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Two approaches to microproofing
There are two approaches to microproofing that
have been proven effective over more than 50 years of practice.
Team proofing: This is the ideal method,
if the time and environment are conducive. Two copies are made of
the proof. One person reads the text aloud, calling out punctuation,
quotation marks, italics and other characteristics, while the other
person follows along with the proof.
The "read my lips" method: If
only one person is able to proofread, he or she should place a ruler
or paper edge under the line of text being proofed and read slowly,
methodically, ploddingly, concentrating on syllables rather than
words and sentences. Sound out each syllable. You'll look like the
guy at the beach who can't read the John Grisham novel without moving
his lips, but you'll be very effective.
Common pitfalls for text drafts and final copy
Good proofreaders can instantly ferret out errors
of context, capitalization, punctuation and spelling. They can identify
disarranged paragraphs, the wrong type fonts, incorrect page references
and many other problems.
Here are some of the most common pitfalls proofreaders
find in the text draft and final copy stages:
 Inconsistencies
in spelling, how people are identified (first name, last name, etc.),
writing style, how places are referred to, punctuation (especially
capitalization), titles, and overall publication style.
Typos
that are not picked up by the spell checker - theirs/there's,
at/it, them/then, then/than, art/at.
Incorrect
addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and URLs.
Inconsistencies
in style -- especially with numbers, company names, titles, and
state abbreviations.
Repetitive
phrases and/or information.
Misspelling
of names and places.
Disagreement
of tenses within sentences and paragraphs.
Similar-sounding
words that have different meanings -- affect/effect, allusion/illusion,
principle/principal, adverse/averse.
Transposed
letters not picked up by spell checker -- perfect/prefect.
Missing
or wrong punctuation.
Plural
vs. possessive -- century's/centuries, adversary's/adversaries
Subject/pronoun
disagreement -- The company's staff had one essential problem:
they didn't know anything about the company's products or services.
Subject/verb
disagreement -- Information technology -- including computer
graphics, CAD/CAM, document management and mass storage -- are the
key to success.
Continuity
problems -- John, George and Steve were alone in the house. Steve
took the dog out for a walk, while George watched TV. John read
a while, then went to bed. Steve returned at 11 p.m. and joined
George watching TV. After taking a shower, Susan said goodnight
to the guys and went to bed.
Use
of hyphens -- Hyphens should be used to avoid ambiguity (He recovered
his health. He re-covered the roof) or to join compound modifiers
when two or more words are used to express a single concept preceding
a noun (first-quarter touchdown, blue-green dress, better-qualified
woman, a dyed-in-the-wool Republican).
Contradictions
-- The technology was born and nurtured within Acme Corp. with
a fierce loyalty that bordered on fanaticism. One month after the
company's product was developed, the technology was sold to Hertz
Computers and the company's directors bought condos in Barbados.
The
number game -- There are three things you should know about those
in the Spanish Inquisition: they were ruthless, fanatical, indomitable,
and totally without scruples.
Switching
narrative voice among first, second and third person.
Split
infinitives -- She was ordered to immediately leave for Denver.
Dubious
conclusions -- He was an oaf of the worst kind, without the presence
of mind to even tie his shoelace if it became untied. Most of the
time, he couldn't remember his address or phone number. It only
stands to reason, therefore, that he would become the president
of a multimillion-dollar company.
Overstatements
-- Liam Gallagher is the best singer of the past half century:
Sinatra, Elvis, John Lennon and Elvis Costello rolled up in one
fascinating ball of angst.
NEXT>>Common
pitfalls for design proofs
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