Proofreading has never been my idea of fun, especially when it came to my own work. In Lecture 10 (Monday, November 16th, 2009), we did a live-blogging exercise in which we watched a video-clip and had to jot down as many facts and notes we possibly could about the clip. After reading the result of the quick live-blogging exercise, it was obvious that it needed plenty of revision. This is just one example of where proofreading becomes more of a chore than anything, in my opinion. Spelling, proper agreements, and regular grammar problems are just a few of the things that one must watch out for when making corrections to a piece of work. Looking out for these errors can become very tedious and most often people become careless with proofreading and therefore, causing faults in their writing. Ghostwriter Dad has come up with 10 simple ways to stay on task when it comes to proofing your work.
Spelling has become such an ignored writing tool to correct that most people rely heavily upon the “spell-check” application that most computer writing documents come with to deal with the corrections. This can easily become an unreliable resource to take the place of actually reading the document and editing it because it may pick up on misspelled words but at the same time it can automatically change the word itself to be a completely different word. For example, Rena gives the example that when the word “definitely” is misspelt, it can be automatically replaced with the word “defiantly,” thus changing the meaning of the word and sentence completely.
I agree with you. Proofreading your own work isn't very fun, but I am finding I really enjoy correcting other student's work. Maybe it is because the words and sentence structures are new to me and I feel like I am helping. I have also noticed that many people do become careless while proofreading and this has resulted in more than a few errors in my own work getting the red tipped pen. In you post I'm not quite sure what you mean by "spelling has become such an ordinary thing," could you clarify that?
ReplyDeleteI was referring to the fact that the concept of spelling in general has been underestimated as an important tool for writers. While writers are already good at spelling, sometimes it's important to do that double check.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the topic that proofreading is not fun. Writers spend so much time just trying to get their words out, so grammatical errors are very common. Like Kristen, I have found that correcting other students work is more enjoyable than correcting my own. It feels like a new adventure, so you can pick up on smaller details more easily. You are definitely correct in saying that using "spell-check" can cause more trouble than its worth.
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