Discover How to Proofread in 10 Simple Steps

One of the great feature of error-free copy is it certainly leaves a good impression.  And it is only possible with right proofreading. Typos have an effect on your copy and so do your business, so deal them smartly.

Your content serve as the foundation of your marketing strategy, so while writing your copy do take care of these steps:

1. Read your copy several times – You may possibly miss a mistake just reading it once, so make a habit to read your work several times before publishing it.

2. Proofread aloud – This way you’ll not just read but you can hear the error, and catch it quickly.

3. Print your work and then proofread it – Reading your work again and again on computer screen can make you feel that everything is correct. But when you print and read the same thing, you can actually see the difference!

4. Focus your proofreading – Read your piece, for one particular type of error at a time. Say, firstly read your work for checking punctuations, then read it again for correcting spellings, then for capitalization and then check grammatical mistakes and so on.

5. Proofread attentively and concentrate to spot out the mistakes – Stay away from distractions like loud music, phone calls, checking emails, etc. create an environment so that you can scan errors.

6. Proofread backwards – Reading from end to beginning, sentence to sentence will help you to find out your mistakes with more ease and much faster.

7. Try to find Homonyms errors – Many a times people make silly mistakes like using wrong homonyms like:
Their in place of there
Affect in place of effect
Banned in place of band
Cash in place of cache
Sell in place of cell

8. Check numbers, values and dates (if used) – Always check the use of million or billion, number of zeros, date format – 03/06/2009 is 3rd of June 2009 or it is 6th of March 2009? Got the point – you should know to present the numbers in correct manner.

9. Take a break between writing and proofreading your work – Don’t proofread your written piece immediately after writing it. Take a break – give yourself time to forget what you wrote. When you write something, all the ideas and content is fresh in your brain. So, take a break to proofread.

10. Craft your work in MS Word as it has built-in spelling and grammar check. But, don’t rely on it, make sure that you check it yourself too.

Bonus Tips:
Ask a friend to read your copy – After checking all the above points, you can get someone else to read it. And, you’ll be surprised to see the mistakes.

Know your mistakes area, spot it very first and then move for other mistakes.

Remember, even a skilled proofreader can make mistake, so why not you?

So, it is necessary to proofread your work to compose a flawless and influential copy. I hope these tips help you to write error-free copy.