Thursday, March 29, 2012
Proofreading for public relations
Press releases, newsletters, emails, tweets, communications plans. These are all avenues of written work for PR professionals. But why should we care to proofread them? What difference does it make if our grammar is poor and our commas are misplaced?
Readers will question our credibility immediately after finding a mistake, whether it's a factual error, a spelling mistake or grammatically incorrect. While we won't always catch it all, here are some tips for proofreading.
1. Step away: You've researched, you've stared at your computer screen, you've written and re-written, you've stared at your computer a little longer and you finally think you're done. Well, you're not. Give your eyes a break from looking at those same words, which are all starting to blur into one. If you can afford to sleep on it or go for a long run, these are the best ways to clear your mind. This is the optimal time for tip number two.
2. Hand it over: Ask a friend or colleague to proofread your work. Often, the further removed they are from the subject, the better. They can help eliminate jargon, provide insight on structure or point out the double "the" in your sentence.
3. Change it: If you don't have time to sleep on it or pass your document over to a friend, the quickest method to tricking your brain into thinking it's looking at something new is to reverse the colours. Give your document a blue background with a white font. You might also try increasing the font size, allowing you to focus closely on individual words.
4. Print it: To this day, newspaper copy-editors still print off articles. Some even use the magical red pens.
5. Work backwards: The best line edit spawns from reading each sentence from last to first. This allows you to focus on sentence structure and grammar.
6. Read aloud: If you stumble over your words, your sentence likely appears as jumbled as it sounds. A natural flow can mean the difference between losing your readers and keeping them engaged until the bitter end.
7. Use resources: A hard copy dictionary is your friend. I tend to distrust online dictionaries. Content on the Internet is always changing so the only way to ensure consistency is to stick with one or two physical dictionaries that you can keep on your shelf – or better yet, right by your side.
8. Remove redundancies: Ask yourself while you're reading, "Can I remove this word without changing the meaning of the sentence?" The most popular, cringe-worthy redundancy is "various different." Eliminating the baggage will provide a more concise package of words.
On that note, these eight tips are bordering overkill. Feel free to join the conversation and add your own proofreading tips in the comments below.
Readers will question our credibility immediately after finding a mistake, whether it's a factual error, a spelling mistake or grammatically incorrect. While we won't always catch it all, here are some tips for proofreading.
1. Step away: You've researched, you've stared at your computer screen, you've written and re-written, you've stared at your computer a little longer and you finally think you're done. Well, you're not. Give your eyes a break from looking at those same words, which are all starting to blur into one. If you can afford to sleep on it or go for a long run, these are the best ways to clear your mind. This is the optimal time for tip number two.
2. Hand it over: Ask a friend or colleague to proofread your work. Often, the further removed they are from the subject, the better. They can help eliminate jargon, provide insight on structure or point out the double "the" in your sentence.
3. Change it: If you don't have time to sleep on it or pass your document over to a friend, the quickest method to tricking your brain into thinking it's looking at something new is to reverse the colours. Give your document a blue background with a white font. You might also try increasing the font size, allowing you to focus closely on individual words.
4. Print it: To this day, newspaper copy-editors still print off articles. Some even use the magical red pens.
5. Work backwards: The best line edit spawns from reading each sentence from last to first. This allows you to focus on sentence structure and grammar.
6. Read aloud: If you stumble over your words, your sentence likely appears as jumbled as it sounds. A natural flow can mean the difference between losing your readers and keeping them engaged until the bitter end.
7. Use resources: A hard copy dictionary is your friend. I tend to distrust online dictionaries. Content on the Internet is always changing so the only way to ensure consistency is to stick with one or two physical dictionaries that you can keep on your shelf – or better yet, right by your side.
8. Remove redundancies: Ask yourself while you're reading, "Can I remove this word without changing the meaning of the sentence?" The most popular, cringe-worthy redundancy is "various different." Eliminating the baggage will provide a more concise package of words.
On that note, these eight tips are bordering overkill. Feel free to join the conversation and add your own proofreading tips in the comments below.
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