Typos hurt your sales
Make a good impression with error-free documents. Apply the proofreading tips below when you proof your documents.
Proofing Tips
- If you supply your own artwork use your word processor's spell checker first.
- Wait a couple of hours or a day to proofread what you typed. You are more likely to find errors.
- Read and proof the document thoroughly.
- Read backwards (right to left or bottom to top) to concentrate on spelling instead of content.
- Reread the document for content to find omissions and plurals.
- Have others proofread your documents. Consider using a professional designer.
What to Check
- Check names, addresses, phone, fax & mobile numbers, email addresses, dates and websites.
- Check for overlooked insertions, omissions, and duplications.
- Check parenthesis, quotation marks, apostrophes, hyphenation, and compound words.
- Verify any words you are not sure of.
- Watch out for words the spell checker won't catch such as it's/its, their/there, your/you're, were/where, then/than, and to/too.
- Check for consistent spelling of specialized words throughout the document.
- When adding or revising information, check the changes and additions.
Long Text (manuals and other documents with 10 or more pages)
- Check consistency of tables, titles, subtitles, and headings.
- Check spacing before and after paragraphs, titles and subtitles.
- Proofread in steps. Check all the titles first for consistency in size, type style, and spacing before and after. Then check paragraphs, numbering, etc.
- Check if all pages are printed and sorted in the right sequence.
- Check sequence of numbers of itemized items. Verify that you have all items.
Technical and Legal Documents, Catalogues and Pricelists
- Read the body of the document against the original.
- Proofread sentence by sentence to catch omissions.
- Have someone else read the draft while you verify the work.
- Check headings, numbers, letters, and indentations.
- For columns: If you input data across the page, then proofread your copy down the columns.
- Proofread numbers across the page, then down the page. Verify the number of entries in each column with your copy.
Don't worry about using proof reading marks when you proof your documents - just make any changes clear. A good designer will understand what you mean!