Not all students are blessed with a command of perfect or exceptional English. Many international students, for whom English is a second (or perhaps even third) language find it difficult to express themselves in writing when compiling essays or other written documents. A proofreader like myself can help by correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and … Continue reading Students: How a proofreader can help you with your essay
Category: proofreading
Words are constantly changing meaning, usually over long periods of time. We all learn to cope with it as words change meaning as long as words have existed. Some words that used to mean something very different are discussed below. Awful: Awful used to be “worthy of awe”, but now means something dreadful or bad. Bachelor: … Continue reading Words that once meant something different
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In a previous blog on my website I stated that it can be costly not to proofread you publication. Well, here a few examples of other people’s losses and misfortunes due to failing to proofread. Case A I’ll tell you a story about how not proofreading cost thousands of dollars. This person, let us call … Continue reading The cost of not proofreading can be great
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During proofreading I frequently come across the same words that have been confused time and again. I have already discussed words beginning A to M, now I will continue with words beginning with the letters N to Q. naught / nought Nought is used in British English for the digit zero and is also used … Continue reading Confused words: N to Q
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John Richards, a former journalist, started the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001 after his retirement, with the aim of preserving the correct use of this much-abused punctuation mark in written English. However, he announced in November 2019 that he would close the Society because of firstly, his age (he is 96 after all) and secondly, … Continue reading The decline of the apostrophe
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Today life is a bit of a rush, especially on the work front and mistakes are understandable but a hazard. Failure to check your work and proofread your business emails can result in all sorts of problems, and errors in emails can make your communications appear unprofessional and careless. But there are steps that you … Continue reading 5 key steps for writing perfect emails
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During proofreading I frequently come across the same words that have been confused time and again. I have already discussed words beginning A to I, now I will continue with words beginning with the letters J to M. Jewellery / jewelry Jewellery is the British English spelling, while jewelry is that spelling preferred in US … Continue reading Confused words: J to M
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You have just completed writing your document. It could be an essay, book, journal article, or business report. You have checked through it so many times, completely revised it once or twice, but you are still not confident that you have found all the errors and inconsistencies that may be present. Perhaps English is not … Continue reading How to choose a proofreader
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During proofreading I frequently come across the same words that have been confused time and again. I have already discussed words beginning A to F, now I will continue with words beginning with the letters G to I. Gourmand / gourmet These two words are easily confused, but “gourmand” is someone who overindulges in food … Continue reading Confused words: G to I
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In an earlier blog I discussed what proofreaders would normally do as part of their duties. There I touched on aspects of writing and publication that proofreaders would not normally be involved in: copy-editing, copyright and permissions, indexing, literary appraisal, page design and layout, and rewriting. Many professional proofreaders have the skills to perform some … Continue reading What proofreaders do not routinely do
