Last week, a billboard in South Wayne, Ind., was pulled following the realization of an unfortunate spelling error. The billboard, which was meant to tout South Bend schools, directed viewers to visit a website to find out the “15 best things about our pubic schools.”
That’s right, the billboard was displayed prominently for five days with the word “pubic,” rather than “public.” On a side note, as someone who works in public relations, I have carefully trained my eye to look for that critical “l” – since the accidental deletion can wildly change my occupation.
According to the news report from WANE-TV, “the ad was proofed by 4 people and the typo got by all of them.” Sadly, this billboard has become a glaring example of why the world needs good proofreaders.
So, to help avoid any more unfortunate snafus, consider these proofreading tips from the folks here at MGH:
- Print it out. Research shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than paper, due in part to the glare of the screen and also our propensity to scan information on the Web. So, by that logic, it is easier to catch errors on printed-out work. In addition, it’s easier to compare sections to make sure headers, margins and formatting are the same.
- Watch out for your most common errors. So, I have a terrible problem with the word “that.” Not only do I plop the word in where it’s not necessary, I also frequently use it when I should be using “who.” That said, over the years, I have trained myself to always stop when I see “that,” so I can evaluate whether it’s being used properly. We all have our own “that.” For some, it could be commas; for others, it could be affect and effect. Whatever your “that” is, learn to look for it (maybe put a sticky note on your bulletin board or computer monitor), so you can increase your chances of correcting it.
- Read it out loud. While I know this might be awkward for some, reading your work out loud engages another sense (your hearing) in the proofreading process. What your eyes might miss, your ears may catch. In addition, it forces you to read every word and notice natural occurrences for punctuation. It also allows you to hear how words sound together, making it easier to catch awkward phrasing and repetition.
- Proofread slowly, for one kind of error at a time. Force yourself to fix your eyes on every single word, comma, bullet and the like. And, look for one type of typo at a time. Focus each round of proofing on the common offenders: spelling, punctuation, formatting, capitalization/proper nouns, continuity, parallelism/repetition, misplaced modifiers, awkward phrasing, and so on and so forth.
- Don’t be the last set of eyes for your own work. The big challenge with trying to proof your own writing is that you know what it’s supposed to say, thus making it more likely that you might overlook a missing or incorrect word. If you must review your own work, try reading it in a new way – consider proofing backwards, word by word and sentence by sentence. And, definitely take some time between writing and editing, so you can approach your work with a fresh set of eyes.
Proofreading is by no means an easy skill, an innate ability or an exact science. But, that makes it no less important. Take Mark Twain’s observation from 1888: “The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Or the difference between public and pubic.
