Helen Ogilvie

I am a professionally trained proofreader, having successfully completed courses with both the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) and the Publishing Training Centre (PTC). I am a member of the SfEP and take part in their Continual Professional Development scheme.I am educated to graduate level and also have a management qualification.
I decided to take formal courses in proofreading to give me a professional edge and to give my clients the quality assurance they need. It also gives me the confidence to deliver work to a consistently high standard.
The Publishing Training Centre course included detailed coverage of punctuation, grammar and syntax in addition to considerations such as eliminating inelegant or confusing word, column and page breaks; improving fluency and clarity; ensuring logical document layout; avoiding widows, orphans and stacking; ensuring consistency of tense, style and spelling (US versus UK, for example); headings, subheadings and spacing; proofreading tables and figures; formatting footnotes, references and indexes; saving space and making lines; cross-referencing and formatting figures and captions for diagrams; and professionally judging the need for changes in view of schedule. I am trained in using British Standards Institution (BSI) marks if required.
I can flawlessly proofread and proof-edit all kinds of professional, academic, formal or informal text. I can work to your style guide or produce my own. I will consider any word count. I will preserve the style of the writer and consider the target audience. I have a scientific background and am therefore skilled at proofreading technical text and data, and formatting references in addition to working accurately to urgent deadlines if required.