Dec 06 2008
Why You Must Proofread More Than Once
Proofreading
More than once
If you are going to gain any respect from your readers, you will make sure that what you publish is free from typographical and grammatical errors, as well as improper spelling and the equally annoying homonym. The only way I see of avoiding this is to read and reread and read again. Spell checkers can only go so far, as I’m sure you have found out. I’m Canadian and, in this country, we use UK English so I find it necessary to switch dictionaries in just about every software package I choose to use. Often, I learn to ignore the highlighted “incorrect” spelling of a word if the software does not support UK English.
Grammar, on the hand, is a horse of another colour (there’s that u again). I would like to thank my elementary school principal, Mr. Stiver for his efforts in getting us to use the language correctly. He would get up in front of the class, rub his hands together vigorously and say, “I just love grammar!” Of course, the entire class would groan in unison. Little did we know that he was preparing us properly for our life ahead.
How can I thank you, Mr. Stiver?He probably would be happy that I take the time to actually use the tools that he gave us. A good teacher arms you with knowledge and sends you off in your life’s journey hoping that they did enough to make you successful. His efforts were not lost on this school’s graduates. It isn’t a coincidence that they all had higher scores in high school English than their classmates.
Here’s some examples of my common mistakes.
- form instead of from
- againg instead of again
- you instead of your (Today.com made the same mistake)
Please feel free to leave some examples of your personal mistakes in the comments box. It’s all about communicating clearly.
I just hate text messaging!
two, to, and too
they’re, there, thier, and their
I’m sure if we measured this problem, we would all rank these as number one and two (or to or too).
not mine - but one that irritates the heck out of me is
then/than
It drives me crazy when people don’t spellcheck official documents,advertisments, and forms.
I once had a boss who insisted that the file marked “State of Conn.” be filed under “S”. I was dumb-founded as to how he owned the company.
Their and they’re are two of the most common switches/mistakes I see as an editor.
The ones that drive me nuts are when people are talking about weight and they say ‘loose weight’ instead of ‘lose.’