The mentality of a great proofreader is as important to their work as their knowledge of spelling and grammar. Often almost instinctive, the qualities that make a great proofreader or proofreading service are subtle and can be elusive. Follow our guide for some top tips to first-class proofreading and copyediting.

Attention to detail

Any editor or proofreader will tell you that attention to detail comes top of the list of important qualities to aspire to. Copyediting and proofreading services are all about picking up the tiny details a writer may have missed in their own text.

Some people think that proofreading and copyediting are all about changing glaring errors and picking up obvious mistakes, but in fact the true skill of the proofreader is their ability to notice the much smaller, subtler mistakes that most others would miss.

Proofreading services must pick up on errors like homophones, commonly misplaced words that sound the same as the word the writer meant to use but are actually spelt differently. Such errors are tricky to proofread and require great attention to detail, as they do not jump out immediately as misspelled words.

Patience

Another skill you might not automatically associate with an editor but which is in fact a key part of the master proofreader’s mentality is sheer patience.

Proofreading might seem like the quick check-through at the end of the more long and difficult process of writing, but in fact to thoroughly and comprehensively check through and edit an essay requires a great deal of patience and a slow, steady process of checking every single word and sentence one by one.

Editors providing top proofreading services will often check through a document two or three times before they are completely satisfied, requiring a great deal of patience indeed!

Consistency

Finally, for a top proofreading or essay editing job, consistency is essential. The quirks and variations of language are such that there will always be situations in which a writer has choices to make, whether in the use of a certain system of referencing, American or English spelling, the use of punctuation and so on.

An essential aspect of professional proofreading is ensuring that whatever choice is made for these variations is consistently applied throughout the text or essay, ensuring a high-class academic or professional finish.