OST164
TEXT EDITING APPLICATIONS
Chapter 1 - Keyboarding Errors
Pages 1-38
Proofreading is the examination of a
document to find errors that should be
corrected.
Proofreading tasks range form simple to
complex – from checking to see that
nothing was omitted to checking for
consistency in format.
FOUR APPROACHES TO PROOFREADING

Verification proofreading – involves comparing the final
copy with a previous draft to make sure that the material
has been keyboarded correctly. This is the easiest form of
proofreading.

Partnership proofreading – involves two people – the
document preparer reads aloud form the draft as a second
person verifies the final copy. Although time-consuming,
the partnership approach is often the best method for
proofreading statistical and technical documents.

Proofreading on the computer screen – must adjust to
viewing material on the computer screen - must be adept at
using various software tools that can assist you in detecting
errors in written copy.

Proofreading without an original document – most
challenging form of proofreading – you must check the
content word for word.
MOST COMMON KEYBOARDING ERRORS

Misstrokes – striking the wrong key.
Please complete the sales tax from. (form)

Omissions – accidentally omitting keystrokes or
words.
Write the check as soon possible. (omitted “as”)

Repetitions – adding unneeded keystrokes.
Look on the the Web site. (“the” repeated)
Spell checkers
• A spell checker usually will not detect errors in misused but
correctly spelled words such as from and form because both of
these words are in the software dictionary.
• A spell check will detect unfamiliar proper nouns. If you use
certain names frequently, you should add them to your software
dictionary.
PROOFREADING NAMES




Always verify a person’s name. Misspelling a
person’s name can be embarrassing for you and
offensive to the person.
Check the spelling of each part of a person’s
name individually.
Verify possible alternative spellings of names
such as Stephen or Steven, Katherine or
Catherine.
When using courtesy titles, make sure the
appropriate one is used: Mr. - Ms. – Miss - Mrs. or Dr.
PROOFREADING ADDRESSES



Striking the incorrect key can misdirect your mail
and cause a delay in delivery.
Make sure the last line of an address includes only
the city, state, and ZIP code.
- Two-letter state abbreviations should be all caps
with no periods or spaces between the letters.
- Leave one space between the state abbreviations
and the ZIP code. Madison, WI 53715
- A ZIP code may have a four-code number to
designate specific addresses within a delivery
area.
Madison, WI 53715-2395
For international addresses, make sure the country
name appears by itself on the last line of the address.
Foster Tours
Suite 28 Market Square
4218 Market Avenue, Makati City 1273
PHILLIPPINES
PROOFREADING TELEPHONE NUMBERS
An error in recording or transcribing a telephone
number can be costly. A search for the correct
number can be time-consuming and fruitless.
 There are several acceptable formats for
telephone numbers:
Hyphenated
803-555-3219
Parentheses
(803) 555-3219

Periods added

803.555.3219
International telephone numbers may have a
sequence of three or four numbers: an
international access code + a country code + a
city code + a local number.
PROOFREADING OTHER NUMBERS


Numbers are used frequently in writing dates, ages,
decimal fractions, dollar amounts, times of day, and
weights and measures.
Spell checkers will not find typographical errors in
numbers.

Check all numbers as a separate proofreading step.

Make sure the numbers make sense.

Check to be sure that all parts of the numbers are aligned.


When proofreading several columns, read down each
column, not across from left to right.
Make sure the numbers have the appropriate number of
digits.
PROOFREADING FOR OMISSIONS

You must read for more than sense – you must read
for accuracy.
I do not want to attend the conference in San Diego.
I do want to attend the conference in San Diego.
Enclosed is my check for $95 for one year’s subscription.
Enclosed is my check for $995 for one year’s subscription.

The revision symbol used to insert omitted copy is
the caret ( ).
a
 To insert a character:
net = neat

To insert a word:
the
in morning = in the morning
PROOFREADING FOR REPETITIONS


The spell-check feature of most word processing software
highlights repetitions of letters that result in misspelled
words.
The revision symbol used to insert omitted copy is the
caret ( ).
Delete a letter: thought = though
Delete a word:

wrote two two checks
Sometimes when words are repeated, it is correct; and
sometimes, it may be incorrect.
Correct:
I am sure that, that is what I need now.
Incorrect: He went to to the store.
Note the comma
that separates the
repeated words.
TRANSPOSITIONS






Some word processing software has an automatic
correction feature.
If that feature is turned on, a word like “teh” would
automatically be changed to “the”.
When you proofread, you can spot transpositions by
reading “word for word” and “letter for letter.”
A spell check will not detect transpositions that spell
actual words.
trail – trial
lost – lots
quiet – quite
Spell checkers will detect most transpositions in words,
they will not detect transpositions in numbers.
The revision symbol for transposing copy (
) indicates
that items should change places.
teh next holiday
most the of staff
PROOFREADING MARKS FOR SPACING

To add a space, use the (
#
) and ( #) symbol.
atthe
(

To delete a space, use the
symbol.
)
(
at
the
)
)
To leave only one space instead of two spaces, use
the
symbol.
)

ba nk
PROOFREADING FOR CORRECT SPACING
There is NO space before:
Punctuation Mark
Example
A period
Jay went to the store.
A question mark
What is Tad’s last name?
An exclamation point
Jessica’s speak was awesome!
A colon
They are: medical, legal, and retail.
A semicolon
Ken is 42; Joe is 52,
A closing quotation mark
The article “Vanish” was great.
A closing bracket/parenthesis
All employees (over 65) will get one.
A hyphen
He is a high-ranking official.
PROOFREADING FOR CORRECT SPACING
There is NO space after:
Punctuation Mark
Example
A period, question mark, or
The contract should read “on or
exclamation point when followed before April 1.”
by another punctuation mark.
An opening bracket/parenthesis
All employees (except first-year
employees) receive two weeks’ paid
vacation.
A opening quotation mark
Liz asked, “Who is chairing this
event?”
A closing bracket/parenthesis
when followed by another
punctuation mark.
Mike Elmore gave the talk (don’t
you know him?).
An asterisk in a footnote.
*Based on current census data.
PROOFREADING FOR CORRECT SPACING
There is NO space before or after:
Punctuation Mark
Example
An apostrophe with a word.
It’s our responsibility to provide
quality patient care.
A decimal point within a
number.
Grant Memorial handles 67.5
percent of all trauma cases.
A dash (or hyphens representing Contact Andy Chou-he’s our
a dash) within a sentence.
attorney-and get his opinion.
A colon expressing time.
His flight will arrive at 12:45 p.m.
A colon expressing a ratio.
Our product was favored by 3:1 as
reported in the daily news.
A diagonal.
Raymond is the owner/manager.
A comma within a number.
We received 1,105 responses.
PROOFREADING FOR CORRECT SPACING
There is NO space between:
Punctuation Mark
Example
A punctuation mark and closing
quotation marks, except for a
closing single quotation mark.
“I propose we expand our product
line,” Randy said.
Two hyphens used as a dash.
Most baseball players—including
rookies—are well paid.
There is ONE space between:
Punctuation Mark
Single and double quotations
marks.
Example
Lyle said, “What we need is someone
who can attract important clients-a
‘rainmaker.’ ”
PROOFREADING FOR CORRECT SPACING
There is ONE space before:
Punctuation Mark
An opening bracket or
parenthesis within a sentence.
Example
Barry Setzer (he’s our manager)
made the decision.
An opening quotation mark with Chelsea asked, “Who will conduct
a sentence.
the research?”
There is ONE space after:
Punctuation Mark
An abbreviation ending in a
period within a sentence.
Example
All orders were shipped C.O.D.
unless otherwise noted.
A period, question mark, or
We won the contract. Now the
exclamation mark at the end of challenge begins.
a sentence. NOTE The book says 1 or 2 spaces – but it is always 1 space.
CORRECTION: PAGE 27 - #9 (A-G)
In this section, it states that
you can have one or two
spaces. Always put ONE.