How to proofread professionally
Mastering how to proofread professionally means your messages will be clear, consistent and error-free, building trust and enhancing credibility. Why is that essential? Because every word your organisation publishes influences the way audiences perceive your brand.
This step-by-step guide for marketing and communication teams will help you understand how proofreading works and what a proofreader does. You’ll learn the benefits to your organisation (and you) of knowing how to proofread professionally.
Proofreading on paper
What is proofreading?
Proofreading sharpens the text in a finished piece of writing, ensuring it’s professional and clear by correcting spelling, grammar and style mistakes before publication. Proofreading is the final check after editing.
Knowing how to proofread is not about improving content or changing its language and tone – in publishing, that’s the sub-editor’s or copy editor’s job. In organisations, editing may be a role for you, the subject matter expert or an external editor. Getting it wrong can lead to confusion and potential cost overruns.
Learn the difference between editing and proofreading.
How proofreading works
Here’s how proofreading works: It enhances all your written communications, ensuring that minor mistakes do not undermine your organisation’s brand image.
Marketing and communication teams usually send proofreaders PDF proofs to check onscreen. Your proofreader will typically use the correction tools in Adobe Reader to show you what they have done. Some clients ask me to edit a document by tracking changes in Word, in addition to proofreading.
Professional proofreading is a final quality-check that will elevate your brand in these significant ways:
The benefits of proofreading for communicators and marketers
Protects the brand:
- Provides the excellent first impression required of communications and marketing campaigns
- Signals professionalism and credibility to all audiences
- Ensures messages are concise and clear, reducing the risk of confusion
- Preserves your organisation’s style and tone of voice across channels
- Reduces risk by catching errors that could impact the brand’s reputation
Saves you time, hassle and your budget:
- Saves money by preventing embarrassing typos and any reprints
- Reduces fees paid to outside suppliers if a team member can do it
- Reduces the hassle and time spent on to-and-fro revisions
- Frees your team’s time if you can afford a professional proofreader
Professional proofreading also helps your organisation stand out with compelling communications that inspire loyalty from audiences.
Learn to proofread: proofreading courses
The best way to learn proofreading is through a recognised training provider that will equip you with the necessary level of skill.
Plenty of short proofreading training courses are available online. One example is Proofreading for journalists, PRs and communications professionals. However, if you want to delve deeper into the craft, choose a course that is recognised by the publishing or media industries.
The following professional bodies are highly respected:
Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders (CIEP) – a membership organisation that’s renowned in publishing circles.
College of Media and Publishing (CMP) – an excellent CPD|EADL accredited training organisation.
The Publishing Training Centre (PTC) – a registered charity and recognised industry body.
I’ve completed refresher courses by the CIEP and CMP and found both worthwhile.
Another way to learn proofreading is through a degree course. I first learned how to proofread during my Media Studies degree in the mid-80s. BA Media Studies and Journalism studies still include proofreading and editing modules. Make sure they are approved by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). Visit Find a course.
Proofreading step by step
Meanwhile, this basic step-by-step guide on how to proofread professionally will help to make your written content as error-free and consistent as possible.
- Find a quiet space: Proofreading requires concentration, so find a room that has few distractions and turn off your mobile phone.
- Check the brief: People can confuse proofreading with editing, so it’s essential to read the brief to learn what internal colleagues or an external client want you to do.
- Read the style guide: Remind yourself of the organisation’s rules regarding capitalisation, use of bold and italics, the format for dates, and so on.
- Version control: Whether you’re working on a PDF or Word document, save it with a new filename and a number, e.g. Proofreading v1, so that you can keep track of the versions.
- Print out digital documents: You can easily miss mistakes on a screen. Spotting errors is easier on paper. If the text is short enough, print it out before reviewing it, then transfer your marks to the digital version.
- PDFs: Zoom to 200%: Increasing the text size makes errors more obvious. It helps to have two screens, one being large enough for the proof, while the style guide sits on the other.
- Printed proofs: You may need to compare the designed copy with your edited version to make sure that the designer has followed the instructions.
- Learn proofreading symbols: BSI symbols are still relevant in traditional printing. You make notes in the margins of paper proofs using symbols that are universally understood by editors, publishers, designers and printers.
- Find errors word by word: A professional proofreader takes time to carefully check every word, number and punctuation mark on each page:
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- Check the style guide for exceptions to the style rules
- Memorise relevant abbreviations or check them regularly
- Mark up specific errors in people’s names, locations, statistics, dates, links, etc
- Print the contents to check the page numbers are correct
- Verify facts using three different, authoritative sources
- Seek ambiguity – is the meaning unclear?
- Focus on consistent formatting – e.g. has the author used ‘i.e.’ often, but ‘ie’ occasionally?
- Make corrections after identifying the errors on each page in one round
- List queries about anything confusing
- Read it one last time and look for any mistakes that may have been missed
Proofreading hack 1: If it’s a lengthy document, such as a 200-page annual report, print only the contents page. Keep the printout beside you while you verify the page numbering (pagination) as you work through the onscreen document.
Proofreading hack 2: Some proofreaders recommend reading the writing out loud. Alternatively, you could use an app’s ‘read aloud’ function and save your voice.
Learning how to proofread professionally will save your organisation time and money, but it takes commitment and many employers still prefer on-the-job experience.
