Proofreading skills1

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Checking your work http:// www.skillsyouneed.com

Transcript of Proofreading skills1

Page 1: Proofreading skills1

Checking your work

http://www.skillsyouneed.com

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Proofreading

“to read in order to detect and mark errors to be corrected”

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Types of Errors• Spelling •Using the wrong word• Punctuation• Inconsistent formatting• Paragraph structure

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SpellingWords you know quite well can often be mistyped, its very easy when you are thinking and typing fast – the spellchecker should highlight these mistakes.

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Using the wrong wordUsing the wrong word is a very common mistake, REMEMBER the spellchecker will not alert you to a wrong word only the spelling of it.

Watch out for some of these:• “there” instead of “their” • writing “alot” when you really mean “a lot”• “draw” instead of “drawer”• “affect” or “effect”• “whose” and “who’s”• “to” and “too” and “two”

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Punctuation – the comma

Here are some common examples of using commas instead of full stops:• “Thanks for your help, Can you come back on Monday?”.• “We are open 24 hours, We look forward to seeing you.”• “We bought his album, It was very good.”

Use a comma to indicate a break or pause within a sentence. The comma ( , ) is a very versatile punctuation mark. There are dozens of situations that might require the use of a comma. One frequent case is a break within a sentence that supplements and adds information to the subject. Example:Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, is the developer of the operating system know as Windows.

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Punctuation is powerful“A woman without her man is

nothing.”Now add punctuation

“A woman: without her man is nothing.”

” “A woman, without her man, is nothing.”

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Punctuation – the apostropheUse the apostrophe together with the letter s to indicate possession. The apostrophe ( ' ) has a variety of uses for conveying the concept of possession. Be aware of the difference in using an apostrophe with singular or plural nouns. A singular noun will use the apostrophe before the "s" ('s), whereas the plural version of that noun will use the apostrophe after the "s" (s'). 

Mistakes with apostrophes• “its” instead of “it’s”• “your” instead of “you’re”• “wont” instead of “won’t

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Inconsistent formattingIf you have used a computer make sure that you check the following:

• Font size• Font type• Alignment• Colour• Line spacing• Use of bullets• Use of full stops

Inconsistent formatting looks unprofessional.

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Paragraph structureHow long does a paragraph have to be?

There is no absolute rule: very short or long paragraphs can work when used by an experienced writer. However, as a guideline, paragraphs should usually be no less that 2 or 3 sentences long and there should be 2 or 3 paragraphs per page of A4.

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Count the number of “f’’s in the following 

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE

EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

How many did you find?

There are 6 – most people only see 3 the first time they read it!

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Look at the following and find 10 errors.

Did somebody tell you practice made perfect? Thats only if your practicing it right. Each time you spell a word wrong, you're ‘practicing’ the wrong spelling. So, if your not shore how to spell the word, find out, *then* practise that spelling. Keep an ongoing notebook of works, so you've got your own personnel dictionary and you can see your progress. Start small, thought!  

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Here are the 10 errors.

Did somebody tell you practice made perfect? Thats only if your practicing it right. Each time you spell a word wrong, you're practicing the wrong spelling. So, if your not shore how to spell the word, find out, *then* practise that spelling. Keep an ongoing notebook of works, so you've got your own personnel dictionary and you can see your progress. Start small, thought!  

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Correct copy

Did somebody tell you practice makes perfect? That's only if you're practising it right. Each time you spell a word wrong, you're ‘practising' the wrong spelling. So, if you're not sure how to spell the word, find out, then practise that spelling. Keep an ongoing notebook of words, so you've got your own personal dictionary and you can see your progress. Start small, though!

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Can you read this?

Aoccdrnig to rsceearh at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.