First things first: typos happen. They happen to the best of us. And while it’s not the end of the world (usually), you want to put out your very best written work, don’t you? I proofread something—a print ad, web copy, brochure, newsletter, menu—every day. When proofreading is a daily practice, you learn some tips and tricks along the way. Here’s a quick checklist that I hope will help you proofread like a pro.
Read it out loud. You’d be surprised how many errors you miss when you skip this step.
Read it twice. At least, if not three times. And read it from top to bottom and then bottom to top.
Print it out. I don’t do this often, but if it’s technical manual or other word-dense document, I do print it out and mark it up.
Don’t rely on any spell-check program. Just don’t. That’s how I end up finding gems like “men must wear collard shirts in the dining room” (instead of collared) or a spa menu that lists a “callous treatment” (that would be callus treatment.)
If there’s a phone number, call it. Or cut and paste it into Google to check for accuracy.
Ditto with websites. Plug ’em into your browser and see if the links work.
If there are numbers, double-check them. For example, if there’s a floor plan, make sure the square footages add up correctly. Confirm that prices are current, times are accurate, and that dates and days are in agreement—that May 3 is indeed a Saturday.
Get yourself a good style manual. I’m team Chicago Manual of Style, but it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Just pick one and stick with it. For settling grammatical issues and questions about hyphenation (always a sticky wicket), a style guide is invaluable. CMOS has an online version (subscription-based) that’s pretty awesome.
Borrow another set of eyes. Get a second reader to give the document the once-over, preferably someone that hasn’t read it before.
Read the disclaimer. Yeah, it’s tiny type, but read it. You can bet your customer will.
Finally, don’t proofread when you’re tired or rushed. Got any proofreading tips to add to the list? I’d love to hear about them. Oh, and if you find any typos in this post? Let me know about that, too!
