Common Proofreading Mistakes in Business Documents

Businesses need high-quality, readable English text for various purposes; in many cases, a firm’s competitive advantage is rooted in its ability to produce, edit, and maintain excellent documentation and advertising copy.

This is one of the main reasons why proofreading services play an essential role in businesses ranging from technology companies, such as those producing technical documents for software or computing system designs, to advertising and marketing organizations.

A Professional proofreading service is generally at its most useful when you lack the time to prepare a perfect document for publication. You don’t need to send a perfect document to your proofreader or editor; instead, they will cover the final steps needed to polish and check your manuscript before it is published.

If you’re not using a proofreading service, it’s still worth knowing about common proofreading mistakes that people make in business documents. For example, if you’re writing emails to a boss, press releases, or letters to clients, errors can have a significant reputational hit.

With the above in mind, this article highlights a few common proofreading mistakes that professionals commonly see when correcting business documents.

1. Elaborate writing

It is generally best to avoid elaborate phrases and long words in business communication. Many writers use flowery language to signal their intellect, but they forget that readers have to spend a lot of time deciphering the text. With this in mind, try to keep your writing simple, stick to the point, and be clear and concise.

2. Overuse of “buzz words”

Avoiding the overuse of so-called “buzz words” in business documents is more of an editorial task than a proofreading task. However, it is still a common mistake in business writing that can easily be avoided if a suitable proofreader is used, or if you are self-proofreading your emails or other short messages.

3. Complex sentences

An important issue to understand in business writing is that professional people generally lack the time to assign their undivided attention to the documents they come across. It is likely that the person reading your document will be dealing with other complex problems, and so when proofreading, you should strive to avoid overly complicated sentences.

4. Ineffective planning

Leaving yourself enough time for the proofreading process is critical when preparing business documents. If you rush, you will end up with a confused and lengthy draft that doesn’t please anybody. If you are spent for time, using proofreading services is always a viable option.

5. Abbreviations

Constantly using non-standard acronyms that your colleagues do not know about is to be avoided in business documents. You should only use acronyms if you can take it for granted that any of your intended readers will find that it is common knowledge. When proofreading, remove any acronyms that violate this rule.