April 30, 2020

Top Qualities To Look For In A Proofreading Service Provider

A proofreader is someone who performs a quality check on write-ups before they are sent to be published.

He checks if the content makes sense if there are any errors in the grammar or inconsistencies in the style.

Top Qualities To Look For In A Proofreading Service Provider: eAskme
Top Qualities To Look For In A Proofreading Service Provider: eAskme

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Also, he has to check if the headings, captions, and photos are relevant and correct.

Proofreading online is not always about a bundle of degrees and certificates, as there are no fixed formal qualifications.

However, there are some qualities that you must look for in a person when hiring him for the post of a  proofreader.

Keep reading.

Good eyesight

The first thing you need to ask your proofreader is about the quality of his eyesight.

He must be able to read and understand smaller texts and different, unknown fonts.

A sharp eye on the document can quickly catch any inaccuracies without looking for any reference.

Also, as most of the proofreading services are nowadays online, your proofreader must be comfortable with screens and should not get tired of that bright light too early. 

Grasp on the language

One cannot do great as a proofreader if they don't have a grasp on their language.

To be able to identify errors in spellings, sentence formation, tenses, punctuation, word choice, word order, etc., the proofreader needs to understand the language.

A clear understanding of the language can help him to pass only the grammatically correct and well-structured sentences and thus doing a successful job as a proofreader.

Love for reading

Your proofreader must enjoy reading.

He should be familiar with different forms of texts, genres, writing styles and have plenty of knowledge about the various subjects.

A person who loves to read will be an excellent proofreader as he would always perform his job by heart.

He will never get fed up with reading publications and will be sharp in catching errors.

Attention to detail

An unedited text can contain a variety of errors like mispunctuation, spelling mistakes, extra space between letters and lines, etc.

Any of these errors can change the meaning and message of the content entirely.

For example, a simple mispunctuation like skipping a comma in a sentence "We are going to play honey," when it actually meant - "We are going to play, honey" can change the message.

Therefore, it is essential for a proofreader to pay attention to detail and catch all the errors in his text.

Knowledge of different stylebooks

Organizations usually adopt a particular stylebook for themselves that the employees need to master.

To be a successful proofreader, one must be familiar with a variety of stylebooks like MLA style guide and APA style guide that can prove to be helpful in their job.

Enough knowledge about some stylebooks can help to quickly identify and refer errors to make the text more correct.

Computer skills

As mentioned above, proofreading is done on screen more than often.

Therefore, to become an excellent proofreader, one needs solid computer skills.

Check if your person is familiar with proofreading and editing tools on Microsoft, such as comment insertion and word's track changing.

The proofreader must also be able to operate printing, photocopy, and FAX machines because he might need to do so a lot of times.

Communication skills

This is an undeniable, but crucial skill. Most of the proofreading jobs work within deadlines.

If the person has some good communication skills, he will be able to convey any issues like delays or errors easily.

He should be able to communicate quickly about any doubts to his boss.

Any miscommunication can affect the quality of the text.

If you still have any question, feel free to ask me via comments.

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