Is Proofreading Just About Correcting Spelling Errors?

Professional proofreading services are now becoming increasingly in-demand, but there are still misconceptions about what professional proofreading actually involves. In particular, many potential users of proofreading services are unclear about whether proofreading simply involves the correction of spelling errors, which is a task that most automated spell checkers can easily do.

Different from editing, proofreading is concerned with fixing typographical, spelling, grammar, and other basic errors in a piece of writing. While editing entails making every correction that would improve a document (e.g., clarity, structure, format, tone, word choice, and so on), professional proofreading only involves making a restricted set of corrections and improvements.

 

Image: Editing and proofreading aren’t the same thing!

The fact that proofreading a document is much simpler compared to editing it is one of the reasons why the activity of proofreading is often viewed as a straightforward one. However, proofreading is far from simple, and as the above definition suggests, it is not just concerned with the correction of spelling errors. Indeed, proofreading spans many smaller tasks, many of which overlap with editing.

When a document is ready to be submitted for professional proofreading services, it is important to recognise that it should already have been edited. This means that the content in the document should be well structured, well written, and readable. At this point, it is the job of the proofreader to bring the final manuscript to a place where it could be published. This is achieved by ironing out grammatical, spelling, formatting, and typographical errors, and it may also involve ensuring that the document conforms to a specific style guide.

 

Image: Proofreading always comes after editing

The extent of the proofreading service you receive will also depend to a significant degree on the service provider or freelancer that you choose to work with. The reason for this is that the service descriptions offered by the available service providers and freelancers often differ on key points. For example, newer proofreaders may focus on issues such as the structure of your document, whereas traditional proofreaders may be limited in the number and type of revisions that they make.

Altogether, despite the fact that proofreading is less comprehensive compared to editing, it is a key step in the preparation of any manuscript that is intended to be read by others. In almost all cases, proofreading involves more than correcting spelling errors.Perhaps the best way of thinking about what proofreading involves is that it is a process that will completely revise any confusing, unprofessional, or inconsistent aspects of your writing.