Author: | Nola | Published: | over 6 years ago |
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Tags: | proofreading, text to speech | Category: | Writing tips |
Have you seen those memes on Facebook that ask if you can read something? Try these.
Even though the first example has misspelled words and the second substitutes letters with numbers, most English-speakers would be able to make sense of them. Our brain fills in the gaps and we see what we expect to see. This is wonderful news for neuroscientists, but not so good if we’re proofreading our own work. We know what we mean to say, so it’s easy to miss a spelling mistake, omitted word, or typo. It’s always good to have someone else go over your work because they might be more likely to find those types of problems. If you have to go it alone, here are some tips that will maximise your chances of finding errors.
1. Use a spellchecker with caution. Microsoft Word includes a spelling and grammar checker which can be found under the ‘review’ button in the toolbar. Before running a document through the spellchecker, set the dictionary language for the type of spelling you want (e.g. Australian English vs American English). Spelling mistakes are underlined in red; grammar and punctuation errors are underlined in green. Although this feature is helpful, it’s not foolproof. A spellchecker will let you know you’ve written ‘bammboozel’ instead of ‘bamboozle’, but won’t tell you that you’ve written ‘cat’ instead of ‘car’ or ‘seven’ instead of ‘seventy’, because ‘cat’ and ‘seven’ are spelled correctly. The grammar checker may also mark some things as errors that you want to keep (e.g. sentence fragments). Use a spellchecker for the first pass through your document, but then go over the manuscript yourself to pick up other errors.
2. Read from a print copy (or use both print and screen). After using a spellchecker to correct your document, I recommend printing out a copy to proofread. There’s been a debate about whether reading from paper is different to reading on a screen. See the article by Ferris Jabr in Scientific American for more information. I find it better to work from a print copy because (a) it’s easier on the eyes, especially for longer documents, thus enabling you to concentrate for longer periods; (b) you can easily flip back and forth to check for inconsistencies, rather than having to scroll through a long document; and (c) you’re less likely to get distracted by other things popping up on the screen (‘Oh look! My friend’s just posted a video of her puppy eating a pair of shoes.’).
If you’re writing something that will appear online (e.g. blog post, online article), use the preview option to check how it will appear on the screen. This is especially useful for checking formatting and live web links.
3. Use a ruler. Place a ruler under each line as you read. This will slow down your reading and stop you from scanning ahead, thus making it more likely you will find errors.
4. Change the font or format. If you’ve read a document over and over, it becomes so familiar that you might not spot any anomalies. Save the document into another file and try changing the font type, font size, and/or layout (e.g. in columns or in landscape orientation). The resulting differences in the look of your document may make it easier for you to spot errors.
5. Listen to it. We process words differently when hearing them rather than seeing them. If you read your work aloud, you may pick up mistakes you wouldn’t notice otherwise, especially certain types of errors such as repetitions or missed words. Better still, have someone else read while you follow along on your copy. I always did this back in my days as a university academic, especially when cross-checking student marks or proofing long data files. If you don’t have another person handy, there are a plethora of text-to-voice software programs that will convert your words into speech. Some of these are free or provide a free trial. For example, text2speech allows you to type in up to 4000 characters at a time and convert the text to a sound file with the push of a button. You can read about other freebies here. Paid versions usually come with more features (e.g. more memory, greater choice of accents). You can see a review of some of them here.
Do you have any other tips for proofreading? I’d love to hear your examples.
Comments read 19 comments
So good! I'd never have thought about using a ruler or changing the font, but that makes sooooo much sense! Thanks Nola! Definitely gonna share this with my fellow writers!
Glad you found it helpful, Charis. Someone told me the tip about the ruler when I had to proofread my first published book chapter way back in 1989. I've used it ever since. Simple, but effective. I find the font/format tip is great if I've read something so many times I can't see anything new (like the competition entry I did last week). It's amazing what new things you can pick up when it looks different. Happy proofreading :)
Oh absolutely! Plus it gives me another thing I can try before I force all my housemates to sit and listen to me read my story to them ;) hahaha
LOL - They could always listen to the 'text to speech' version of you :)
Good post. :-)
Spell checker can be a pain in the neck, that's for sure. It certainly can never replace going over your work yourself (and getting a professional editor to do it).
I agree, Lynne. It's good for the first port of call, but you still need to know what you're doing. Appreciate your comment :)
Loved your blog, Nola. I do most things you've recommended but have never tried changing the font. Great idea! Thank you.
Thanks Hazel. I don't do that one all the time, but I find it particularly helpful if I've read a manuscript multiple times. It helps you to see the document with fresh eyes. Thanks for commenting :)
I agree that changing the appearance in some way is a useful technique. I picked up errors and issues with the flow of words and thoughts when I read my manuscript draft on my iPad instead of the laptop screen. It was helpful as a paper saving option before I printed it out for another round of proof-reading. My only complaint was that, on occasion, my iPad would split a hyphenated word or a word with an apostrophe into two at the end of a line. That was interesting. The text-reading option is great for highlighting homonyms/phones/graphs etc and those pesky miss ended. On a side track, my mother always struggled with punctuation, yet she was a faithful letter writer. She tells the story of writing a letter to her intended when they were courting. At the end, she filled a line with punctuation marks, suggesting he use them where needed to compensate for any she had missed or misused. Clearly her sense of mischief and humour worked, because she got her man.
LOL - Love your mother's story. I remember you saying that you used some software that read your novel to you and that you picked up things you wouldn't have otherwise. Was it Dragon? I'll have to try that when I finally finish my draft. That's a good idea too about reading your work on different devices. Anything to make us see (or hear) the manuscript differently is useful. Thanks for commenting :)
Thanks for the post, Nola. Changing the font or layout or even the colour of the page all help. I also find reading the document on Kindle helps pick up things I would otherwise miss. I agree that spellchecker can be a nuisance (thought it's been a boon for someone like me who struggled with spelling horrendously at school) - one tip, I've found adding my fantasy names (titles, names of characters, cities, countries, etc) to spellchecker's dictionary means that it will pick up the variants (ie misspellings) for me. I've heard someone suggest reading backwards, but that I've never tried :)
Thanks Jenny. That's a great idea about transporting the document to Kindle to read. I must try that. Also a great idea to add other words to the spellchecker dictionary. I can imagine how hard it would be to keep track of all the different spellings for the names in Akrad's Children. Another person would probably miss some too because the words aren't familiar. Great tip. I've also heard of the 'reading backwards' one, but I think that would be a bit too awkward for longer documents. Might be good for short pieces though. Thanks for commenting.
LOL Yes, adding the names etc to the dictionary was very useful for Akrad's Children - but I wasn't keen on reading it backwards to test the other theory.
Thanks for all your helpful hints again, Nola. I always print out anything I am working on after the initial check on the computer. I see things much better on hard copy. I go and sit in a comfy chair to check the hard copy - this actually helps for me!
Thanks Jeanette. That's a good point about reading where you're comfortable. I use a desk easel to prop up anything I'm proofreading so I don't get a sore neck. Anything to aid comfort can help with concentration. Thanks for sharing.
I really liked the ruler idea. I have definitely picked up typos when I hear my book read. I've also heard (can't remember where) that changing the font colour can be helpful - although possibly sore on the eyes!
Hi Emily - Thanks for that. I always use the ruler one. It's so easy to apply and works really well. I haven't tried changing font colours, but that could work well depending on the colour. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you for some great tips, Nola. I'm going to be getting out the ruler for the times when my husband has already fallen asleep to the sound of my voice as I read the next chapter😄👍
LOL Deirdre. That sounds like a plan. I always use the ruler idea. It's amazing how many things will leap out at you. Thanks for commenting.
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