Proofreading
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
Now that your paper is done or your novel written, you want to make sure it’s as perfect as possible before turning it in or submitting it to a publisher. Obviously, the first step toward that goal is to proofread your work.
“Huh? My word processing program includes a spell checker and it even checks grammar, too—why should I proofread my document?”
Elementary, my dear Watson: spell/grammar checkers don’t always catch all the typos your work may contain. To prevent (or maybe just lessen) panic at the notion of proofreading, below are some easy steps to guide you through the process:
- Use your word processing program’s spell/grammar check for basic proofreading; it’s a good place to start and usually catches the most egregious errors.
- Don’t blindly accept all the suggestions that spell/grammar check recommends: for instance, in the paragraph above (you know, the one beginning with the Sherlock Holmes cliché), my spell-grammar check recommends a semi-colon rather than a comma between “proofreading” and “below.” Ummm…nope, sorry. That’s not an appropriate place for a semi-colon, but the comma works just fine, thanks.
- Read through your work slowly and carefully—you’ll be surprised at the number of errors a human proofreader will catch that were totally missed by a spell/grammar check program.
- If you have the time, now read your document from end to beginning as part of the proofreading process. Why? Because reading your work backwards focuses your attention on the spelling and grammar; when you read from beginning to end, it’s just human nature to unconsciously fill in missing words and see the correct spelling, even when words are missing or spelling is incorrect.
- Have a friend or family member proof your document. Is it a subject they know little or nothing about? Even better: then their focus will be on grammar and spelling, since they can’t really help you with content!
If all this still sounds too daunting, why not just save yourself the frustration (and possibly your friendships and family relationships, as well), and hire a professional editor from a firm like FirstEditing to not only proofread but also edit your work?
Tags: Professional Editing, professional editor, Proofreading
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
I am always checking my style and grammar books to ensure that I am capitalizing words properly! It is not easy to remember all of the rules and regulations regarding capitalization.
But, a helpful way to remember when to capitalize (in most cases) is to use this phrase: Proper nouns and words derived from them are capitalized. Common nouns are not.
Here are some examples:
Weekdays, holidays and months are capitalized:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Labor Day
- An exception is the Fourth of July. You would use the fourth of March.
Seasons, directions and events are not capitalized:
- summer
- north
- northwest
- my birthday
- my anniversary.
Titles are capitalized when used with a name:
- Example - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
But, it is not capitalized in this example:
- The hearings for the secretary of state appointment begin today.
Capitalize the first, last and all major words of a title:
- “The Long Hot Summer”
- “Frannie and Zooey”
- “The Red and the Black”
Capitalize the first word after a colon if it begins an independent clause: This may depend on whether you are using MLA Style or APA Style.
- I found myself in an unusual position: My husband was not the man I thought he was. (APA)
- I found myself in an unusual position: my husband was not the man I thought he was. (MLA)
Here are some other examples:
- God (when used as a name)
- god (when used as a description)
- Aunt Judie
- my aunt
- English, French
- history, mathematics, physical education
- The World Wide Web and Web Site
- a home page
- Work War II
- the war, a war
- a Republican, a Democrat
- an independent (but a member from the Independence Party)
- I went to the game with Father.
- His father was often at work on Saturdays.
- The South (as an area)
- the southern point
- a southern state
If you have a question about capitalizing a word, look in the stylebooks in the index for “capitalization.” Most stylebooks provide exceptions.
You can also use a search engine on the Web to help you reference these types of questions. I have one site I like to use as well:
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/capital.asp
But you can also go to the APA and MLA Websites for good information.
http://www.apastyle.org/
http://www.mla.org/
Tags: capitalizations, Capitalize
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Monday, May 4th, 2009
Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes have their places in a sentence. Often times, they are used interchangeably and they are not intended to be used that way. They each have a specific purpose. Most people use hyphens and dashes quite often in writing and they can be somewhat confusing. Most writers are very familiar with using hyphens since they are the most frequently used dash. It’s the smallest of the three with the en dash slightly longer and the em dash slightly longer than the en dash. If you’re using Word, you can find the en dash and the em dash under the “Insert” tab under “Symbols.” From there, you can make a shortcut to those symbols so you can just use your keyboard the next time you need it; this is what I prefer to do. That way when you are typing, you can just use your shortcut on the keyboard instead of going to the symbol menu each time you need it.
Hyphens
Hyphens are used in compound words and for dividing words. They are also used to separate numbers like phone numbers and social security numbers. See the following examples:
1-800-123-4567 (phone number)
123-45-6789 (SSN)
“The way I spell that is F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N.”
He lives in a middle-class neighborhood
She has a three-year-old boy
(Please note that there are several different rules for compound words and whether or not to use the hyphen.)
En Dashes
Typically, en dashes are used to connect numbers. Rarely, are they used to connect words, and that is usually only with connecting two compound words.
1950–1960
Romans 10: 9–10
Refer to pages 12–24
a hospital–nursing home connection
Em Dashes
Em Dashes have several different uses. Most frequently, they are used to amplify or set apart aspects of a sentence.
“She walked away—or rather, ran away—from the laughing crowd.
“Is he—will he—accept the position?” (You could also use ellipses here)
The em dash can also be used to indicate sudden breaks in dialogue.
“I’m sorry; I tried to—”
“Trick me?” she demanded.
Tags: Em Dashes, En Dashes, Hyphens
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Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
It may be appropriate to use sexist (or gender specific) language in a novel or religious writing, but there are very few times when you can or should appropriately identify a character, individual, or subject using only a masculine form of the word. And, using a combination (him/her) is cumbersome.
In educational writing (course assignments or research papers), journalism, and in business, sexism in the use of language is discrimination. Style manuals, office policies and procedures, and employee handbooks and are excellent resources for using gender-neutral language. And, it is important to be gender neutral. Not being gender neutral can be a costly mistake. I know a manager who tosses resumes and job application letters into the “Do Not Interview” pile when she spies sexist uses of the language. It does not make a good impression in these gender-neutral times.
Use of sexist language most often occurs with third-person masculine pronouns (he, him, his, himself) or with job titles that include a gender preference (fireman, chairman, foreman) (Andersen, R. 1994). Words such as stewardess, waiter or waitress, actor and actress have been changed to a gender-neutral format: flight attendant, server, actor.
There are also sexist words that are not job titles but relate to a group of people: mankind, the average man, manned, all men. In exchange, words such as people, average person, staffed, and all people should be used. In technical writing, “ensure that the reception desk is manned 24 hours” should be replaced with “staffed 24 hours.”
After monkeys flew into space and we moved on to using astronauts, we had “manned spacecraft.” Certainly that wording is no longer appropriate.
What are some options for ensuring that your writing is gender neutral? First, adopt the titles that are in use today:
- Letter carrier
- Chairperson or Chair
- Spokesperson
- Flight Attendant
- Police Officer
- Server
- Firefighter
- Host (no Hostesses)
- Journalist, Writer
- Actor (no Actresses)
- Sportsperson
- And, don’t use male nurses to distinguish from nurses (female)
Most businesses and workplaces now use administrative assistant or word-processor or assistant rather than secretary as a position title.
If you are using female and male wording together, make sure that they have equal treatment. Examples include:
Ladies and Gentlemen or Men and Women
but not: Men and Ladies
Husband and Wife
but not: Man and Wife (Yes-change the wedding vows)
John and Mary Doe or John Doe and Mary Jones
but not: John Doe and wife Mary
If using a sentence where the subject can be he or she or him or her, try to find another way to write the sentence without using him/her or he/she. For example, the sentence:
Prior to giving a patient medications, make sure that you verify his/her name by checking their identification bracelet.
Change the wording to:
Prior to giving a patient medication, make sure to verify their names by checking the identification bracelet.
Or even better:
Check the patient’s identification bracelet to ensure that it matches the name on the prescription prior to administering medications.
Another example:
A researcher should submit his proposal by December 15 (Do not use he to mean both men and women)
Each physician must submit his patient reports within 24 hours.
Better examples are:
The proposal deadline for researchers is December 15.
Each physician must file patient reports within 24 hours.
Watch the use of the language especially in public relation materials, advertisements or job applications and in your speech. It is very easy to alienate new customers, clients or potential employees by using sexist language. Sexist language in your business writing (e.g. memos, emails, articles, technical writing) is not professional and may at times, be illegal, violate human resources policies and procedures and not meet style guidelines. So, in editing your materials, ensure that you use gender neutral language at all times.
An excellent example that illustrates that “man or he” cannot stand for both men and women is this sentence (Andersen, 1994)
“Modern man no longer pampers himself during pregnancy. He works almost up until the day of delivery and is back at work within a few weeks of leaving the hospital.”
p.48
Reference:
Andersen, R. (1994). Powerful Writing Skills. National Press Publications, a division of Rockhurst College Continuing Education Center, Inc.
Tags: gender neutral, gender neutral language, gender specific, sexist language
Posted in Business Editing, Proofreading, Writer's Tips | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
One thing every professional editor must be very clear about is the variant spellings and meanings of words known as homophones. According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, homophones can be defined as “one of two or more words (as to, too, two) pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling.” Therefore, a professional editor misspelling even one letter in a word can potentially lead to a change in meaning, sometimes one that is radically different from that originally intended by the writer.
Below is a list of some common homophones, which, for the most part, keep us professional editors on our toes (please note that all definitions have been taken from http://www.merriam-webster.com/):
1. allowed, aloud
allowed – “to assign as a share or suitable amount (as of time or money) <allow an hour for lunch>”
aloud – “in a loud manner”
2. bare, bear
bare – “lacking a natural, usual, or appropriate covering”
bear – “any of a family (Ursidae of the order Carnivora) of large heavy mammals of America and Eurasia that have long shaggy hair, rudimentary tails, and plantigrade feet and feed largely on fruit, plant matter, and insects as well as on flesh”
3. cite, sight, site
cite – “to call upon officially or authoritatively to appear (as before a court)”
sight – “something that is seen”
site – “the spatial location of an actual or planned structure or set of structures (as a building, town, or monuments)”
4. desert, dessert
desert – “arid land with usually sparse vegetation”
dessert – “a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry or ice cream) usually served at the end of a meal”
5. foreword, forward
foreword – “prefatory comments (as for a book) especially when written by someone other than the author”
forward – “near, being at, or belonging to the forepart”
6. groan, grown
groan – “to utter a deep moan indicative of pain, grief, or annoyance”
grown – “cultivated or produced in a specified way or locality”
7. hear, here
hear – “to perceive or apprehend by the ear”
here – “in or at this place”
8. idle, idol
idle – “lacking worth or basis”
idol – “a representation or symbol of an object of worship”
9. jewel, joule
jewel – “an ornament of precious metal often set with stones or decorated with enamel and worn as an accessory of dress”
joule – “a unit of work or energy equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through a distance of one meter”
10. know, no
know – “to perceive directly; have direct cognition of”
no – “used as a function word to express the negative of an alternative choice or possibility”
11. lie, lye
lie – “to be or to stay at rest in a horizontal position; to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive”
lye – “a strong alkaline liquor rich in potassium carbonate leached from wood ashes and used especially in making soap and for washing”
12. morning, mourning
morning – “the time from sunrise to noon”
mourning – “an outward sign (as black clothes or an armband) of grief for a person’s death”
13. nay, neigh
nay – “a negative reply or vote”
neigh – “to make the prolonged cry of a horse”
14. ode, owed
ode – “a lyric poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style, varying length of line, and complexity of stanza forms”
owed – “to have or bear (an emotion or attitude) to someone or something <owes the boss a grudge>”
15. principal, principle
principal – “most important, consequential, or influential”
principle – “a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption”
16. quarts, quartz
quarts – “a vessel or measure having a capacity of one quart”
quartz – “a mineral consisting of silicon dioxide occurring in colorless and transparent or colored hexagonal crystals or in crystalline masses”
17. rain, reign, rein
rain – “water falling in drops condensed from vapor in the atmosphere”
reign – “the dominion, sway, or influence of one resembling a monarch <the reign of the Puritan ministers>”
rein – “a strap fastened to a bit by which a rider or driver controls an animal”
18. scene, seen
scene – “one of the subdivisions of a play”
seen – past participle of see – “to perceive by the eye”
19. there, their, they’re
there – “in or at that place”
their – “of or relating to them or themselves especially as possessors, agents, or objects of an action”
they’re – “they are”
20. vial, vile
vial – “a small closed or closable vessel especially for liquids”
vile – “morally despicable or abhorrent”
21. weak, week
weak – “lacking strength”
week – “any of a series of 7-day cycles used in various calendars”
22. yoke, yolk
yoke – “a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together”
yolk – “the yellow spheroidal mass of stored food that forms the inner portion of the egg of a bird or reptile and is surrounded by the white”
Every so often, I will revisit this topic and provide more examples of common homonyms that professional editors encounter on a regular basis. Until then, acquaint yourselves with those listed above!
Tags: Professional Editing, Professional Editor, Proofreading, Writing for Publication, Writing Process
Posted in Christian Writing, Proofreading, Writer's Tips, Writing for Publication | No Comments »
Sunday, January 4th, 2009
So now that you’ve gone through the final edit of your manuscript, before you submit your work, you have to take a look at the formatting and ask yourself, “How does it look?”
If you are submitting it to a publisher or agent, you really have to find out their requirements and follow them to a “T.” However, if who you are submitting your work to has no specific guidelines for submission, then you’ll just want to submit the clearest, cleanest copy you can. There are many books on the market that help with formatting—everything from query letters to manuscripts.
What your manuscript looks like says a lot about you as a writer. If you have several different fonts going on, some paragraphs are indented while others are not, or you flip-flop between capitalizing certain words it not only looks sloppy, but it shows that you don’t care much about your work and you may not be taken seriously. It also shows that you are an amateur. Whether you are a novice at writing or not, you can still present a clean copy. If this is something that you are submitting to a publisher, it can prevent your manuscript from even being read. Editors won’t waste their time trying to sift through a hodge-podge mix of formats.
The most important thing when thinking about your manuscript presentation is that consistency is key. If you start out putting your chapter headings in bold text, then continue throughout. If you start capitalizing a specific word or term in chapter one, then continue in that form. You get the idea. The inconsistencies can also be disconcerting to the reader; that is, if they continue to read it.
Obviously, a perfectly manicured and pristinely formatted manuscript cannot help you with poorly written content. So yes, the content is of utmost importance; but the appearance of your manuscript is what the reader, editor, agent, or publisher will see first, before they even read the first sentence.
Take the time to make your work presentable—it can make all the difference!
Tags: Article Submission, Christian Publication, Christian Writing, How to Submit an Article, Journal Submission, Manuscript Submission, Professional Editing, Submitting for Publication, Submitting to a Publisher, Thesis Editing, Thesis Planning, Writing for Publication
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Thursday, December 25th, 2008
Proofreading or editing—how do you know which one to do? What is the difference? Most people use the two terms interchangeably, but there is technically a slight difference between the two.
Think of editing as something you do all during the writing process, while proofreading is something you do right before you turn in your project.
Everyone has their own way to work through the writing process. Let’s look at writing a novel. A typical pattern for someone might be to brainstorm for ideas. Then make an outline of the story. The next step would be to go ahead and write a first draft of the story. The best way to go about that would be to just write it without trying to make too many corrections along the way—that’s what editing is for. Sometimes if too much time is spent editing “while” you’re actually writing, you can lose focus and drive and risk your story falling flat. Once your “rough draft” is complete, now is the time to go back through and “edit.”
During the editing process, you’ll want to look for:
- Context—is your story complete?
- Is the point of view consistent?
- Who is your audience?
- Does your story flow smoothly?
- Is the plot line resolved?
- How is the imagery?
- How is the character development?
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, just a few things to consider while editing. There is no set number of drafts for writing a novel; you just keep polishing it until the writing is smooth, well written, and all loose ends are taken care of. However, before you send it off to the publisher, it must be proofread.
Proofreading is the final run-through before your writing is submitted. This is where you concentrate on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax. You are dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. This is also where you polish your formatting and make sure you are consistent throughout.
- Do you have the same font throughout the text?
- Are all of your chapter headings in the correct numerical order?
- If you are writing to submit to a publisher, be sure to get the specs they require for submission; not all of them are the same.
Some people find it helpful to have another person look at it at the end stage in order to get a fresh perspective.
All-in-all the editing process is more intensive, while proofreading catches those overlooked errors that you definitely don’t want to make it all the way to the publisher. Both processes are important and needed in order to produce a final, polished piece of writing.
Tags: Professional Editing, Professional Editor, Proofreading, Writing Process
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Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
Right off, let’s define the terms, because what is called “proofreading” by people outside the publishing industry is usually editing instead. The editor works on the book at the manuscript stage, marking grammatical and spelling mistakes, querying inconsistencies and awkward phrasing, and among other things, verifying facts. The proofreader works on comparing every word of the manuscript with every word of the proof, verifying correct word breaks, making sure that all editorial changes were input, and making sure that elements of the work were placed according to design specifications.
Most know that proofreaders are not supposed to make substantive changes to a manuscript or go against the style sheet provided by the editor, but they do serve as an additional reader. The proofreader is expected to pick up any mistakes the others missed, as no one is perfect.
Proofreading is a tough job. Even for someone with a good memory like me, it’s difficult to hold more than a few words in your head at a time without leaving out a comma or mixing any of the words or details up. For instance, if Mike is a balding man of 40 in chapter 6, he must still be a balding man of 40 in chapter 18. I have even come across name changes suddenly that were not supposed to change; it was just the authors oversight/error. With that said, it’s intensely time-consuming and tedious.
People often wonder how proofreaders manage to do so much in such a short time. It is hard to get a handle on exactly how each operates within his or her own time frame. It seems each proofreader has his or her own style and that is what makes it so effective across the board. Learning to proofread and edit is a skill that surely has great latitude. It can make one quite a hot commodity as writers will never stop writing and our expertise will always be sought after. I dare say this is a profession that is somewhat recession-proof!
The bottom line is to be appreciative of your proofreaders and editors! We are truly your last line of defense against mistakes in your novel.
Tags: Professional Editing, Professional Editor, Proofreading
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
After you’ve spent a lot of time writing your book or article, you may not feel like going back and revising. Of course, you don’t have to revise if you simply hire professional editors to do the job for you, but there are a few things you can do quickly and easily yourself. In editing terms, “proofreading” is a simple grammar and spelling check. A “full edit” or a “content edit” may include more than just grammatical improvements; it might also include sentence rewrites, changes to words and phrases, and the addition or removal of information. Proofreading is a lot simpler because it involves following set rules and formulas about the English language and how it’s presented.
For some of us, writing comes naturally and so does writing correctly—properly using punctuation, spelling everything right, and using appropriate sentence structure. For others, especially those who use English as a second language, it can be confusing and frustrating to write correctly.
The first step you can take to eliminate a large number of grammatical errors from your work is to use the spelling and grammar check in your word processing program. Microsoft Word has been steadily improving the spelling and grammar check over the years, although it still has some issues when it comes to being 100% accurate (that’s when professional editing can help). For spelling mistakes, it is great because the misspelled words are underlined in red, and you can right-click on the misspelled word for a list of spelling suggestions. Simply click on the correct one and you’re set! If the spell check offers no suggestions, you can Google the word and see what comes up. As a professional editor, I admit to using Google when I come across an obscure or unfamiliar word.
Another useful proofreading “secret” is to learn how to properly use commas. The misuse of commas is one of the most common writing mistakes professional editors see. If you had to pick one area in which to improve your grammar, choose to finally learn how to correctly use commas. Here are some basic rules:
- Use a comma to separate 3 or more items in a list. For example: “I enjoy reading science fiction, romance, and mystery novels.” Do not use a comma to separate only 2 items. For example, it is incorrect to use a comma like this: “I enjoy reading science fiction, and romance novels.” However, if there are 2 or more adjectives describing a noun, the adjectives must be separated by a comma: “The woman’s shiny, white dress stood out against the dark background.”
- Use a comma to indicate an introductory phrase. For example, the phrase “for example” is an introductory phrase, so it should be followed by a comma to prevent confusion. Another example: “After lunch, we need to stop at the Post Office.” Also: “Later, I went online and hired a professional editor.”
- Use the “fanboys” rule. You may remember this one from grade school. Use a comma between two independent clauses (an independent clause is a phrase that could stand alone as a complete sentence) when the clauses are separated by one of the following words: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Examples: “The store was closed today, but tomorrow we’re going to try again.” “I wouldn’t trade my past experiences for anything else, for all of my experiences have made me who I am today.” “My friends are coming over for dinner tonight, so let’s order two pizzas.” “I finished my book, and now I’d like to have a professional editor look over it.” Simply check and see if each half of the sentence could function on its own, and insert a comma before the connecting word (one of the “fanboys”). Learn this rule and you will be ahead of the game, as it is one of the most common grammatical errors editors see on a daily basis.
- Use commas to offset nonrestrictive clauses. A nonrestrictive clause is an optional phrase in a sentence. For example: “John, our neighbor, is on vacation.” This sentence could simply read, “John is on vacation,” but the nonrestrictive clause, “our neighbor,” adds additional information.
- Use a comma to separate an independent clause from a dependent clause. An independent clause could be a complete sentence, while a dependent clause needs a complete sentence in order to make sense. For example: “After many years as a successful pilot, he finally bought his own airplane.” The first phrase is dependent on the second phrase, and the second phrase could stand alone.
These simple rules can take practice, but once you get the hang of it, you will automatically be writing better. Proofread a few pages of your own work to see if commas have been used correctly, and use this information to make adjustments if necessary. Practice by noticing the commas as you read, and soon you will easily notice when to use commas.
There are many other ways to increase your proofreading skills, but as a professional editor I have concluded that it is best to learn one or two tricks at a time. And, as many teachers and professors will advise—learn the rules and follow them before you break them. Of course there are writers who “break all the rules,” even famous ones, but they do so intentionally and with talent and precision.
It is also useful for writers to use their edited manuscripts to learn. After you receive your edited work, look through the changes and see what your editor has done. In part 2 of “Proofreading: Secrets to Success,” I will address several more useful tips on correcting your own writing. Feel free to offer your comments and ask questions, and if you need help with your writing, don’t hesitate to hire a First Editing expert to assist you!
Tags: Comma Usage, Professional Editing, Proofreading
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