The Write Eye: Editing & Proofreading Strategies

No doubt about it, editing and proofreading a document can be a laborious process. Both demand our close and careful attention. In this half-day session, participants will learn and practice the following essential skills needed to edit and proofread like the pros.

1. Edit for accuracy, consistency, clarity, and flow of the document to ensure communication success.
2. Proofread carefully, focusing on surface errors such as misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation to avoid distracting the reader and diminishing your credibility.
3. Identify your personal proofreading bugaboos by proofing a document embedded with 20 of the most common errors.
4. Spot commonly misused word pairs that trip up even the most seasoned proofreaders.
5. Correct routine punctuation errors to ensure a document’s accuracy.
6. Establish a systematic and focused process to catch as many errors as possible in the least amount of time.
7. Leverage the following top Microsoft Word tools to streamline the editing and proofreading process and to save you time.
   • Turn On or Off AutoComplete
   • Select Page Orientation: Portrait or Landscape
   • Resize or Crop Graphics
   • Create and Use Custom Dictionaries
   • Repeat a Table Heading on Subsequent Pages
   • Insert a Symbol or Special Character
   • Turn On or Off Grammar and Spell Checking
   • Use Sections and Section Breaks
   • Format Text by Using Styles
   • Track Changes While You Edit
   • Insert a Section Break
   • Apply a Different Style
   • Use the Format Painter
   • Delete a Section Break
   • Copy Styles to Another Document or Template

Class Prep: Bring your most pressing editing and proofreading questions to class, along with a memo, preferably one from the Board Book, for review.