacting local organisations in the first place is a good idea. If you have a good command of another language, interpretation can be a good second option (think AND rather than OR, after all, I do lots of other things than proofreading). You might like to look at the SfEP site that I link to in the post and take their free test to see if you are suited to the work. Good luck!

I am somewhat interested in pursuing a career as a proofreader or copy editor. This is the first time I have considered it, so apologies for my ignorance. I have some (perhaps little, depending on how you wish to view it) proofreading experience, which I have gathered from doing favours for friends and work: mainly proofreading C.V.s, job applications, websites, scripts and workplace presentations and reports. I had an idea that perhaps this could be a skill I could sell, but I am a bit unsure due to a lack of qualifications, exposure to rare English vocabulary and generally not knowing whether my proofreading is up to the quality or standard expected within that market.

Hi there, I am just starting to look into copy editing and your article has been very helpful. I have wanted to look into doing something different based on my interest of the English language and writing. I think I would be suited to this based on my qualifications and interests and actually feel a little excited by it! Appreciate your insight. Fiona

Hello Liz. I just want to thank you for being so informative and sharing your experiences in this subject. Proofreading is something that I have been very interested in for a while now and although I have no formal qualifications, I have decided to throw caution to the wind.

Thank you again

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