The Importance of Proofreading

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I just published something a while ago (I'd rather not say what it was). I was astonished to find multiple little errors in my work. It might seem like a little thing to you, but imagine that you have the eyes of the world of you. You can't miss anything. Your grammar has to be flawless. You have to make sure that you don't leave any holes in your work (fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter). 

You have to be sure you check your work over and over again. You might be sure that you wrote things correctly the first time, but I'm sure there are things that you missed. I mean, mistakes are okay. They are natural. But, the thing is, as I said earlier, you have the eyes of the world on you. You don't know who's going to read your work. 

You need to make sure you know your facts. People reading your work might know more about the subject than you do. You can't make mistakes when it comes to basic information about the subject you're writing about. It's okay to make them when you are writing for the first time, but you have to double-check. Another option is to run your work through with an expert. 

Another reason to reread your work is that you might want to change the way you worded some of your sentences. Imagine you wrote this work a while ago. But, when you look at it now, there are a lot of things you would want to change. You might want to add some adjectives or you might feel like some things you say aren't really essential. 

Proofreading doesn't only mean grammar. It also means content. Make sure to check your work before you publish it anywhere. Remember, you don't know who's going to read it. 

Comments

  1. Anderlin VictorJuly 11, 2024 at 7:03 AM

    I remember working as an intern proofreader when I was pursuing my Master's. It was a wild ride working as a proofreader in a publishing house. Work over there is so mundane that a generic proofreader like me falls asleep on the job. But when the pressure is on....you have to bring your A-game, or else the author might one up you on certain mistakes you pointed out to them. They might've plagiarised their work but without enough verbatim, they can always get away with publishing their own plagiarised versions of books.

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