One of the more common tasks we are asked to do is proof-reading anything from letters to web copy and everything in between. No matter how much experience you’ve had, it’s always good to have a second pair of eyes look over an important piece before you send or publish it. Spell checkers are all well and good, but nothing beats an experienced proof reader.
Remember, if you’re not quite sure where to start with that report, letter or document, we could write it for you too!
Top 6 Proof-reading Tips:
- Re-read your work – We know it’s not the most exciting task in the world but taking a break from a document and coming back to read it again is a simple yet effective way to pick up errors.
- Read the document aloud – While you may be prone to scanning documents, reading aloud makes you pay attention to each word and will allow you to notice mistakes more easily.
- Use spelling and grammar checkers – These tools aren’t as accurate as an experienced pair of eyes, as we mentioned earlier, but it is still important to use them. It takes a matter of seconds and may pick up errors you hadn’t yet detected.
- Read from the bottom up – We’re not sure why, but reading a document backwards makes you concentrate on spelling more.
- Ask for a second opinion – Ask a colleague or friend to proof-read as a fresh pair of eyes can be a fantastic tool.
- Don’t skip the graphs – Many people put time and effort into proof-reading the text in their document but don’t look at graphs, tables, page numbers and headlines. Remember your audience will read the entire document, so you should too!
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