What is Proofreading and Editing?

Proofreading and Editing Explained

"What comes first proofreading or editing?"

This term proofreading and editing is used interchangeably (The Univserity of North Carolina).

"What is involved in the proofreading and editing process?"

There are two different stages of revising a document. Both the proofreading and editing process requires careful reading, but the focus of the changes will be different. Different proofreading techniques can used for proofreading and editing documents.

What is meant by proofreading?

 

"What is a good proofreading strategy?"

 

5 Proofreading Techniques 

  1. Look with Fresh Eyes
  • For both proofreading and editing, you need to get some amount of distance from the document that you wish to proofread or edit. This is especially so if you have just finished writing the document, the reason being that you might skip over a lot of errors on account of familiarity with the content.
  • It is also advisable to give the document to a third party for this purpose, as a fresh eye can do the task without having any familiarity with it. Or use a professional to help you proofread and edit the document (Grammarholic for quality proofreading services).
  • Change the Layout
  • In both proofreading and editing, there are changes to be made in the look of the document. This is done by making changes to the spacing, the size, color and style of the font or text. This will provide the effect of seeing an unfamiliar document which is different from the one that you have written.
  • Proofread and Edit in Sections
  • More effective proofreading and editing can be done, if you split the work into blocks and work at it in separate spans of time. This improves concentration and leads to more efficient work without your interest waning. There are differenct aspects that you can focus on, such as grammar, punctuation, and spellings. 
  • Use a Spell Check or Grammar Checker
  • The process of proofreading and editing requires a spelling checker. Although these grammar checkers is a good proofreading technqiue, it will not provide a complete solution.
  • Read out loud
  • Reading out aloud makes the errors more obvious to the brain. The document must also be read slowly. 


What are the steps in editing?

Editing is done after preparation of the first draft. Editing is done to organize the content and see that the transition of ideas is smooth. Here, the content is checked out to see whether it is accurate and whether all aspects of the argument have been covered and all evidence provided. The relevance of the paper to the assignment given is also checked out. The paper is checked in vital aspects of introduction and conclusion.

3 Editing Techniques

  1. Paragraph structure
  • Paragraphs must be properly structured and must stick to a single idea.
  • Missing Sentences
  • There should be no missing sentences.
  • Reader Friendliness
  1. An important aspects in editing is clarity of thought, style and tone of the words used and proper citations.


It can be stated that both proofreading and editing are important aspects for presenting a perfect document focusing on all possible errors. The structure as well as the content is important, as the paper will be judged on both these counts.

 

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