You need to proofread as a business in order to create effective content.
In order to provide clarity, professionalism, and purpose, you must ensure that any writing is accurate for your audience. Most of us will find that after writing content we’ve skimmed over errors we’ve made. As an essential aspect to finishing a piece of writing error free there are a few tips that we recommend using during your next proofread to make sure it is well received.
Know your own typical mistakes
Sometimes it’s hard to admit where you may struggle but, even senior writers will have those times where they have to work a little harder or remind themselves to be aware of their weaknesses in order to overcome them.
Before proofreading it would be good to take the time to recognise the element or elements that you struggle with, in writing. It could be using commas correctly, understanding the different nouns or knowing when to use ‘affect’ or ‘effect’.
Once you’ve figured that out, you’ll be more aware of it when looking over your writing.
Get a second opinion
Even when we proofread ourselves it could be the case that certain errors are still overlooked. ,
Say if a word or punctuation is omitted it’s easy to miss and just not see that yourself. Looking over a piece of content numerous times yourself leads to familiarisation that will cause you to sometimes read it how you think it does.
Get a second pair of eyes to read it and provide feedback. Two heads are better than one!
Use a Spellchecker
One of the first things we would suggest is running your work through a spellchecker on your word processor.
It checks for grammar, punctuation and spelling but, additionally looks at ways of making content more concise where possible. Basically, a second opinion just from a computer rather than a person!
Proofread one type of error at a time
Trying to take on too much at once could lead to there being more issues at the end of it.
If you try to look out for all types of errors when proofreading, then it could lead to confusion and put too much on your plate at once.
We’d recommend simplifying the situation, potentially looking at just punctuation errors first then when you proofread the second time look at grammatical errors. You could even be more specific if you have the time, looking at commas initially then move on to verbs and ensuring the correct tense is used.
Take a break between writing and as you proofread
Attempting to do all your writing in one sitting without any breaks can become repetitive for the writer, which likely will lead to more errors being created. It’s the same when it comes to proofreading. Take a break! Complete one paragraph, proofread it, then repeat throughout!
However, if proofreading isn’t for you then don’t worry! With our content development we take the burden of proofreading for you.
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