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July 16, 2008

Proofreading: It's a client thing; not optional.

Proofreading [and cite-checking] is not an innate ability; it is an acquired skill.

Even in rustic venues and jurisdictions around the world like, say, Wyoming, where it's still considered a bit formal to wear socks to court, proofreading is still in vogue and essential. From a website at Virginia Tech:

1. Cultivate a healthy sense of doubt. If there are types of errors you know you tend to make, double check for those.

2. Read very slowly. If possible, read out loud. Read one word at a time.
3. Read what is actually on the page, not what you think is there. (This is the most difficult sub-skill to acquire, particularly if you wrote what you are reading.)

4. Proofread more than once. If possible, work with someone else.

beavis_and_butthead_experience_front.jpg

Summer help discovering the joy of proofreading.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at July 16, 2008 11:59 PM

Comments

Bad period. The full stop, as GeekLawyer would call it, belongs at the end of the sentence within the parentheses in point number 3.

Posted by: Ed. at July 16, 2008 11:15 AM

Thank you--you are right; change made.

Posted by: Holden Oliver at July 16, 2008 01:50 PM

Yes, "Muprhy's Law". See George M. Wallace. http://declarationsandexclusions.typepad.com/foolblog/. I knew about That Law. And knew we'd slip. We did. But it doesn't change the fact Johnny Can't Reed, Rite or Werk.

Posted by: Dan Hull at July 16, 2008 07:52 PM

"Muprhy's Law" -- heh. Words suck!

Posted by: Ed. at July 17, 2008 12:16 AM

Perhaps most importantly, have someone else proofread your stuff.

Posted by: Dan at July 18, 2008 09:34 AM

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