Expert Says, Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash
If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
War Dims Hope for Peace
Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
These are headlines and sub-headlines from some of the leading dailies across the world! Isn’t it hard to believe? Look closely and you will find several such examples of proofreading blunders. Right from everyday work emails and memos to invites and articles – proofreading is surely a dying art!
The act of testing or making trial of anything is called proofing and doing just that for your written content is proofreading! A proofreader is only concerned with the grammar, spellings, and sentence construction and not with the concept, idea, or the plot. He is expected to go through every word, sentence, and paragraph and weed out typographical errors, misspellings, and punctuation mistakes, etc.
Reports, manuscripts, manuals, articles, newsletters, etc., any material meant to go online or in print should pass the trained eye of an experienced proofreader. Outsourcing proofreading is a good idea, because a great writer and storyteller might not necessarily be a great editor or proofreader. Besides, long hours of proofreading can cause serious strain to your eyes.
A proofreader is expected to scrutinize the manuscript right down to the last word. Apart from solid technical skills, patience, and an ability to concentrate for long hours are the traits of an ideal proofreader. The tricks of the trade can be known, but the skills can only be honed by experience.
Master the language – regular reading and writing helps!
Understand the media you are proofreading for, try to identify the preferences of your audience
Have the style guides and reference materials handy, you never know when you need them
Whenever possible, print the matter for proofreading: the longer the manuscript, the more important it is to print it
Read aloud, read each word
Read one sentence at a time
Use spell check features available with most word editing software – don’t rely too much on it though
Take regular breaks to rest your eyes and your mind!
Keep learning and improving
We have a superior understanding of the various online and offline mediums. Hence, along with proofreading, we can also check page navigation structure, test hyperlinks, ensure correct pagination, highlight inconsistencies in formatting and layouts, etc.
At LexiConn, we offer expert proofreading and editing services for all kinds of written communications across media like websites, brochures, reports, manuscripts, etc. Our experienced proofreaders are adept at various genres and can offer reliable and comprehensive proofreading services.
Visit us www.lexiconn.in or drop us a line at content@lexiconn.in.
LexiConn also offers a free 30-minute content consultation session to help you with your content strategy.
Write to us and share your requirements. We will be glad to proofread a few pages as a sample to demonstrate our skills.
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