So, what’s the big deal about proofreading?
Good writing is about a lot more than good grammar,
just like basketball is about more than good dribbling.
So why this obsession over typos, misspellings and grammar slips?
Two reasons. First, judgment. Someone who doesn’t know a dangling participle from a dangling dinner guest can spot a typo.
That typo can then be used to negatively judge you, your writing, even your intelligence.
Don’t believe me? Here’s an article from the Harvard Business Review entitled “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar.”
Author Kyle Wiens is CEO of iFixit. This CEO writes:
People who mix up their “its” and “it’s” deserve to be passed over for a job,
even if they are otherwise qualified for the position. I have a ‘zero tolerance approach’ to
grammar mistakes that make people look stupid.
Although there is no known relationship between intelligence and apostrophes,
that fact obviously does not prevent others, whether employers or professors,
from judging you based on easy-to-spot surface errors.
This second reason might surprise you:
It’s impossible too oops! need to correct that typo) impossible to accurately proofread your own writing.
This fact makes it likely you’ll leave some type of error unless you take active measures.
Why can’t you proofread your own work accurately?
When writing, your mind creates a mental image of meaning that you attempt to transfer to the page.
The catch is, while your mental image may be perfect, what ends up on the page may not be.
When someone else reads your writing, the process happens in reverse:
The reader looks first at the words on the page and then constructs a mental image.
What a difference! You, the writer, have lying on top of the page, like a piece of wax paper,
your perfect mental image that can prevent you from seeing clearly what’s there.
The reader, on the other hand, sees the cold reality of the page,
black squiggles on a white background, without any filter.
That’s why the first proofreading tip is to ICE
IT--put the writing away until your mental image has faded and no longer obscures the reality of what’s on the page.
But the problem with ICE IT is time--It can take days or weeks for the mental image to fade enough.
Few people, least of all students, have that time.
We need tools we can apply immediately.
One of the best is text-to-speech. These software programs let you hear what you wrote in someone else’s voice.
In other words, you get to process your writing as a listener, not its creator.
There are literally 100s of free text-to-speech programs out there that do the job.
Our favorite is NaturalReader.com. It’s free, web-based (nothing to download) and offers drag and drop simplicity.
NaturalReader can read 10 types of documents, has 18 English voices, and speed control in its free version.
Many other text-to-speech programs can be found at review sites like TechRadar.com and elearning.com.
The bottom line: Listening to someone else read your document helps you know what is and isn’t on the page.
Another exciting technology for writers is the new AI-based spelling, style and grammar checkers.
“Wait a minute,” you say, “Microsoft Word has offered its built-in auto checker since 1995!”
And you’re right. But Word’s checker uses simple algorithms based on matching.
Today’s advanced grammar, spelling and style checkers use artificial intelligence to
understand the context of what is written, to make predictions and give insights about your writing.
There’s no comparison between the simple spellcheckers of old and today’s advanced systems.
Currently there are two of these products—Grammarly and Ginger.
Let’s look at Grammarly, the most widely used and most heavily marketed.
Grammarly is integrated into more platforms than any other product.
By default, it’s always on, always checking without you having to do anything.
Grammarly’s stated goal is to “check everything you write on a computer.”
Grammarly not only checks word processed documents.
It’s also at work in every email client you have—Gmail, Outlook.
It checks your Blackboard discussion boards. It automatically checks
Facebook posts, Instagram, Snapchat, Google docs, Twitter, YouTube,
and many other social media platforms, now and in the future because of its integration with
Github—the leading software development platform.
Speaking of software development, Grammarly even checks code!
Grammarly has free browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.
But Grammarly also teaches.
For example, rather than merely accepting a correction,
the user can choose to open Grammarly’s card about the error.
These cards contain a full explanation of the error with incorrect examples being corrected.
In other words, Grammarly can function as your individualized grammar and style handbook.
This feature is great for students. The drawback is price.
The premium versions of both are: Monthly--$29.95, Quarterly--$19.98 per month, Annually—$11.66 per month.
But might be worth it while you’re in school.
What about the other spelling and grammar checkers out there: PaperRater, Reverso, NounPlus,
After the Deadline, Scribens, GrammarCheck, Virtual Writing Tutor, BibMe, SpellCheckPlus and probably others?
All require that you go to their site and transfer your document to the space provided.
All results appear at same time and can be confusing to navigate in a long document.
Then each change must be made manually in the original document,
unlike Grammarly which is a simple click away.
The next tip is as down-to-earth as a pair of eyeballs.
Those fancy algorithms in Grammarly are attempts to replace the human mind.
So, this tip is: Partner Up. Of course, it’d be great if this person had some training, but, really, that’s not required.
Simply have your partner read your work out loud, preferably using a hard copy.
The partner should note anything--typo, suspected misspelling, unclear or confusing
wording—anything that gets in the way of their reading and understanding what you wrote.
It’s that simple. Of course, you’ll want to return the favor by proofing your partner’s work.
Doing so is not only good manners; it’ll train you to be a better writer as you learn to look at writing more objectively.
This next set of tips all have to do with making physical changes to the text
in order to distort and disrupt the mental image that prevents you from seeing the reality of what you wrote.
First, when in the proofreading stage, print out your work as hard copy.
Why? Hundreds of studies since the 1990s have compared reading from a screen vs. reading print.
The conclusions are: On average, reading from a screen is
harder—about 27% harder—and uses more mental resources, making you tire more quickly.
Reading from a screen is also less efficient—we see and comprehend less.
Finally, reading from a screen is less enjoyable, which can lead to avoidance.
Simply put, the evidence is: proofreading a hard copy of a text is easier and more accurate than on the screen.
Once you have that hard copy printed out, here are two more tips on what to do with it.
First, highlight one line at a time with a reading ruler, a folded piece of paper or a real ruler.
This technique forces you to see what’s on the page rather than what you hear in your mind.
The second thing you can do on the hard copy is to circle all punctuation in red.
These circles not only force you to check correct punctuation.
Circling the punctuation is another way of breaking up the text,
defeating your mental image, and giving you a better chance of seeing what’s actually there.
But what if printing out the document isn’t an option?
If proofing on the screen is your only option, there are three techniques you can use to
give yourself an edge without having to use one.
First, you can increase the size of the text on the screen.
If your document is in 12-point type, enlarge it to 24.
The enlarged letters will cause your mind to make a new mental map of the document.
The same goes for changing the font. When you change the font,
you will produce new glyphs. Each letter is called a glyph and is treated by your mind as an image.
Having to interpret new, enlarged glyphs further erodes the original mental image,
giving you a better chance of spotting typos, misspellings and other unintentional mistakes.
Third, you can change the column layout of the document.
In Word, click on Layout, then columns. Choose to divide up your document into two or three columns.
Make sure your text is left aligned only. Do not use full justification. The last tips are:
When proofing, it’s important to read your work slowly and out loud
because doing so helps defeat mental prediction and mental mapping as you focus on each individual word.
But trained proofreaders do more: trained proofreaders read syllables, not words.
In other words, instead of saying the word “proofing,” a trained proofreader
would say “proof--ing.” Instead of “syllable,” a trained proofreader would say out loud, “syl—la—ble”
to make sure all the L’s are there.
Because proofreading comes last in the writing process, at the deadline when it’s time to turn it in,
we tend to give our documents a final quick read, maybe a spellcheck.
As you’ve seen in this presentation, accurate proofreading requires patience and a clear process.
Your writing deserves both. Your writing is a direct reflection of you.
Don’t be afraid to make it the best it you can be.