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© 2010 Administrative Sparkle Blog
Part of my job is proofreading documents for grammar, punctuation, and style for signature and final execution. Using a standard format and layout for internal and external memos and correspondence not only creates a consistent look and feel to the presentation of the company or department, but is easier to scan through because you know what to look for.
With technology, it is easy to let the computer do the work for us with its grammar and spellchecker, or just get lazy. A reminder when cash registers evolved to displaying to the cashier how much money to give to the customer. It’s still good idea to know the math. Some types of errors only become obvious when in print.
Take a look at the overall document layout for spacing, font, font size, justification, margins, etc. Then proceed through the text for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity of the message. Does this make sense? Are there some sentences that just seem to keep going on and on?
When returning edits to the originator, it’s easier to use the standard proofreader’s marks so you don’t find yourself explaining various markups each time. As with any written material, proofreaders’ marks are a form of communication.
When I used to work at a law firm in St. Paul, Minnesota, we called the little black binder clips “bull dogs” and the expanding reddish-brown folders “red ropes.” When I went to work in other offices, if I had to make an office supply request to the person in charge of that task, they had absolutely no idea what I was talking about when I referenced these items with my terminology.
Once edits to content are complete, take a final look for headers, footers, attachments, cc’s, the signature line, and pagination (eliminating widow/orphans and making sure at least two lines of text to a paragraph accompany the signature line).
Here is a great online Proofreaders’ Marks PDF resource link by McGraw-Hill that you can save and print.
The proofreading process can be different and more complex depending on the industry or documentation that includes technical, medical, legal, and research. This pretty basic information is a great starting off point. If you have any suggestions or tips for what helps you in your proofing and editing tasks, please share your technique. Learning a process that can simplify a job is always worth its weight in gold.
Related posts:
- Editing & Proofing Guidelines Proofreading 1. Repeated words. Your spellchecker will usually flag...
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Do you do blogroll exchanging? If you want to exchange links let me know.
Email me back if you’re interested.
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Layne Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hi Randy, yes I do. I have been crazy busy redisigning my website to include my blog and am working on collecting a variety of suggestion and/or reference lists on the sidebar. I hope you find my information helpful and looking foward to networking.
Layne
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Hi!
Nice article…I want to thank you for the Proofreaders’ Marks PDF link. It looks like a *great* resource!
Jeannette, JTypePlus
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Thanks so much for the valuable resource. As an avid reader AND as a proofreader & editor, this will really come in handy! Thanks again!
Jan
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Thanks for the article and the Proofreaders’ Marks PDF link!
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What a great article and superb resource!
As a freelance writer and marketing consultant, I do tons of writing, proofreading and editing and the “Proofreaders Marks” will certainly come in handy!
Thank you so much for sharing such a valuable resource. I had something similar but this one seems to have even more information.
Thanks again and make it a great day!
Deb
http://www.youreverythingservices.com
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Thanks so much for the proofreading marks. I Proofread a lot of my clients work and this will certainly come in handy – I did used to know them but have not used them in a while.
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That was an excellent link–I’ve been looking for a concise article like this for a while!
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Thank you to everyone for the feedback. It is a great opportunity for me to share information about things that were important to know in my field. I hope this website gives you lots of ideas and is a great resource in your quest to be great at what you do.
And feel free to give me suggestions and input along the way. RSS me and respond to let me know how your doing. It really is a great job position to learn and expand on.
Smiles,
Layne
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Layne,
Since your advice is so helpful I wonder if you can advise how one can improve overall writing skills.
I find my style very passive and need to change it.
Do you know of any resources that might help me?
Thanks in advance.
[Reply]
Layne Reply:
October 7th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I agree, I think we could all add a little “style” to our writing. I will make a point of contributing some ideas for form and style into the mix. Be looking for that soon.
Smiles,
Layne
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