Proof It, Proof It, and Proof It Again
Posted: Friday, February 27, 2009
by Nancy Daniels
Voice Dynamic
Recently I received a newsletter from an ezine website which discussed improving your article productivity by not being a perfectionist about your writing. I agree with the writer in the sense that if you never finish an article because it is not perfect, you are losing a lot of opportunity. In addition, perfection in writing is subjective. However, I disagree with him in a different respect. When you write for SearchWarp, you are baring your soul, so to speak; and, people are forming an impression about you not only by what you say, but how you say it and how you present it. When I am reading an article that is poorly written or filled with lots of typos, I question the writer and wonder why such person would submit such material. An occasional typo is one thing (and I certainly find them here and there in my own published articles) but an article that is difficult to read, thereby difficult to understand, frustrates me. How can I rate it fairly if I don't understand what the writer is trying to say?
While I may write some articles quickly and take longer with others, before I cut, paste, and submit be it an opinion piece for SearchWarp or a business article for another website I proofread it.
In fact, while creating the piece, I proofread it.
After finishing it, I proofread it.
After printing it, I proofread it.
And, after pasting it into SearchWarp, I proofread it again.
What is interesting about proofreading is that in each manner your article is presented; i.e. Word on your computer, printed out from your computer, or pasted into SearchWarp, it will have a different look;' and, each different look' will make it easier for your eye to catch mistakes.
In addition to proofreading the article by reading it over in my mind, I also read it out loud. When I teach public speaking, I instruct my clients or my students to practice delivering their material out loud. You would be surprised how many people do not do that! The same advice holds true for those writing articles. By reading it out loud, you may hear' mistakes that your eye is unable to see. In addition, you will get a better sense of the flow of your words.
Many of those who visit my website have discovered me and my business from my articles; and, I make a living from people who are going to invest their money in my products. If I submit sloppy articles, what does that say about my products? Are they sloppy as well? Are my DVDs and my book filled with mistakes and poor writing skills? Are my workshops and seminars replete with sloppy agendas and slovenly habits?
If you expect others to judge your writing skills, your thoughts, and your opinions objectively, you must proofread your articles and then do it again. In fact, if you set the article aside and come back to it a day later, you will often find that it reads differently than the day you wrote it. They say that the more you write, the better writer you become. The same holds true in proofreading.
Your writing is an extension of you. How do you want to be judged?
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More commentsGreat article Nancy!I agree that it is frustrating and often difficult to read articles that are poorly written. In fact, I often wonder if someone can truly understand my point of view properly; sometimes I choose to incorporate coloquialisms into my article to "sign" if you will my writing style. Even though I am in agreement with you on this matter, there are people with learning disabilities or quite frankly a lack of education that might be scared away by this article, i.e. a cessation of writing/expression.As I said before, I love your writing and always revere you so highly as an author, I was just sticking up for those who may take this the wrong way. So, please don't take me the wrong way (smile).As always, a GREAT thought provoking article!ThxPeter,Your comment certainly made me think and it is interesting. My brother, an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon as well as an ordained minister, has dyslexia. He is one of the best proofreaders I know because he takes his time and studies each word. He's also a great critic and writes Maine poetry.There are some articles I read that I am fairly confident were not proofed. That is all I ask of the writer. By the way, you're not in that category. You write very well; and, as one who reads lots of recipes, I enjoy how you present your information.Thanks for reading this,NancyThx a bunch Nancy! :)I always look foward to reading your articles.
Nancy,"I take pride in what I write and I know I am not alone." You said it!Thank you Ronyae. I knew you would agree with this because I see it in your writing!Nancy(blushing), aww, Nancy. To get a compliment from such a terrriffic writer. Thanks.
Hi Nancy, a really good article and filled with good advice. I do proof mine about as you say, and do you know, I find most of my errors after I paste it in on Searchwarp. And then, sometimes I still find one or two a week later. I am just filled with errors, I reckon. (Old southern term for thinking).Joel,I find the mistakes as well - sometimes months later. Oh well. At least we try.Thanks for commenting,Nancy
hi nancy,i agree.i try to do most of the above.i've learned from early on in reading e mails again that had already been sent, that it's better to read while typing, and when done.thanks for taking the time to share these important tips,best regards,sueSusan,Reading it out loud is definitely part of the test. Thanks for reading and sharing,Nancy
Hi Nancy,I think I read the same article. What is really scary is when you say to the world do not submit your best work and you lower the standards to less than perfect you have no idea what you get. Great article.
LouisThanks Louis,I am just a bit confused by your first sentence. Can you explain?Nancy
Nancy,Thank yo for this article. I would call it valuable piece of advice as I am new in searwarp. Yes definitely I will proofread before posting an article. Thanks again. I am sure it must have helped many writers too.swapnaSwapna,Thank you for reading my article and a most hearty welcome to SearchWarp! You are entering a wonderful community of writers. In the 2 months I've been posting, I feel like I have made some great friendships.Nancy
Nancy,I agree. And there's really no excuse for not knowing the basics. I still teach writing and tell my students that it doesn't take a college degree or even high school degree to know them. It's a relatively complex craft but one that most can do well. It's just a matter of how hard do you want to work at it. Even though I have an advanced degree in English, I was never required to take any grammar classes. I'm self-taught, actually. Just like I was as a computer programmer and standup comic, and now entrepreneur.
If you know the difference between a word, phrase, clause, and sentence, you're more than half way to knowing the 20 most common errors writers make (11 of them are related to comma placement). Then you know the three types of sentence mistakes, a few things about pronouns, subject / verb agreement, you're 90% there. Like I tell my students, it's not about perfection but improvement. Writing is one of those things you don't have to know everything about to start. If you're serious about writing, it's a matter of learning a little bit every day.
What's great writing? 90% perspiration; 10% inspiration. Oh, and don't let those paragraphs go too long. People like breaks. And they like passion and fire too. Hey! We all need to wake up at least once a day, don't we? Let's see if we as writers can get 'em out of bed, shall we?
Jeff,Great response and I agree! Why am I not surprised that grammar was not part of your English studies? (Reminds me of a client of mine who had minored in music at Muhlenberg and could not tell me the difference between pitch and volume.)We had two teachers in high school, Mrs. Robb and Mrs. Coffee, and it didn't matter which one you got because they were both tough. But you learned grammar. Best course I ever had in high school. Today, we don't teach the basics; we teach the kids how to pass 'proficiency' exams!By the way, are you familiar with Maxwell Nurnberg's Questions you always wanted to ask about English -- but were afraid to raise your hand? It is a handy little guide that helps me when I forget. I can never remember the difference between affect and effect partly because I don't understand the difference. If you have an easy way to distinguish the two, I would love to hear it.Thanks for reading this. I could go on and one -- think I'll write an article instead.NancyHi Nancy,I don't mean to butt in here, but effect is always a noun, the result of something. And although affect can sometimes be used as a noun, it is very rarely suitable. It is almost always a transitive verb, expressing action of the subject.Oh Joel,Now I am greatly confused. In the past, I always used the word effect. Since writing articles, however, I thought I had discovered that I was wrong.So, it must mean: The effects of the drug were noticeable. But I was affected by the drugs. Is this correct?NancyNancy,
Personally, even in my English classes I avoid "grammar speak," more confusing than it's worth because there's few English majors out there and even fewer grammar scholars. Thank God!!! ;=) Besides, for me, like most people, just the word grammar makes me ill . . . . Sorry, had to run to the bathroom for a minute there ;=)
Here's the lowdown on effect and affect.
When “affect” is accented on the final syllable (a-FECT), it is usually a verb meaning “have an influence on." For example: "His teaching has greatly affected his students." The students really feel that teaching. It's not just knowledge, it's going much deeper than thath. Mmmmmmmmmm . . . nice!
Here's some more . . .
Occasionally a pretentious person is said to affect an artificial air of sophistication. Speaking with a borrowed French accent or ostentatiously wearing a large diamond ear stud might be an affectation. In this sort of context, “affect” means “to make a display of or deliberately cultivate.” For example, "He has a very affected way pronouncing the word 'schedule.'"
There's another way of using affect that refers to emotion; psychiatrists and social scientists use that a lot, but if you're not one of them, don't worry about it.
Confused? Good, that's English for you, a powerful language, but like programming languages that are powerful, they get their power from their diversity and complexity. Sorry, can't have simple and powerful or have your cake and eat it.
OK, now for the other one . . .
This one's less common, so that means don't worry about it too much. But just FYI. It is a verb meaning “to create”: “I’m trying to effect a change in the way we purchase widgets.”
No wonder people are confused. Note especially that the proper expression is not “take affect” but “take effect”—become effective. Hey, nobody ever said English was logical: don't try to reason it out, just memorize and move on.
The stuff in your purse? Your personal effects. (you created the select content of your purse)
The stuff in movies? Sound effects and special effects. (these things are created)
Hope that clears it up. Just go over it until it sinks in, that's what I do. That is if it bugs you so much that you can't avoid knowing; otherwise, you've got the other 99.9% of your life that's more important. Peace!Yes, Nancy that is correct. Unfortunately, they are not words that always hold true to their normal meaning."If a man drowns, the exact temperature of the water will not affect the final effect." A bit of a juvenile sentence, but I think accurate.Incidentally, I slaughter the English grammer in my speech as well as my writing.
This is an excellent article maam. Very nice. Especially the last sentence, 'Your writing is an extension of you. How do you want to be judged?' is very true. God bless you.Asmita,Thank you for your supportive words. I appreciate your response.Nancy
I see what you're saying.When I write I proof-read once. Sometimes more, depending what I am writing for.Mr. Home,I do think we should be 'proofing' it several times. When I don't proof the comments I make, I usually find mistakes, although, I often find mistakes even after proofing.Thank you for your comment,Nancy
Bravo Nancy, this is so true, sometimes I get in a rush, and I go back and read my article, and say "Oh nuts, I have to change this, or I mispelled that". There is no reason to do this with all of the modern spell checks and sentence compositions that are offered. I am totally in agreement with you!!! Well said, and well done, and all of our writing is an extension of ourselves as you say. Great article, and I for one will really pay attention as to how I write before I post!!! Good Job....Your friend and fan in pen......Gary.Gary,Thanks for your comment. While I am glad for the spell checkers I get frustrated with the grammar 'things' -- don't know the right word for it -- because they don't allow for creativity.Incidentally, I just read a comment I made on Susan's article about attending her son's air force graduation and sure enough, I found a mistake. Oh well,Nancy
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