Reading is a mesmerizing thing. It takes you to an altogether different world. In fact, reading not only diverse your mind but has many other benefits too. A good reader has a great vocabulary and knows to read in between the lines. They can understand the author through their style of writing.
An avid reader can finish multiple books in a day and not get tired. But the best part is that reading not only enhances your skills but it can also make you a great professional proofreader. Plus, you will do what you love and earn money for it!
So, if you are a good reader you are already halfway through, and if you have decided on being a professional proofreader, here are some tips for you on how to be a better proofreader.
1. Know Your audience
The first thing as a writer, reader, or proofreader is that you should know your audience. When you know whom you are writing for, you will get a better perspective of what is written.
So, as a professional proofreader, you should know the audience that the article is written for. The age, expertise level, and knowledge of the audience matter a lot. Once you know the audience properly, you need to read like them and then try to understand their perspective.
In brief, when you read like the audience, you will be able to proofread the article in the best way.
2. For effective proofreading, read backward
This is one skill that was a secret kept by proofreaders for a long time.
The human mind is trained to read the first and last letter of the words and then frame the sentence accordingly. So, it is general to skip ifs, buts, and many other pronouns, conjunctions, and more.
In fact, when we read a sentence, our mind sometimes reads it properly even though it may be grammatically incorrect.
Thus, to avoid this issue, proofreaders read the text backward. This lets you check the spellings and words professionally. Also, when there are pronouns and conjunctions, we can read the sentence straightforward and see if it makes sense.
But an article can be 100% accurately checked when it is proofread backward.
3. Have a professional proofreading checklist
When you plan to be a professional proofreader, you need to follow a proofreading process. Ensure to follow this checklist whenever you start the proofreading process.
Also, ensure to get all the material required from the writers for effective proofreading.
Like, first you should know about the audience, then read the entire article, check the tone, mark the mistakes and suggestions in different colors, read backward, highlight when you like something, and so on.
You can add and edit the checklist according to the writings that you check, but ensure the skeleton remains the same.
Additionally, make a list of colors for grammar errors, sentence errors, addition or deletion of ideas, etc. This will help the writers to distinguish between your suggestions and have more clarity.
Conclusion
Now that you have planned to proofread professionally, above are the proofreading tips and tricks that will help you get there. Just follow them and you will be an efficient proofreader. Plus, it is a very interesting job. Imagine so many new things to learn and read every day!
Moreover, just remember that every writer has their own unique style and tone. Be sure not to irritate that tone or put it off course. Proofread the article in such a way that the creativity is not hampered and the idea still reaches the audience!
