Introduction:
Spending a good deal of my career in the nonprofit realm, I realized that budgets don’t always have the capacity for proofreading staff. If the task of proofreading has fallen to you, here are four quick proofreading tips that can help anyone do this job well!
1. Read it out loud.
I always read out loud what I am proofreading because the EAR plays a very important role in proofreading. Most proofreaders know it’s a best practice to rely on your ears more than your eyes.
2. Commas don’t have to be the bane of your existence.
Commas have two main purposes – to indicate a pause and to provide clarity. If you find yourself pausing in the natural flow of speech, a comma is probably needed at the point of that pause. And if you are reading something and find yourself confused by combinations, you get lost, or can’t make meaning of a stream of words…a comma will probably help. Just keeping these two things in mind will help with most comma quandaries.
3. Be true to your brand or style guide.
Work with a team to determine “content style” as well as branding and “graphic style.” What words/phrases does your organization always want to be capitalized? How will things like numbered lists, bullets, phone numbers, email addresses, websites, etc. be listed in your content? If your organization doesn’t have its brand or style guide, consider developing one. But if that’s not possible, consider choosing a style guide for your written content. I recommend the Chicago Manual of Style. Online subscriptions are quite affordable, and it’s a great tool to have handy.
4. Last, and certainly not least, do NOT rely on Word’s grammar editor.
While the grammar editor can be helpful by flagging things you need to consider, it is often incorrect. By all means, look at what the grammar editor flags, but don’t assume it is correct and just blindly accept its suggested change. Use the opportunity to educate yourself and grow in your grammar skills.
Conclusion:
These four tips will help catch many typos and grammatical snafus, but they’ll also help your written content to flow well, convey what you want, and be easily understood. And in the end, that is the most important reason of all to proofread well.
If you are looking for help with copywriting and proofreading, check out what we have done for other clients and then schedule a 30-minute consultation to learn how we can take that task off your plate.
Jon Stanton has a degree in communications from Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. He’s worked in communications and marketing for over 20 years, including as the Creative Content Coordinator and Chief Proofreader for State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.