What is proofreading?

Proofreading is an important part of writing any sort of document whether it be an essay, a blog post, a letter or something else. Good writing always involves reviewing and re-drafting the text and a document is more credible and reliable if it contains no mistakes.

The document is read and scrutinised to identify and correct any errors with grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling. It is often read and re-read by the proofreader to be absolutely sure that the finished article is error free. In order to do this, the proofreader will look at the following areas:

• Sentence structure
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Capitalisation
• Consistency
• Numbers
• Formatting

Can I proofread my own writing?

If you write the document then leave it for a couple of days before proofreading it, then yes, it is possible to do the proofreading yourself. Hopefully the text will not be quite so prominent in your mind and you will look at it with “fresh eyes”.

However, it is a good idea to get somebody else to proofread your documents. This person has no expectation of what the text should say so will pick up mistakes that you, as the writer are likely to miss. You will read what you believe you have written because you know what it should say. Your eyes will see the mistake but your brain will correct it automatically.

Looking for proofreading?

Proofreading is one of the services I offer here at virtualofficeorkney.co.uk/services/ . I’d be delighted to chat with you about what you require so that your document is polished and professional.