Proofreading

Proofreading is the last quality control check before your document gets printed or put online. It is your way to make sure that everything is letter perfect. At Anglocom, we always put two people on the job so that you can rest assured that everything is checked twice.

We have 13 proofreading rules that we follow for top quality:

Rule #1: Take your time—you’ll miss mistakes if you rush

Rule #2: Doubt everything—never “assume” or “seem to recall” that something is correct

Rule #3: Read it twice (It’s our official policy to have two proofreaders go over the text at Anglocom!)

Rule #4: Consider reading the text aloud as an aid to spotting errors

Rule #5: Print it out—you may find it easier to spot errors on the printed page

Rule #6: Remember the headers—after painstakingly checking the fine print, you may miss a big mistake in the title

Rule #7: Check logos and other graphic items—they may have words in them that need correcting/translating

Rule #8: Make sure all footnotes match and none is missing

Rule #9: Check consistency of spelling/punctuation/style (all US/UK spelling? all serial commas? same rules always followed?)

Rule #10: Pay attention to figures—make sure they all make sense/add up

Rule #11: Don’t assume proper names/obscure words/foreign words are correctly spelled—check each one

Rule #12: Don’t hesitate to point out layout/spacing mistakes even though you’re not a graphic artist

Rule #13: Correct only what’s wrong—this is no time to impose your personal preferences

Skipping the proofreading step is never a good idea. Ask yourself how much it will cost if something goes wrong.