Editing and Proofreading

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Editing and Proofreading

• Whats the difference?

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Editing changes the content of the letter,
memo or report

• to communicate the meaning efficiently to a
  chosen audience.
• to clarify the intent of the writer.
• to enhance the style of the document.

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Editing

• for meaning
• --requires that you understand the writers
  original intent.
• --requires that you preserve the writers
  original content, as much as possible.

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Editing

• for clarity
• --requires that you use language as efficiently
  as possible.
• --requires that you avoid wordiness.

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Editing

• for style
• --requires that you check the tone of the
  document.
• --requires that you check the language of the
  document.

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Proofreadingchanges the surface-level
features of a document to remove errors in

• Grammar.
• Punctuation.
• Mechanics.
• Usage.

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Grammar includes

• Subjects and verbs.
• Pronouns.
• Prepositions.
• Sentence structure.

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Punctuation includes

• Commas.
• End marks (period, question mark and exclamation
  point).
• Semicolon () Colon ().
• Hyphen (-) Dash (--).
• Brackets and (Parentheses).
• Apostrophe.

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Mechanics includes

• Capitalization.
• Spelling.
• Document format. (letter, memo, report, etc.)

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Usage includes

• Word choice (a/an, etc.)
• Gender inclusive language (his/her)
• Jargon (terms specific to a profession)
• Slang (spoken vs. written expressions)

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Proofreading tips

• Read your document aloud, slowly.
• Read your document backwards, sentence by
  sentence.
• Exchange your document with a colleague.
• NOTE Spell check will not catch everything and
  grammar checks are often wrong.

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Common Proofreading Symbols