If you are responsible for proofreading documents at work, this course will help you by improving your accuracy and your confidence. Guided by an expert tutor, you will learn the professional techniques that will enable you to proofread to the highest standards.
As well as developing your ability to spot mistakes, you will discover the importance of consistency and corporate style and refresh your knowledge of grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Group discussion, proofreading exercises and individual feedback will make a very practical workshop, at the end of which you will be a proficient error-spotter.
Your course manual will become a useful guide when you return to the office, where you will also benefit from a year of free support from your tutor.
Learning objectives
By the end of this course you will be able to:
correct mistakes in your own and colleagues’ documents
apply the techniques used by professional proofreaders
understand the difference between editing and proofreading
identify common errors in the use and spelling of words
remove ambiguity and redundant words
use grammar and punctuation with confidence
ensure consistency and apply a corporate style guide
interpret the proof-correction symbols used by typesetters.
Morning session
An introduction to proofreading
The role of the proofreader
The importance of proofreading
The difference between proofreading and editing
The qualities of a proofreader
On screen or on paper?
How software can help
Spell checkers and grammar checkers - their benefits and limitations
The advantages of proofreading on paper
A new way of reading
Reading carefully and slowly
Looking at form as well as content
Checking layout and styling
Developing an eye for detail
Intervention
The golden rule
When to make a change and when to leave alone
When and how to raise a query
Consistency and corporate style
Why consistency matters
British or American spelling?
Numbers and dates
Capitals and abbreviations
Italics and bold
Hyphenation
Quotation marks
Afternoon session
Troublesome words
Commonly confused or misused words
Commonly misspelt words
Words with alternative spellings
Removing unnecessary words
Ambiguity
The causes of ambiguity
Picking it up
Correcting it appropriately
Grammar and punctuation
Why they matter
A guide to grammar
Punctuation - revision of the rules
Dealing with details
Facts and figures
Tables, graphs and diagrams
Cross-references
Professional techniques
How to increase your accuracy
Developing awareness of common mistakes
Using proof-correction symbols
Further development
Reference sources
Post-course support
More information
The Proofreading at Work course is available as an in-house course, which can be run face-to-face at your premises or virtually over Zoom. For more information,
click here.
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“It works! I have gained a greater understanding of proofreading techniques and now pick up many more errors.”
Niall Ryan Head of Internal Communications Harrods
“I found all aspects really useful, providing a good guide to proofreading.”
Lisa Thompson Business Unit Administrator Steer Davies Gleave
“I enjoyed the whole day. The tutor was very clear and the pace of the course was just right.”
Toni Marsh Marketing Assistant Hanover Housing Association
Running the Proofreading at Work course in-house
The Proofreading at Work course can be run as in-house training anywhere in the world, either at your premises or virtually over Zoom. If you have a group of staff who need the same skills, this option is convenient and cost-effective. It is powerful too, because we can provide a course that is specifically designed to achieve your objectives.
Tailored to your needs
The standard programme is available as in-house training, but you may prefer us to tailor it to match the needs of your staff and your organisation. Tailoring can include:
adjusting the length of the programme
adding or removing topics
using your documents as examples and exercises
taking full account of your style guide.
Flexibility
An in-house course is fully flexible. Tell us what you want to achieve and we will work with you to design a course to match. Tell us when you would like to run the course and we will find a date that suits you.
Free support
Every course we run comes with a year of free support for each participant. We recognise that people do not think of every question on the day of the training. Our support service gives them the opportunity to ask their tutor an unlimited number of questions in the year following the course. In this way they continue to build their skills and confidence.
Ask us for a quotation
The cost of an in-house course depends on a number of things, including its length, its location and how much preparation we need to do. We can readily give you a quotation, so please contact us to discuss your needs.
If you are responsible for proofreading documents at work, this course will help you by improving your accuracy and your confidence. Guided by an expert tutor, you will learn the professional techniques that will enable you to proofread to the highest standards.
Learning objectives
An introduction to proofreading