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Proofreading is an art and the proofreader must not only be conscientious and thorough, but it is essential that they have an eye for detail. They must possess the ability to concentrate for long periods, ensuring that the document is free from errors. I have noticed, many times, shop signs that contain letters around two foot high with spelling mistakes! I pick up leaflets in tourist information centres and libraries and can practically almost always find at least one mistake. In fact, during the recent government election campaigns, I found a glaring mistake in one of the parties election cards that were posted to constituents!
When mistakes are found within text, they take the concentration away from the theme and leave the reader distracted. Is this what you want for your business? I can ensure that this does not happen for you.
Ring me now on 07970 053123 or e-mail at toptyping@hotmail.co.uk
On the 'Proofreading Services' page, I invited you to take a look at a passage I wrote in which I placed a number of errors. Here is the corrected version:
Gloria swept her long blonde hare (hair) into a pony tale (ponytail) before rushing downstairs to pick up the male (mail). She hurriedly opened the letter, eager to get the results off (of) her exams. It was disappointing. She stared at the peace (piece) of paper in her hands in disbeleaf (disbelief). All that effort - waisted (wasted). All them (those) evenings spent revising when her friends where (were) out enjoying themselves. How could she have failed so miserabley (miserably). (?) What would she tell her parent's (parents)? Well, one thing was certain. She wasn't goint (going) to get that job at the soliciters (solicitors) now.
The telephone rung (rang). She walked slowley (slowly), hoping it would stop before she reeched (reached) it. "Hello, Gaynor (Gloria). Have you had the post yet.(?)' (") It was the last voice she wanted to here (hear).
"Hello, Mum. No, not yet," she lyed (lied). The conversation trailed off and they sayed (said) there (their) goodbyes. Oh well. There's always that new hairdressing plaice (place) opened up on the high (High) street (Street). They'll be looking for someone to brush up, she thought. She ran her fingers through her hair, picking up her latest copy of Chit Chit Chat. And, she thought, maybe they could do something with this awful bob I got (had) done last week(.)
Well? How did you do? Did you notice the missing full stop? This is a most common error and one that can be overlooked so easily. What about the name change from Gloria to Gaynor in the second paragraph, or that her hair had suddenly changed from long and blonde, to a bob? Did you notice that the name of the magazine should be in italics?
There are many errors that your computer will pick up on, but not all of them. For instance, it will not notice that Gloria picked up the male - and not the mail - as it is not incorrect in another context (she could very well have picked up a male, but we know that in this instance it was the post she was collecting).
Did you notice that the inverted commas were " at the start of the mother's dialogue and ' at the end? Although both would be correct, you must ensure that they are consistent, using either one or the other. And were you aware that a new line should be started for every new speaker? Did you know that each paragraph in a book (but not the first) should be indented? These are things which a proofreader will pick up on to ensure the typescript (document) is consistent and contains no errors.
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