Learning How to Proofread Your
E-mail
Proofread every e-mail you write. That may seem to add an unnecessary step, but you must proofread if you are to send out e-mails that are written correctly. That is important for four reasons:
- Correctness adds to clarity. If you have spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors, the text will be more difficult to read and understand.
- People judge you by the correctness of your language use. That's just a fact of life. People will stereotype someone who uses the language incorrectly as uneducated or even unintelligent. It's just that educated people speak and write in educated ways; uneducated and illiterate people speak in ways that distinguish them easily from educated people.
- When you are careful, you show the reader that you care enough about your message, the reader, and your business to take the time to make things right. If you're careless, it sends the message that you don't care enough to spend the extra few minutes to be accurate and correct.
- Only by trying to use the language will you learn to use the language correctly. If you give up and don't try to locate and correct any errors, you don't benefit from the lesson you learn each time you correct an error. That keeps you at the same level of language use, which for some people is at grade-school level. They'll never become better at using the language because they don't work at correcting their use of the language.
Follow these guidelines to help you proofread your work.
- Don't rush.
- Look at individual words and phrases. Concentrate on seeing the words by themselves, not just strings of meaning. If you're just reading for meaning, you aren't proofreading.
- If you find yourself reading meaning without seeing individual words, stop. Refocus and start again. If your mind drifts, stop.
- During the time you're proofreading, eliminate as many distractions as you can. If someone is talking to you, stop, finish the conversation, and when they leave resume proofreading.
- If this e-mail is very important, proofread a paper copy of your e-mail. Reading text onscreen is more difficult.
- If you are having trouble proofreading a portion of the text, read it aloud, then read it silently.
- Do more than one pass at the document, looking for different things each time.
- Do a separate proofread for the formatting of anything in the e-mail whose format is repeated. Check to be sure the formatting is consistent throughout. Look at space before and after, indentation, font style, alignment, and any other characteristic of the format.
- After you have proofread the words, skim through the text looking at spacing. See whether there are stray spaces between words or differences in spacing for indentations and skipped lines.
- Proofread the e-mail looking only at numbers: dates, times, phone numbers, sequences of numbers. Double check important numbers. Call phone numbers if necessary. Try out Web links if you include them.
- Look for the words with which you normally have problems. Be conscious of those words when you see them. Check them carefully.
- Do a separate pass in which you look at each sentence to be sure that the punctuation is accurate.
- Use your dictionary and grammar text regularly. You must have one of each at your desk. Know the URL for one of the online dictionaries (such as http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm and http://www.dictionary.com/). You should use the dictionary several times a day. Look up any unusual word or word you aren't sure about.
Confusing Word Pairs
Writers and proofreaders consistently have problems with 25 word pairs. The pairs are words that sound similar, but have very different meanings. Learn the meanings of these words. A quiz testing your knowledge of the correct use of the words follows this explanation:
- accept - receive something, recognize a truth, or approve of something
except - to leave out or exclude
- accessible - easily approached or attained
assessable - capable of being evaluated
- adverse - harmful or unfavorable
averse - opposed to, reluctant, distasteful
- affect - bring about a change
effect - a result
Note, "effect" can be used to mean "create a change." "This new rule is intended to effect a change."
- among - in the midst of several things
between - comparison of two things; area separating two things
Note, "amongst" is not acceptable in formal writing.
- appraise - determine the value of something
apprise - inform
- assure - inform to remove doubt or concern
ensure - guarantee
insure - take out insurance or act as insurance (Use "ensure" unless you are describing an insurance arrangement.)
- bimonthly, biannually - every other, or every two months or years
semimonthly, semiannually - twice a month, or twice a year
- censor - review something and remove the objectionable parts
censure - find fault with, or blame
- common - belonging equally to everyone
mutual - belonging to everyone equally
- compliment - express praise or admiration
complement - complete, make a whole, make perfect
- compose - create or form something
comprise - consist of, or made up of
- consecutive - following one after another without interruption
successive - following one another in order, but not necessarily without interruption
- continual - happening often, usually in rapid succession
continuous - occurring without stopping
- discreet - using good judgment in terms of conduct
discrete - separate and distinct, or individual
- distinct - clearly notable, individual, discrete
distinctive - distinguishing, unique
- eminent - prominent, distinguished in reputation
imminent - about to occur, threatening, impending
- exceedingly - extremely, extraordinarily
excessively - beyond what is reasonable
- fewer - used with countable items
less - used with quantities
- forward - at, near, or toward the front
foreword - the beginning of a book or report
- impediment - hindrance, slowing progress toward a goal
obstacle - something that completely stands in the way of the goal
- imply - express indirectly or hint
infer - conclude or deduce
- indexes - alphabetical listings of subjects
indices - a scientific or technical listing, or statistics
- precede - come before in time, place, or rank
proceed - advance or continue
- principal - foremost in importance, head of a school
principle - standard, rule, or ethical code
Study the meanings of the confusing word pairs. When you are ready, click on "Take the quiz" below to take a short quiz to evaluate your understanding of the confusing word pairs.
