What is proofreading?

 


Behind every great writer is an exceptional editor and proofreader. Quite a bold statement, but one we firmly believe is true. Even the most experienced, talented and accomplished writers need their work to be edited and carefully proofread to spot mistakes they might have overlooked. This often happens because writers are so familiar with their own work that when reading the material they have been working on for weeks or months, they tend to skim through. Thus, it becomes very hard for them to read their text meticulously, maintain an objective approach and shift away from the writer seat to take on the readers’ perspective.

 

Proofreading is the process by which the proofreader reads a piece of work to look for spelling or grammatical mistakes in order to ensure the text is of a high standard and error-free. The most common mistakes are forgetting capital letters, missing punctuation and forgetting to use paragraphs. Without proofreading, it will be the reader who will inevitably spot these mistakes.

 

Whether you are a budding author or an experienced columnist or journalist, skipping the proofreading stage may undermine the credibility and authority you probably have worked hard to achieve. If you are a corporate owner or representative, any material which is not professionally proofed may negatively affect the professional image of your company. Similarly, the accuracy of the website content of online businesses cannot be underestimated. Customers who are concerned about credibility are most prone to being put off by spelling errors.  Just one spelling mistake reduces online sales by half, and it only takes about six seconds to capture a potential customer’s attention and trust. Thus, making use of professional proofreading services is essential.

 

If you would rather do the proofreading yourself and not make use of professional Proofreading Services in Malta, a few tips that will surely help are reading the text out loud and proofreading for one type of error at a time. Also remember to take a break between writing and proofreading.

 

Proofreading vs Editing

 

A lot of people believe that proofreading and editing are the same thing. However, they are two different processes designed for different stages of the revision process. The table below displays the major differences:

 

Proofreading

Editing

Eliminates spelling, grammar and punctuation errors;

Fixes spelling, grammar and punctuation for better clarity;

Adjusts language formatting for consistency;

Fixes language to improve the overall quality of the text;

It is objective and aims to make the work error-free.

Can be subjective and the main goal is to improve the content of the work.

 

To put it simply, professional proofreading services focus on eliminating errors from the text, whereas editing improves the clarity and quality by changing words and sentence structure.

 

You focus on the writing and we will take care of the rest!

 

Place your work in the hands of our experts and make use of our Professional Proofreading Services. Our team for proofreading services in Malta consists of highly qualified and experienced professionals. Our revision process involves identifying and resolving issues related to consistency, word choice, structure, flow, storyline, punctuation, spelling, grammar and formatting. We are here to provide our proofreading services in Malta and abroad.

 

Please email us on translations@eurisconsult.com if you require our professional proofreading services and we will provide you with a free quote.



[1] Charles Duncombe, Spelling mistakes ‘cost millions’ in lost online sales, 2011 https://www.bbc.com/news/education-14130854

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Unleashing Global Connectivity: The Key Role of a Translation Agency in Malta

The Impact of Professional Translation Services on Cross-Cultural Business Relationships

How Euris Consult Can Help Your Business Expand Globally