Proofreading refers to the rereading of your entire written document after it is completed in order to identify any mistakes. Although spelling mistakes, faulty grammar and improper punctuation abound on the Internet, when you are writing professionally – and being judged by your writing abilities, as is often the case in the world of professional speaking – such mistakes can cause disgrace.
Proofreading is a very important step in creating high-quality online content as it saves the writer from the guilt that he or she may face if and when a reader identifies grammatical or spelling errors. Proofreading, then, is the final quality check, to ensure that no last errors are overlooked. When you expect to be rewarded as a professional, you need to work as a professional too. And professionals – and especially professional speakers – don’t take any risks when it comes to the quality of their writing.
By proofreading your content before publishing it online you can identify any errors you may have made and then do the required revisions to create your final copy.
Proofreading your document
To improve the quality of your content you need to look for errors in the following four areas.
1. Typographical errors
It’s natural to make mistakes while typing. When your fingers move too fast or you’re not watching the keys that you’re hitting on your keyboard, you’re bound to make typos. These typographical mistakes will make a bad impression on your readers, and they can sometimes even change the meaning of your sentences. Therefore, pay attention when you’re typing, watch out for typos and read over your work carefully to ensure you’ve caught and fixed them all.
2. Spelling errors
Although most word processing software automatically checks the spelling of your writing, it’s not safe to depend up on this software entirely. One should always proofread their writing for spelling as automatic spellcheckers can overlook some mistakes, such as when you’ve spelled a word correctly, but it’s the improper word for your sentence. For example, if you have written “their” instead of “there,” a spellcheck or grammar check may not catch the mistake.
3. Grammar errors
You need to have a good command over language in order to identify grammatical errors. If you are uncertain about your sentence structure or if you’re using the proper tense, it’s a good idea to have another person read over your work. Sometimes sentences may be grammatically correct but just don’t sound right. Other times extremely lengthy sentences may cause confusion and need to be shortened. Having a second set of eyes look over your writing for grammatical errors is a good idea.
4. Punctuation errors
Proper punctuation is very important as incorrect punctuation marks can sometimes change the meaning of sentence. You definitely don’t want your readers to infer an incorrect message from you words.
It is completely normal for all writers, no matter how experienced they are, to make mistakes. But by reviewing, revising and proofreading your work you improve your chances of identifying those mistakes before it is too late. It’s often difficult to pinpoint mistakes in your own writing. When you have become so close to your content, reading and rereading it incessantly, you begin to become immune to your own mistakes. As a result, it’s always a good idea to have a friend, colleague or family member look over your writing before you publish it online.
You cannot take any risks when it comes to the credibility of your content. The more well written your content is, the more professional you will seem and the better respected you will be. Reviewing, revising and proofreading your work is a time-consuming task, but its importance should not be undervalued.
