5 Frequently Overlooked Proofreading Mistakes
Sometimes, the mistakes are obvious when proofreading content - spelling mistakes, incorrect grammar or the wrong word used in the wrong place, for example - but, more often than not, the errors I come across are those that are easy to overlook. Attention to detail is such an important skills for proofreaders because many text errors are easy to miss if you’re not eagle-eyed.
Below are five common mistakes I often see when proofreading - have you made any of these under-the-radar errors? Would you pick them up when checking through content yourself?
This one or/of/on that one? - these tiny words are often not picked up by your spellchecker as they’re always spelled correctly, they’re just not necessarily used in the right place. Often, it’s an easy mistake when you’ve been typing quickly and have chosen the wrong word, typing ‘of’ instead of ‘or’, then not noticed when reading back through your work. This is why it’s essential that proofreaders pay attention to every single word!
Should of, could of, would of - a personal pet peeve of mine, this grammatical error is rife in modern language. When you say the contraction ‘should’ve’ (or ‘could’ve’ or ‘would’ve’) out loud, it often sounds like ‘should of’, especially in certain accents. This then gets written down because it sounds right when you read it back, then the next person sees it and assumes it must be correct, so they use it too... Grammatically, however, it makes no sense at all. Definitely could of tried harder.
Its time for it’s update - this is another mistake that can be easy to miss when proofreading, especially if you’re reading too quickly. Firstly, do you know the difference between it’s and its? The only time an apostrophe is needed is when you mean to say ‘it is’ or ‘it has’. No other time. Once you’ve got your head around that rule, it makes reading and writing it a lot easier.
Click the link and and follow the the instructions - when you read text with mistakes in it, your brain will sometimes automatically correct the errors as you read, making them difficult to see. Did you notice that the title of this point has duplicate words in it? Duplicate words are not usually picked up by your spellchecker, so instances of ‘the the’ can easily be glossed over if you’re not paying attention.
Our organization is the one for you - the final error I often spot when proofreading is American spellings or American terminology in British English content, notably the excessive Zs. If your brand is British then it makes sense to write (consistently) in British English, and using an Americanism can give the game away. Watch out for the more-obvious recognize and analyze, but also spellings like centre/center and learnt/learned.
So how many of these proofreading mistakes have you come across before? Have you made any of these errors in your own writing and then noticed (or failed to notice) them later? If you need more help, then check out my reliable proofreading service, too!
