Learner spotted proofreading error without looking!
It’s amazing how quickly our proofreading course learners’ eyes become attuned to spotting errors.
One student found it hard to spot errors when he first started his online proofreading and editing course. But then a month later, he told us: “I was walking past someone’s desk at work yesterday.
‘They had a document up on screen, and I noticed out the corner of my eye there were two spaces between a word instead of one. The page wasn’t even magnified above 100%! I wasn’t even looking at the document. I told the woman at the desk and she was amazed!”
The same student asked us for suggestions to help make technical language easier to follow when he was editing a report. He wanted to improve his editorial skills.
We advised him:
- Use a simple summary at the start: two to three sentences that describe what the copy is about, and summarise the main points. This prepares the reader for what they’re about to read, and also gives them the chance to skip it if they feel it isn’t relevant.
- Use one sentence paragraphs. This breaks up the copy, which helps when the copy is hard-going.
- Use bullets, headings, sub headings and numbers, like we have done here.
- If necessary, include a glossary of terms or a link to one.
- Provide a fictional “test” to illustrate your point: “Doris has been invited out for lunch by the purchasing manager of Bluestone Ltd (a company who are about to bid for a contract with Aker Solutions)”. What should she do? a) tell her boss b) not turn up.
- Use an example, maybe from the news. “Last year, a British Gas executive was suspended and later arrested after accepting a gift from a man who was applying for a job in the executive’s department. This illustrates how changes in the EU Employment directive apply in the workplace.”
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