PROOFREADING. Most errors in written work are made unconsciously. There are two sources of unconscious error:

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2 PROOFREADING Proofreading is not an innate ability; it is an acquired skill. The following exercises will help you master it, or at any rate will impress you with how difficult it is. Hints for successful proofreading: Cultivate a healthy sense of doubt. If there are types of errors, you know you tend to make, double check for those. Read very slowly. If possible, read out loud. Read one word at a time. Read what is actually on the page, not what you think is there. (This is the most difficult sub-skill to acquire, particularly if you wrote what you are reading). Proofread more than once. If possible, work with someone else. Most errors in written work are made unconsciously. There are two sources of unconscious error: 1. Faulty information from the kinesthetic memory. If you have always misspelled a word, like "accommodate, you will unthinkingly misspell it again. 2. A split second of inattention. The mind works far faster than the pen or typewriter. It is the unconscious nature of the worst that makes proofreading so difficult. The student who turned in a paper saying, "I like girdle cakes for breakfast" did not have a perverted digestion. He thought he had written, "griddle cakes" and because that's what he was sure he had written, that's what he "saw" when he proofread. If he had slowed down and read word by word, out loud, he might have caught the error. You have to doubt every word in order to catch every mistake. Another reason for deliberately slowing down is that when you read normally, you often see only the shells of words -- the first and last few letters, perhaps. You "fix your eyes" on the print only three or four times per line, or less. You take in the words between your fixation points with your peripheral vision, which gets less accurate the farther it is from the point. The average reader can only take in six letters accurately with one fixation. This means you have to fix your eyes on almost every word you have written and do it twice in longer words, in order to proofread accurately. You have to look at the word, not slide over it. In proofreading, you can take nothing for granted, because unconscious mistakes are so easy to make. It helps to read out loud, because 1) you are forced to slow down and 2) you hear what you are reading as well as seeing it, so you 1

3 are using two senses. It is often possible to hear a mistake, such as an omitted or repeated word that you have not seen. Professional editors proofread as many as ten times. Publishing houses hire teams of readers to work in pairs, out loud. And still errors occur. Remember that it is twice as hard to detect mistakes in your own work as in someone else's! Just like constant exercise is necessary for the maintenance of any skill, proofreading too requires consistent and constant practice. Exercising proofreading can be done in many ways. There are some commonly followed methods. However, there are no hard and fast rules and styles of proofreading exercises. One of the techniques is comparison exercise. This is generally not applicable to all types of projects. It applies to projects in which you are copying out of an original document. 2

4 PROOFREADING TECHNIQUES 1. Need for a Fresh Perspective: - Take a break: It is very important to take breaks between the jobs of writing and proofreading even if it is for a period as short as 5 minutes. - If possible get someone to read the paper to you. - Some other aids that might help in case you cannot find a third party is to use a tape recorder to identify the spots where what is read differs from what is written. - You can also use a ruler or paper to cover your writing so that you can clearly identify each line of your text separately. - Reading each sentence backward will help you identify unclear sentence structure and redundancy. - Reading each word backward will help you identify typos and spelling mistakes. - Circle the verbs will help you in the location of the passive voice, "strong" verbs, and the tense shifts. - Circling the prepositions will help in the location of unnecessary verboseness of the document. 2. Need for Personalization of the process: - Make a checklist of all the mistakes that you commonly make. - Read through the paper several times, and make sure to look for a different potential problem each time you repeat the process. - Keep this checklist handy for use on subsequent papers. 3. Use of a computer: - Use the computer resources to print a draft of the documents to be proofread. - Use the computer to introduce line breaks so that each sentence starts on a new line. - Use a large font size to provide for easier readability. - Use the Find and Replace option to identify the repeated errors. - Use the spell check and grammar check tools built into the software. 3

5 Proofreading Marks When proofreading your document, you should mark all corrections using the common proofreading marks shown below. There is not an existing standard for proofreading electronic documents. For a long time now writers, editors, typesetters - and proofreaders - have had their own set of proofreading symbols for indicating correction of errors, denoting the need of phrase addition etc. in the texts based on paper based. With the need to communicate with professors, editors, and publishers through there is a special need for a standard for electronic proofreading. Currently most of people invent their own proofreading symbols to use on electronic medium. For example, square brackets to indicate when to delete text. Similarly use asterisks indicate the introduction of new text. Plain ASCII can be used for a simple exchange of s. This simple method of mark up would be a perfect substitute for the traditional proofreading symbols in the case of an electronic exchange. Given below are some of the most common proofreading errors that generally occur. It is good to have knowledge of the possible errors and maintain a checklist of the same. After the document has been proofread and documented, it would be a good idea to go over the document with the checklist at hand to ensure that the errors have been identified and erased from the document. Here is a list of the most common proofreading errors. 1. Comma Errors: Ideally the commas should appear after any occurrences of emphatic opening words and also after the introductory phrases and clauses that usually appear before the main part of the sentence. In order to identify and catch the errors in which the commas have been omitted after introductions, try the following methods of identification: - Check the first two words of each sentence in order to identify if the sentence has an introductory element. - If the first words indicate that the primary information of the sentence is yet to appear then a "break point" should be expected in the sentence where a comma will occur to let readers know that the main sentence is coming up. If the comma is missing from the sentence then the error is called a run-on error. In order to check for run-on sentences, you should skim the paper and look for the seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. 4

6 2. Spelling and Typographical Errors: The first step you can take in order to carry out the efficient proofreading for spelling is to keep a chart of the words that you often tend to misspell. In order to search for spelling and typographical errors, either increase your awareness of the types of errors that you generally tend to make or slow down to make sure that you see what's actually on the page. This list will work as a reference point that you can keep next to you as you proofread. 3. Grammar: Some of the most common errors are the subject/verb agreement errors that frequently occur when a phrase intervenes between the subject and verb. In most cases if one looks specifically for the subject and verb, the error would probably be most obvious and the correction also would seem relatively easy. 5

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8 COMMON PROOFREADER S MARKS SYMBOL MEANING EXAMPLE GENERAL Add Rule awk (for entire line) < > X Awkward Construction (Correct grammar style or word usage) Delete Delete and close up Divide run-on sentences into two separate short sentences Remove/Unwanted Bill reminded Susan that Bill wanted to meet Susan's friend. (for lower case letter) <This is not a proper sentence it has two complete ideas> Insert indicated Material The word Best stet Leave Unchanged Let marked text stand as set sp Spell out Passive? Passive construction (rewrite with active voice) Used to separate two or more marks and often as a concluding stroke at the end of an insertion Sense unclear, vague or unconvincing (Rewrite for clarity) The assignment should be done. either/or "Mom wasn't sure if Jane had her pool pass." 1

9 GENERAL COMMON PROOFREADER S MARKS SYMBOL MEANING EXAMPLE [ ] This is not Sentence (check subject and verb) Insert ellipses Insert Leaders [Not a Sentence] Insert Leading ww Query to author: Wrong word (Is this the meaning you intend?) ok/has this been set as intended? The doctor ensured his snowmobile against theft. 2

10 COMMON PROOFREADER S MARKS SYMBOL MEANING EXAMPLE POSTION AND SPACING Align horizontally Align Text/Col. vertically Center Text Close up this space Decrease Leading Equalize Space Flush Right Flush Left Indent Text No Indentation # Insert a space Put onehere Insert em quad space You are the friend the only friend who offered to help me Lower Text Move to Next Line Move Up from Next LIne New Paragraph Where is it? It s on the shelf. 3

11 COMMON PROOFREADER S MARKS SYMBOL MEANING EXAMPLE POSTION AND SPACING Raise Text Run On (No New Paragraph) Start new line or Transpose Elements 4

12 COMMON PROOFREADER S MARKS SYMBOL MEANING EXAMPLE PUNCTUATION Apostrophe or single quotation mark John s words * Asterisk Word* Brackets Colon He read the list of words from the dictionary The following words: Insert comma Insert Double Quotations Insert Single Quotes en dash em (or long) dash Insert Parentheses The list of words in the dictionary on page 101 is useful. Insert Brackets Insert a Period Insert hyphen Semicolon Scan the words;/skim the words. 5

13 COMMON PROOFREADER S MARKS SYMBOL MEANING EXAMPLE STYLE OF TYPE Boldface Centered Fix broken character Set as ligature (such as æ) / or Set in Lowercase Set in italic Set in SMALL CAPITALS Set in roman / Set in Uppercase (CAPITALS) Cap & Small Cap Superscript or superior Subscript or inferior *Turn over an inverted letter *Wrong Font *These symbols are unlikely to needed in marking proofs of photocomposed matter. 6

14 Proofreaders' Marks for Electronic Text and Teachers' Marks for Electronic Text Following are suggested marks to use for standard editorial comments. Traditional methods of editing include marks in the margins. Many electronic transmissions may not include margins (e.g., messages). However, Find or Search options (typically located under the "Edit" menu) enable easy location of marks within text. A Simple Marking System This is a marking system for electronic editing. The simplest level involves only 4 marks. More elaborate models for specific marking needs are listed below. To locate all editorial comments the Author should use Find or Search to locate the following 4 marks: { } for Comments to the Author, as in {This sentence is much too wordy.} % for Deletion, as in "This %is is a sentence with too many "is" words in it." # for Insertion, as in "These#words#were#running#together#with#no#spaces." * for all other Transformations, such as grammar, spelling or usage. The Comments to the author code { } follows the material to which it refers. The other three marks, %, #, *, precede or are found within the text in which the problem lies. Add specific codes to the marks to refine and focus comment. If the symbol is likely to be used in the content discipline (e.g., the % for business) then the Editor may double the symbol (e.g., %%) to distinguish it from regular use. The Editor may choose to color the codes as a means of attracting the Author's attention and if the communication medium permits. However, the Author should use the Search option in any event. After making corrections, to ensure elimination of all of the marks, the Author should do a final Search for proofing marks. Because the Author as part of the 6

15 text may use some of the marks, should avoid having the software search and replace without personally verifying each instance. 7

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17 More Elaborate System for Specific Needs Proofreader's Marks for Electronic Text ASCII Mark { } {?} Description Original Text Example Corrected text Script Mark Contains commentary directed at the author about the material preceding the braces. Something is missing or unclear in this location. {Are you sure you want to make such a strong judgement?} This fine This {?} fine I think this might be fine Insertion Marks -- # is used because it is a traditional symbol for inserting spaces. Think of "pounding" the insertion into the text. #- -# Insert the a. This is a. This is #-fine words between the signs. If Columbian-# b. This is b. This is #fine c. Alot of people agree, thisis fine c. A#lot of people there is only agree, this#is fine one word or d. Mr Jones punctuation thinks this fine d. Mr#. Jones thinks mark to be inserted, may just use #. this #is fine a. Columbian b. c.a lot of people agree, this is fine d. Mr. Jones thinks this is fine out, sc #P Begin a paragraph. blah blah blah. There are three concerns to be addressed. blah blah blah. #PThere are three concerns to be addressed blah blah blah. There are three concerns to be addressed 1

18 Deletion Marks: % was chosen to indicate delete because of its similarity to the script delete symbol. ASCII Mark Description %- - % %P Delete material between the symbols. If there is only one word or punctuation to be deleted, may just precede it with the %. Remove the paragraph break. Attach this paragraph to the preceding paragraph. Original Text a. This is really absolutely fabulous fine b. This is really fine c. This is fine "coffee ". d. This is fine. Columbian coffee is the best. However, some individuals favor home ground beans. Example a. This is %-really absolutely fabulous- % fine b. This is %really fine c. This is fine "coffee% ". d. This is fine coffee%.. Columbian coffee is the best. %P However, some individuals favor home ground beans. Corrected text a. b. c. "coffee". {Deletes a space.} d. {Deletes a period.} Columbian coffee is the best. However, some individuals favor home ground beans. Script Mark 2

19 Transformation Marks. * was chosen to represent more complex alterations. Think of being "starry-eyed" about achieving the ideal text. ASCII Mark Description Original Text Example Corrected text Script Mark * *tr *%{} *#x *so- *c *c- - c* *c{ } Spelling or word needs correcting. Includes transposed letters. Transpose next two words. Move indicated cluster of words to *#x. (Think of "x marks the spot to place it"). Spell out following abbreviation or write out a numeral. Use capitals. A single *c means capitalize only the following letter. Capitalize all letters between the symbols. Capitalize the first letter of each word contained within the braces. This are fine cfofee. This is coffee fine. The CMA should be pleased. The CMA should be pleased. I'll take 4, please. john should be pleased. The coffee manufacturer's association should be pleased. This *are fine *cfofee. This is *tr coffee fine. *%{ } The CMA should be pleased.*#x The *so- CMA should be pleased. I'll take *so- 4, please. *c john should be pleased. This is *c- fine - c* The *c{coffee manufacturer's association} should be pleased. The CMA should be pleased. This is fine The Coffee Manufacturer's Association should be pleased. I'll take four, please. John should be pleased. This is FINE The Coffee Manufacturer's Association should be pleased. sp, tr Tr 3

20 Transformation Marks. * was chosen to represent more complex alterations. Think of being "starry-eyed" about achieving the ideal text. *l *b- - b* *i- - i* Use lowercase, consistent with the rules for capitalization. Bold enclosed. Italicize enclosed. <--* Move to the left. *--> Move to the right. {Use #P for indicating creation of a paragraph.} John should be Pleased. John should be *lpleased. This is *b- fine - b* This is *i- fine - i* <-- * {The entire sentence should be moved to the left.} <--This* is fine {Only the word "This" would be moved to the left.} *This--> is fine John should be pleased. This is fine This is fine This is fine This is fine This is fine 4