Proofreading

Printed Page 54-55

Proofreading

Proofreading is the process of checking to make sure you have typed what you meant to type. The following sentence contains three errors that you should catch in proofreading:

There are for major reasons we should implementing health-promotion program.

Here they are:

  1. “For” is the wrong word. It should be “four.”
  2. “Implementing” is the wrong verb form. It should be “implement.” This mistake is probably left over from an earlier version of the sentence.
  3. The article “a” is missing before the phrase “health-promotion program.” This is probably just a result of carelessness.

By the way, a spell-checker and grammar-checker didn’t flag any of these errors.

Although some writers can proofread effectively on the screen, others prefer to print a copy of the text. These writers say that because the text looks different on the page than it does on the screen, they are more likely to approach it with fresh eyes, as their eventual readers will, and therefore more likely to see errors.

Regardless of whether you proofread on screen or on paper, the process is no fun. You’re exhausted, you’re thoroughly sick of the document, and proofreading is not the most exciting thing you have ever done. But it is vital to producing a clear, well-written document that reflects your high standards and underscores your credibility as a professional. Don’t insult yourself and your readers by skipping this step. Reread your draft carefully and slowly, perhaps out loud, and get a friend to help. You’ll be surprised at how many errors you’ll find.