Effective editing is a skill that needs a keen attention to detail and brilliant focus, whether you are copy editing or proofreading.  You need a strong grasp of grammar, punctuation and spelling and you need an interest in language.

Here are some pointers to help you proofread effectively.

• If you are editing a Word document, changing the text into a different font onscreen can help you notice errors that you missed before.
• Always get a good night’s sleep before you edit. Copy editing and proofreading may seem like relaxing reading, but the nature of the work is deceptive.
• Read the material through at least twice. Ideally a proofreader will read once at ‘normal’ reading speed in order to catch grammatical errors, and then a second time much more slowly, comparing the material against the original proof (i.e. before the material was typeset).
• Some proofreaders find that it helps them to read out loud.
• Check spellings against a dictionary and keep a good grammar book to hand.  Even the best editors need reference books.  Your memory can’t hold onto every grammar rule.
• Use a ruler or cover the text you haven’t read yet with a sheet of paper.  Even the professionals need this to make sure their eyes don’t slip to a lower line on the page.
• If necessary, read through looking for just one type of error on each ‘pass’, e.g. one time you might look for typology problems, another time you will simply look at spelling, or capital letters or grammar.
• You might find it useful to keep a magnifying glass in your desk or nearby, so that you can check the smallest text (e.g. 9pts or smaller).
• If you are proofreading a book, remember to check all the page numbers at the end, proofread the index.  Do the page numbers in the index agree with the appearance of the words in the text?  Proofread the Contents page – again checking that the page numbers for each entry are correct.
• Read guides to correct English and grammar books. If you’re not interested in the rules of correct written communication then you’re not going to excel as an editor.

These are just a few handy hints to help you edit effectively.  Are there any other issues you have been concerned about?  Have you been given any useful tips that you find useful for editing?  If so, please share you experiences using the comments boxes below.