Simply spellchecking and grammar checking your document is far from adequate when you want to produce a professional looking document. Spellcheckers have limitations – for instance, they cannot differentiate between words such as there, their, they’re, for, four, fore, and so on. You (or someone else) must read the document, word by word, checking for errors and inconsistencies.
Standard MarksThe following standard proofreading marks have been developed over many years and are now widely recognised.InstructionText MarkMargin MarkInsert the text as writtenNew text followed by /DeleteStrikethrough characters to be deletedDelete and close upAbove and the letters to be removedLeave as isUnderlined
letters to remainstetChange to capital letterunderlined letter to be
changedcapsChange to italicsUnderlined text to be changeditalChange to boldboldChange to lower caseStrikethrough
TExt to be changedl.c.Delete space between letters lettersInsert
space#Transpose letters or wordstrsBegin as new paragraphefore
first word for new paragraphn.p.Not new paragraphrun onSubstitute or insert comma/ through character or
where required, /Substitute or
insert full stop/ through character or w
here required /Insert hyphen/-/
Spell out abbreviation or figure in fullCircle word or figs to be changedspell out
The Proofreading ProcessAuthors are often too close to their work. As a result, it is best if a person other than the author proofreads the copy. Otherwise, leave it as long as possible between writing and proofing your work.When you find errors, use the standard proofreading marks (as shown in the table on the right).Place all corrections in the left or right margins immediately adjacent to the line of text with the error – never place them between the lines of text as they could be missed by the author.If you find a line of text with more than one error, mark the corrections in the margin (from left to right) separating each one with a / symbol. For example, ital/s/. Remember that each mark in the margin requires a mark in the line of text and vice versa.For a large document, make a checklist of the things to look for, and to be really careful, you should read through the document looking for only one thing on the checklist at a time. In other words, you should read the document as many times as the number of checklist items. Items to consider for your checklist could include:
spelling and punctuation (including consistency of capitalisation)
end-of-line hyphens (no more than two successive lines)
consistent spacing between lines and paragraph indentation
page numbers (check that none are missing and that they run in sequence)
consistency of lists and tablesheadings (check that appropriate
levels, typeface and size have been used)
accuracy of table of contents and indexes (accuracy of names and page number references)
After the corrections have been made, don’t forget to re-read the document against the marked-up copy!
The proofreading process helps determine the ultimate credibility of your document. If your document is printed with spelling mistakes and editorial and design inconsistencies, your readers may question the accuracy of the subject matter. As a result, ensure that someone proofreads your document carefully using the standard proofreading marks so that you can then include their changes.
The best way to learn how to use the proofreading marks is by looking at an example of a marked-up document. An example of the document that incorporates the changes is also shown.
Word uses coloured squiggly underlining to flag words or phrases that may have problems. Any words that don’t appear in the dictionary are underlined with a red squiggle, words that are found in the dictionary but appear to be misspelled in the context in which they are used are underlined in blue, and grammar errors are flagged with green. You can, however, turn the squiggles off.
Try This Yourself:
Ope
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Before starting this exercise you MUST open the file W765 Proofing Features_1.docx...
Examine the document
You’ll notice that there are red, blue and green squiggles indicating various spelling and grammar errors...
Click on the Office Button and click on [Word
Options] to display the Word Options dialog box
Click on the Proofing tab to see the spelling and grammar checking options
Click on the checkboxes for Check spelling as you type and Mark grammar errors as you type to remove the ticks
The first setting applies red and blue squiggles and the second setting applies green...
Click on [OK]All of the squiggles will be removed...
Repeat steps 2 to 5 to restore the ticks and redisplay the squiggles
For Your Reference…To turn the squiggles on or off:
1. Click on the Office Button and click on [Word Options] > Proofing
2. Click on the checkboxes for Check spelling as you type and Mark grammar errors as you type then click on [OK]
Handy to Know…Even though the squiggles don’t appear in the document, all of the suspected errors will be displayed when you run a spelling and grammar check.
You can control some of the spelling settings by telling Word to ignore particular formats and structures when it locates them, such as all capitals, words with numbers in them and Internet and file addresses. For example, if you use a lot of abbreviations or acronyms in your work, you may like to tell Word to ignore words in all capital letters, which are mostly likely to be acronyms.
Try This Yourself:Same
FileContinue using the previous file with this exercise, or open the
file W765 Proofing
Features_2.docx...Examine the document
You’ll notice that there are a few abbreviations of names which are all capital letters, such as WBUP and BCR. Also, at the end of the second sentence, there is a word Section_12 which includes a number. Currently, none of these are
flagged as errors...Click on the Office Button and click on [Word Options] then click on
ProofingClick on the checkboxes for Ignore words in UPPERCASE and Ignore words that contain numbers to remove the
ticksClick on [OK]Red squiggles will now appear under the capitalised abbreviations and the word including a
number...Repeat steps 2 to 4 to restore the ticks and remove the squiggles
For Your Reference…To customise what to check:
1. Click on the Office Button and click on [Word Options] > Proofing
2. Click on the checkboxes to adjust the settings as required then click on [OK]
Handy to Know…These settings affect all Microsoft Office applications so make sure that you are aware of the settings before you perform spelling and grammar checks in applications other than Word.
The grammar checker in Microsoft Word is quite sophisticated and has a wide range of options that you can apply to search for specific grammatical problems. Word can check that you’ve used plurals correctly, that noun and verb phrases are complete and that possessive words are used appropriately. It can also check your use of capitalisation and punctuation.Try This Yourself:Same
FileContinue using the previous file with this exercise, or open the file
W765 Proofing
Features_3.docx...Examine the document for grammar errors flagged by green squiggles
There is an entire sentence underlined
because it is incomplete...Click on the Office Button and click on [Word Options] then click on
ProofingClick on [Settings] next to Writing style to display the Grammar
Settings dialog boxClick on the tick next to Fragments and Run-ons to
remove itClick on [OK] and [OK] to close the dialog boxes
You’ll notice that the green squiggle that appeared under the sentence has gone. With this setting turned off, you may never notice the
error...Repeat steps 2 to 4 to reapply the tick to Fragments and Run-ons then click on
[OK]Click on [Recheck Document] then [Yes] and [OK] to recheck the grammar
For Your Reference…To customise the grammar checker:
1. Click on the Office Button and click on [Word Options] > Proofing
2. Click on [Settings]3. Make the required changes4. Click on [OK] and [OK]
Handy to Know…If you apply additional spelling or grammar settings, you should click on [Recheck Document] to check the document. Unlike hiding the squiggles, which doesn’t stop Word finding spelling or grammar errors, when you change the grammar settings, Word will never identify these errors.
Whether you want liven up a paragraph or are just suffering a mental blank, the thesaurus can help you find exactly the word that you’re looking for. A thesaurus is a dictionary of synonyms (words with a very similar meaning) and antonyms (words with the opposite meaning). You give the thesaurus a word and it will give you a list of possible alternatives. Simple!Try This Yourself:
Sam
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Continue using the previous file with this exercise, or open the file W765 Proofing Features_4.docx...
Click in the word negligible on the 5th line of the first paragraph
This tells Word which word you want to look up...
Click on Thesaurus in the Proofing group on the Review tab to display the Research task pane
A list of words similar in meaning to ‘negligible’ are displayed. Notice the antonym ‘significant’. You can search further...
Click on insignificant to display a list of alternatives
Or you can go backwards...
Click on [Back] to return to the previous list then point to minor and click on the drop arrow to display a list of options
Select Insert The word ‘negligible’ will be replaced by ‘minor’...
Click on close to close the task pane
For Your Reference…To use the thesaurus:
1. Click on a word2. Click on Thesaurus in the Proofing
group on the Review tab
Handy to Know…You can also click in the Search for text box in the Research task pane and type the word that you want to search the thesaurus for. You can then click on Start searching or press to start the search.
There may be situations where you have to use languages other than your default language in a document. They may be translations, quotes or just part of a conversation that you are writing. Unless you change the language that the text is typed in, the foreign language will be flagged as misspelled because the words probably won’t appear in the default dictionary.Try This Yourself:Open
FileBefore starting this exercise you MUST open the file W765 Proofing
Features_5.docx...Examine the document
This has examples of six languages including English. Notice that the text in the other languages is flagged as
misspelled...Select the line of text in
the table next to FrenchClick on Set Language in the Proofing group on the Review tab to display the
Language dialog boxScroll down
and click on French (France)Click on [OK] to apply the language
A spelling error is still flagged but now you can correct
it...Click outside the table then right-click on sejour to see the shortcut menu and spelling
suggestionsClick on séjour to
accept itRepeat steps 2 to 5 to apply the appropriate language to each line then click away from the table to see the result – perfect spelling!
For Your Reference…To set a different language:
1. Select the text (if it has been already typed)
2. Click on Set Language in the Proofing group on the Review tab
3. Scroll to and click on the language of your choice then click on [OK]
Handy to Know…If you plan to do a lot of work in another language, Word recommends that you change the keyboard layout to the language you want to use. Look for help under Create and edit text in another language.
If you find text in your document that is not in a language you understand, you can translate it using the Research task pane. It does help if the language is set for the text that you select because Word can then use the correct dictionary to interpret it. Otherwise, you will need to specify which language to perform the translation from.Try This Yourself:Same
FileContinue using the previous file with this exercise, or open the file
W765 Proofing
Features_6.docx...Select the French text in the right-hand
columnClick on Translate in the Proofing group on the Review tab
The Research task pane will be displayed with the corresponding
translation...Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each of the other languages
Most of them translate reasonably
well...Click below the table and type Wij hopen u van uw bezoek
geniet.Select the text and then click on Translate
Because Word doesn’t know what the language is, it tries to interpret it with the language that was already set, which was Greek. It won’t make any
sense unless we change it...Click on the drop arrow for From under Translation and click on Dutch (Netherlands)
A more meaningful interpretation will be displayed
For Your Reference…To translate selected text:
1. Select the text2. Click on Translate in the Proofing
group on the Review tab3. Set the From and To languages if
necessary
Handy to Know…Microsoft Word includes a ScreenTip that shows the translation of any word that you hover over. Make sure that you have the right language pack installed, then use Translation ScreenTip in the Proofing group on the Review tab.
When you first open Word, a language is selected depending upon the original setup. This language determines which dictionary is used to verify the spelling and grammar of words in your document. If you need to work in a different language for any period of time, you may like to change the default language so that Word knows automatically which dictionary to refer to.Try This Yourself:New
FileBefore starting this exercise you MUST open a new blank
document...Examine the status bar
This should tell you that the default language is currently English (United
Kingdom)...Type the following sentence:
We realised that we’d chosen the perfect colour for our programme.
The spelling is just right...Click on Set Language to display the
Language dialog boxClick on English (United States) and then click on [Default]You will be prompted to confirm the change because it will affect all new blank documents from now
on...Click on [Yes] and then click on [OK] to close the dialog box
The spelling will now appear incorrect because it doesn’t match the words in the US version of the
dictionary...Repeat steps 2 to 5 to reinstate English (United Kingdom) as default
For Your Reference…To set a default language:
1. Click on Set Language
2. Click on the language of your choice3. Click on [Default] then click on [Yes]4. Click on [OK]
Handy to Know…You can access the language settings by clicking on the Office Button and clicking on [Word Options]. Click on [Language Settings] under Personalise your copy of Microsoft Office.
