rhproofreading's Reviews

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About rhproofreading

Hi,
I am a fully qualified SfEP proofreader. For a professional piece of writing, the spellchecker is no match for a professional proofreader.

Your company might invest its time, energy and creativity into a plan to create and execute a content strategy that engages its audience. All the hard work can look amateurish if your copy is riddled with typos, poor grammar and layout.

Poor spelling, grammar and punctuation as well as layout can mean the difference between being perceived as a serious professional outfit or a joke. It doesn’t matter if you offer a great service if your copy makes you look like you’re careless.

Think of proofreading as your last time chance to polish your work before releasing it to the world. You wouldn’t release a film into the cinema without being properly edited. Not if you are serious. Well its just the same with any piece of writing which you publish to the world. Social media allows for poorly written English very often today. You can get away with it socializing with friends, but when it comes to professional pieces of work, well written English is a must.

Proofreading is quite different to copy-editing. Proofreading identifies and corrects errors and inconsistencies. Copy-editing involves revising the actual written work which could mean changing the wording, order of the passage or even altering the tone and voice of the work.

The proofreader will check for correct spelling, grammar and punctuation; formatting and layout inconsistencies; page numbering, tables, graphs and illustrations, tables of content, headings, cross-references and sources of information. A style guide is conformed to, either provided by the client or produced by the proofreader.

Today, proofreading is mostly done electronically using PDF mark up tools or BSi marks on Adobe Acrobat . Alternatively, it is done using tracking changes on Microsoft Word. It is still done on hard copy using the old fashioned coloured pens which can be beneficial for certain pieces of work.

UK and US English use quite different styles. The use of ise/ize spellings and of quotation marks are just two examples of the differences.

For any piece of writing, I would advise the writer to check their work after a break, or preferably the next day, before pressing the publish button. It’s amazing how a fresh head and pair of eyes can pick up errors previously missed.