Proper grammar and punctuation is a very important part of writing and publishing content whether in the form of books, articles, guides, flyers and essays.
Without document proofreading it's almost impossible to have a completely error free piece of content so it's important to make sure that you go through the document for proper grammar and punctuation and you have someone else do the same once you are finished.
Using a few tips, tricks and techniques can help to make the process go smoothly and quickly.
Commas and Capitalization These are two areas of proper grammar and punctuation that are easily overlooked by common spell checkers used after a document is complete.
This is why document proofreading with the human eye is so crucial.
Using commas in the wrong place or not using them when they're needed can change the entire presentation of the content you are proofreading.
It's best to read through a document slowly and accurately to make sure that commas and capitals are used in their proper places.
It's also a good idea to read over a document more than one time when proofreading it.
Use of the Correct Words Another huge aspect of proper grammar and punctuation is being able to spot words that were not used in the correct context.
For example, the word whole could be spelled as hole but that would make the entire sentence mean something totally different.
This is something that is usually overlooked by spelling and grammar checkers, which makes document proofreading all that much more necessary.
Sometimes there are numerous spelling and meanings of a particular word so paying close attention to this is essential in maintaining the integrity of written copy.
Tips on Document Proofreading To make sure proper grammar and punctuation are displayed throughout your content, there are a few ways to make the process more effective.
First of all, reading each sentence backward at least one time will provide you with an entirely new aspect of how things are presented within the document.
You might be surprised as to how many spelling errors and grammar problems you pick up by doing this.
Although some argue that it takes too much time to read the sentences backwards since it isn't natural, the time saved in later fixing errors that were missed is well worth it.
Keeping a dictionary and a grammar resource guide handy can also help to catch all errors as you proofread.
You should also consider having someone else proofread your content for proper grammar and punctuation as well.
They can simply read through the document and check your work for any overlooked problems before the content is published.
A fresh set of eyes is always helpful when trying to put out error free work.
This is because when you expect something to read in a certain way, often times your eyes can overlook any mistakes because they really aren't looking for them.
An outsider doesn't have this same bias and therefore can more easily detect certain errors.