Grammar Police and Proofreading

Yesterday, I was reading the local newspaper website and in almost every article, I found a typo or misused word. I started to get hot under the collar and steam from my ears. After all, they are a newspaper! "They should have proofreaders and all articles double checked," I thought. I was so disappointed.

I popped onto Facebook to check the Daily Mouse Clicks and low and behold, I see my promo post from yesterday and it made no sense! Did I even read it? Did I proofread it? How could I have made that mistake? What was I thinking?

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5

I hang my judgmental head in shame. I am guilty as charged.

Even though I made a mistake (or two, three... you get the picture), it is no excuse for sloppy writing or proofreading so here are some tips I found on avoiding these errors.

Use Spellchecker but don't rely on it - too many times it skips right over that misused word.
Read every word aloud - you would be amazed at how quickly you can catch those mistakes.
For smaller comments, read it backwards. Amazingly, you can find double words and other grammar issues doing this.
Walk away for a period before proofing what you have written.
Print out the document and review it on paper.
Have someone else read it over. A second pair of eyes can often catch what you cannot see.
If you are writing a blog, check out AtD (After the Deadline) Spell Check Plug in for Firefox.

As I looked around at tips on avoiding these errors I found this interesting disclaimer.

The Aperture Blog has this statement on their comment policy:

“As this is a blog, written by a single person, I do not have the luxury of a dedicated editorial staff to proof read everything I write. I do my best, but occasionally in my haste to post (and get back to work) typos, grammar errors etc. will slip through. If you do spot something a nicely worded email pointing out any typos will be appreciated, however, comments insulting me, blanket derisive comments about my writing style and so on will be deleted.”

With this in mind, I want to double check this next sentence.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. May it be filled with love, food, family and fellowship. If you are alone this Thanksgiving, I send virtual hugs. Please invite a friend, share a meal at the Salvation Army, or visit a shut-in senior. I am signing off for the rest of the week. See you here on Monday. ☺

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