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The Proof Is In The Proofing: 7 Tips To Develop Great Proofreading Skills

by: Marige O'Brien

In many professions, especially writing and internet marketing, the primary form of contact with customers is via the written word: website content, display ads, Spam-compliant emails, not to mention forum posts and even responses to queries, etc. The list is endless. And all of them have one thing in common: They are based on the written word.

Because of this, the importance of proofreading one's work, word-for-word, cannot be over-stressed. No one would think of making a presentation while wearing a shirt covered in grease or spaghetti-sauce stains. Nor, despite a few eccentric exceptions, of appearing at one's wedding in sandals and baggy shorts. Yet that is exactly the same thing as allowing even one 'typo' to appear in the final copy of any professional text.

To avoid these written faux pas, proofreading skills are essential. Proofreading to writing is the equivalent of house cleaning to home design or laundering to dress-making: While the house may be beautiful, it is nothing more than a fancy pig's sty if not cleaned up; the gown nothing more than a rag, if not treated properly.

But proofreading is not an easy skill to develop, primarily because, for mystical reasons no writer will ever understand but will nonetheless verify (myself included), once a thought has been translated to a page, the author often develops a specialized kind of blindness, one in which they can no longer see what they've written clearly. Instead, all they see is what they *intended* to say.

But there is hope. As with any skill, producing letter-perfect copy comes with practise. Following are seven tactics for effective proofreading. None of them will guarantee perfect copy. All of them have their weaknesses. But if at least two or three are employed on a consistent basis, typographical, punctuation and/or grammatical errors will show a marked decrease.

1) THE TRUTH ABOUT SPELL-CHECK: THERE, THEIR OR THEY'RE
Upon its release, Spell-check was touted as every writer's dream, allowing those without secretaries (i.e., 98% of us) to forego the tedious chore of proofreading. To say that it fell somewhat short of that goal is an understatement. However, it IS useful as a basic, first-run-through tool. And it does point out the most obvious errors.

2) AS YE SPAKE
"You know, you can just, like, go over to this website and. . . "

This sentence is an obvious example of one of the most common errors in writing and is hardly ever caught during proofreading. That is, general improper usage. As anyone learning a foreign language can attest, there is a distinct difference between what is acceptable in the less formal, oral format than its written counterpart. While writing should be fluid and succinct, it should not mimic spoken -- even well-spoken -- language. When proofreading, the signs of this type of misuse are: Overly informal slang; lack of reference within the context (i.e., over-using pronouns); and an abundance of typically oral modifiers (but, like, you see, etc.).

3) WHO SAID *THAT*?
While writing, an author so often becomes embroiled in the act itself -- of refining a thought or idea, of showing a progression of that thought -- that he/she loses perspective. In the process, incomplete sentences may be left hanging, replacement words may be put in the wrong part of a sentence, complete thoughts might be chopped up. For this reason, it is often easier to see these errors if, no matter what the deadline, the writer takes a break before reading over their copy, then comes back and reads it through from the beginning. In this way, these type of errors will become glaringly obvious.

4) PRINT IT OUT AND READ IT AGAIN
Though it's doubtful gremlins really do reside within printers, the fact remains that most 'typo's' can be found more easily in printed form. And, while it *seems* more efficient to proofread the text first, *then* print it, it actually wastes time. Perhaps it is because reading for sense and content, reading for typos AND correcting all at once can be a matter of covering too many bases. Whatever the case, printing a copy makes proofreading much easier.

5) FRIENDS READ FRIEND'S COPY
There is an old proofreading saying that "a fresh pair of eyes make all the difference." This is because after repeatedly looking at the same copy, the brain actually stops processing the information. By asking someone else to look over the same copy, the "fresh pair of eyes" can find the otherwise elusive typo. Co-workers, friends, and relatives can be the best help in this case. For long documents or a complete website, an alternate suggestion is to hire a professional proofreader.

6) READ IT OUTLOUD
While it may seem to contradict the advice in #2, above, reading the text aloud often forces one to recognise a typo or grammatical error the eyes have scanned over and missed a dozen times. This goes to the core of why proofreading is so difficult: Simply put, the mind naturally adapts to what it sees very quickly. If one sees the same error repeatedly, without it being corrected, it ceases to recognise it as such. Thus, in proofreading, our own capabilites betray us. Professional proofreaders (yes, there is such a profession, though now only associated with the law and publishing fields) use a technique in which one proofreader will read aloud, while another proofreader (using a second copy) follows along, making corrections. This is an extreme measure, but worthwhile for any text that must be absolutely letter-perfect.

7) THE WORLD IS YOUR EDITOR
Especially in the case of a substantial body of work (a website, for instance), an open invitation for correction should be given. Though, again, it seems contradictory to what has already been said here (in #5, above), inviting the corrections of the world at large allows for a greater source of information. And, of course, this is only after all other efforts have been made. Even with two or three people viewing the text, a broader forum of information can always pick out one or two straggling typo's.

Using even one or two of these tips will enhance the body of any author's work, allowing them to enjoy a professionalism they would otherwise be denied. Think of it as buying a new suit and tie, then dry-cleaning them regularly.--mo

About the author:
Marige O'Brien works as a writer, web designer and Internet Marketer. Visit her website, Circulated by Article Emporium

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Steps to a Writing an Effective Press Releases
by: Diana Ennen

Want to get the most media attention and spotlight for your business? Then the first place to start is with a GREAT press release. Now I can almost see half of you leaving now, dreading the thought of having to write one of these. But wait!! I�m going to show you easy methods to make your press release work for you and get the attention it deserves. Ready? Let�s go.

We�ll briefly go over the basics because of their importance. Editors want to see things done the RIGHT way. I would bet that a lot of good releases simply get tossed out just because they aren�t set up properly. To a busy editor, that all too familiar �10 second glance� says a lot for you and your business; it let�s them know if you�ve done your research enough to warrant that release to be placed in their newspaper or magazine.

Here are your essentials:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" on the top left of the page.

Your contact name, phone number, e-mail address, and website follows.

Headline is next, normally in bold and centered on the page. Summarize what the release is about and capture their attention. Spend almost as much time on your headline as you do writing the release. It�s that important.

The press release body starts with the location of the release and the date (Margate, Florida, May 5, 2005.)

Most press releases are between 200-500 words, and no more than a page. The first paragraph has the most important information. Don�t save the best for last, it won�t get read. In this paragraph answer the questions, who, what, when, where and why?

It is recommended that you write press releases in the 3rd person and use short sentences and paragraphs. Do not go over board, trying to dazzle the editor, it won�t work.

Target your release. You will be sending your release to a specific audience so make sure that in your release you keep to what would appeal to that audience. What don�t they know that you can add? Nothing works better than getting an �AAH HAA� when an editor is reviewing your release.

Provide statistics. Do some research and find some relevant information that applies. You can easily do this through Google. Once you find your quote, do a Google search or Yahoo quote on that particular topic. However, don�t stop on the first Google link and take that for gospel. Research it a bit further. Have it come from a respectable company or magazine.

Include relevant quotes from experts in your field that will reinforce what you are saying. Approach authors, leaders in your Industry, and other experts that back up the facts you are stating in your release. They will normally appreciate the added publicity and you get the quote you�re looking for. For example, as an author I�ll often get asked to provide a quote for an article on home-based businesses or the virtual assistant industry. I welcome the opportunity as it provides me more publicity.

Also, if you have a satisfied client that you feel will add credibility to your Release, add a quote from them as well. The first time you mention the expert, write out their full name. Then list them by last name or Mr. and Mrs. Smith only. I normally prefer the last name.

The last paragraph should be your call to action. You�ve talked the whole release about your business or product, now tell them what to do with the knowledge they just acquired.

At the bottom of the release include ### to indicate you are done, followed by a short bio. Make sure if you include your website that you include http:// in front of it for search engine recognition.

Your bio should include your information, any books authored, etc. Double check this for accuracy. At this point, you�re tired and done with the Release. But if it goes out to the world with the wrong web address, the valuable time spent even writing the Release has been wasted.

That�s it; the basics for writing a press release! Now one other thing I�d like to add in, they work! They truly work. I�ve had a recent release get accepted by PRWeb (and yes they do reject bad ones!), and then go on to hit several other major newspapers and media outlines and the Google alert, which resulted in our paper in the area contacting me. You want to set up a Google news alert for your name so that you can follow the path and see when you make the news so you can follow up. Also, PRWeb at http://www.prweb.com has complete guidelines for setting up a good press release. Go with the extra money and spend $20.00. It�s worth it to get the additional exposure.

About The Author

Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, Words From Home, Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business & the Home Office Recovery Plan. She specializes in publicity and book marketing and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.Publicity-VA.com. Articles are free to be reprinted as long as the author�s bio remains intact

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