How to avoid typos?

[Person24]

I have noticed that I have a very hard time noticing my own typos at work. When I was in school I would make sure I finished assignments with a few days to spare so I could proof my work with fresh eyes before I submitted it. I do not have the time to do this sort of thing at work. At least 3/4 of the things I do need to be submitted ASAP. This means I can't hold on to things for days. I am starting to get frustrated. I work very hard on the substance of my work and then devalue it with stupid typos. Any tips or suggestions?

 

[Amys Bling]

I find printing it out and reading it on paper helps..

 

[marcy]

I do exactly what Amy suggests - I find I catch a lot more things when I have a hard copy to proof read.

 

[Enerchi]

Has your spell check been disabled on your computer? I know you can turn it on and off... check to see its on?

 

[Person24]

Spell check is not disabled. I do print out and proof. I think what happens is that because I have been working on it for so long my brain thinks it says what it should (and if spell check doesn't catch it) either do I. Blah.

 

[Enerchi]

Spell check is not disabled. I do print out and proof. I think what happens is that because I have been working on it for so long my brain thinks it says what it should (and if spell check doesn't catch it) either do I. Blah.

Yup, I think I agree with you on this! You become so connected to the piece that you read and reread and you still don't see anything obvious because you are so familiar with it!

Is it at all possible to forward it to a coworker prior to printing it, just so a different pair of eyes can view it, and you offer to do the same for them? Just thinking of options....

 

[VapidLapid]

Try changing the font and size just for the proofing, that way it will be already less familiar and you'll have to look more closely.

 

[neatfreak]

Read it out loud. Seems stupid, but it makes your brain process it differently than if you were just reading it to yourself and you'll catch typos.

 

[VRBeauty]

I read with a ruler or something covering each line as I finish it (i.e. the ruler is above the line I'm reading.) That slows me down, and helps keep my eyes "on task."

 

[Pandora II]

Can you get someone else to proof-read for you?

My husband is terrible for typos and other errors, I'm a pedant and spot them most of the time very easily. I proof read anything important for him.

 

[Matata]

Old editor's trick: read it backwards.

 

[Octavia]

The same thing happens to me sometimes. One thing I find helpful is to turn on the editor's marks setting in Word -- I don't know the actual name of it, but the icon is a paragraph mark (the backward P with two vertical lines). It inserts a dot where each space is, and a paragraph symbol where every line break is. Having the symbols there forces me to slow down my reading, so I can catch more of my mistakes. Whenever I proofread for my boss, I ALWAYS use this setting because he is notorious for adding extra spaces all over the place and they can be hard to catch otherwise.

 

[Echidna]

Combination of Matata and Neatfreak's advice: read it backwards AND out loud. You will feel silly but it works!

 

[Amys Bling]

I like the reading backwards idea!!

 

[Person24]

Thanks for the ideas everyone! I will try them out on Monday! I think I am going to try different font and size, reading outloud and backwards!! That should change the document enough to make me catch the flaws!