It’s imperative today that both your hard copy documents and on-line electronic documents be free of spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar errors. It is expected; it is the standard. And it should be!
Admittedly though, despite my own best efforts, I still find after-the-fact errors in my documents. And regularly I see errors in others’ documents and on-line postings, messages, etc.
So I posed this question on Linked In looking for clues or hints on how others ensure error free results. Here’s what I found. (For Linked In members, the entire collection of answers can be found in the Closed Answers section under the Answers tab.)
The tool most utilized was spell check. Almost all respondents reported being dependent on spell check for any and all types of documents.
Only one respondent stated he did not use spell check. He depends on old-fashioned proof reading. The person reasoned that your mind becomes too dependent on spell check; it is not exercised enough by spell check utilization. Therefore, he forgoes and keeps his mind proof read alert by using the old fashioned method of printing and taking pen to paper. (More on this in a future blog.)
While spell check was the most common tool, many were did not depend entirely on it and supplemented it was other techniques. Most common was just reading the document.
Some respondents limit reading of the document on-line view. Others print the document out and proof it. Others take pen to paper and mark, etc. to ensure it is error free. Another technique suggested was to read the document out loud to yourself.
A large number of respondents like to utilize others to read and proof their documents. While I think most were using family and friends, a couple reported hiring professional proofers for assistance.
Some other techniques suggested included:
(1) Reading the document backwards.
(2) Printing the document on colored paper, such as yellow, for proofing.
(3) Proofing while you write, as you complete each sentence.
(4) Putting the document aside and coming back to it later.
(5) Improving you typing skills.
Despite what techniques or combination of techniques used, there was agreement that repetitive reviews would yield the best results. Check, check and then check was the advice.
I think overall I received some good sound advice that I will try using to achieve error free documents.
Once method that was not mentioned that was used regularly at a company I worked at years ago, was to have two people read to each other. Both would have a hard copy of the document and would read it back and forth to each other.
And I will reveal my secret weapon—a ninety year friend. Her mind is sharp as a whistle and she rarely misses the errors that I miss.
Bottom line: There does seem to be many techniques. Regardless of what you use, error free is the standard. Do what it takes to achieve it.
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