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3 Proofreading Exercises to Help You Hone Your Skills

Introduction

Taking your work from inception to publishable product requires that you perform a series of detail-oriented tasks. One of the final tasks in this process is that of proofreading. Because it is easy to miss errors in one’s own writing, experienced editors and proofreaders can help you polish your words and ideas to make sure you produce the best possible version of your work. However, being able to review a document for clarity and grammatical accuracy is a good skill to have, as it enables you to proofread as you write, review other people’s writing, and even work as a proofreader on a freelance basis.

To do any of this, however, you must first understand the differences between editing and proofreading. Editing involves an in-depth review of written work. It requires looking not only for grammatical mistakes but also for issues like inconsistency in style, voice, plot, and characterization. Because the editor must keep all these complex matters in mind, smaller inconsistencies and errors may remain even after the document has been reviewed.

That’s where proofreading comes in. Good proofreaders are detail-oriented individuals who know their grammar rules inside and out and are able to spot mistakes. Without having to worry about things like style and voice, a proofreader can focus on the mechanical aspects of writing, making sure that each word and sentence is correct.

Proofreading Exercises

Being able to successfully proofread often means you’re the type of person who spots every spelling mistake, comma splice, or formatting inconsistency. Do you think you have what it takes? If so, spot the common proofreading errors in the following three proofreading exercises to practice your skills and become a better proofreader!

Feel free to paste the text into a document editor (such as Microsoft Word) so that you can keep track of your changes. Once you’ve gone through each exercise, check your changes against the answer key below. If you want more advanced proofreading training, consider our proofreading course.

Proofreading Exercise 1:

In Greek mythology Zeus, an Olympian god, was known as the immortal ruler of both gods and men. Zeus was the son of the titans Cronos and Rhea and presided over his 5 brothers and sisters who ruled various aspect of the heavenly and earthly worlds. He was married to his sister Heera, with whom he had three children: Ares—the god of war, Hephaistos—the god of metalworking, and Hebe—the goddess of youth. Hera was often the jealous wife, and unhappy with Zeus’s many affairs with other goddesses, nymphs and mortal woman. As a result of these affairs, many ancient greek heroes and rulers were produced, such as Perseus, Hercules, and even the famous Helen of Troy. As a god, Zeus ruled over the most important aspects of nature and human society, and he controlled the laws and fates of men as well as the sky and whether. He is often called by the epithets “The Thunderer” or “Gatherer of Clouds” in the Homeric poems, his control of such natural forces were represented by his weapons and armor: Zeus was able to fight with both thunder and lightning, and the shaking of his aegis (his shield) could create terrible storms.

Proofreading Exercise 2:

Moose related deaths are on the rise in Canada. As highways expand and encroach on the habitat of Canadian wildlife, vehicle collisions with these animals are becoming more commonplace, especially in provinces, such as British Colombia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and labrador. According to Wildlifecollisions.ca, in 2014 there were four to 8 large animal vehicle collisions and hour within Canada. A large number of these collisions involve moose and deer species, so much so, that a class-action lawsuit was brought against Newfoundland’s Provincial Government for not controlling the explosive moose population in that province. In situations where average highway speeds are 100 km/hour and the average moose weighs 700 kg, collisions can be fatal for both the animal and the vehicle occupants. These types of incidents will continue to increase on the Canadian island as human populations expand alongside the moose, which is considered an invasive species on the island and has no natural predators.

Proofreading Exercise 3:

The past decade has witnessed the rise in popularity of the fictional monster known as the zombie. From movies and TV shows to iPhone apps and bestselling novels, the zombie has permeated popular culture. What if a zombie plague was possible? Surprisingly, there are quite a few scientists who have taken a serious look at the causes and probability of a zombie pandemic occurring in the real world. They have broken down the common symptoms of zombie virus sufferers to determine what might actually be going on in those half-eaten brains. The most common symptom of the zombie illness is the lumbering gait, which indicates a loss of coordination and neurological damage. This may go hand-in-hand with the classic loss of intelligence and penchant for moaning. Second, the insatiable zombie appetite for other humans could be associated with lost hyptothalamic functioning. Zombies’ rage; one-track minds; and inability to remember loved ones are all symptoms of severe brain damage as well, with different areas of the brain being effected. So, what should you do if your ever face-to-face with a zombie? Much like with T-Rex in Jurassic Park, do not run and find somewhere to hide. Zombie’s suffer from something like Bálint’s syndrome, which causes the sufferer to only see whatever requires the most attention.

Answer Key

Now let’s see how you did! You can compare your changes to the revised passages below.

Proofreading Exercise 1 Key:

In Greek mythology, Zeus, an Olympian god, was known as the immortal ruler of both gods and men. Zeus was the son of the titans Cronus and Rhea and presided over his five brothers and sisters, who ruled various aspects of the heavenly and earthly worlds. He was married to his sister Hera, with whom he had three children: Ares—the god of war, Hephaistos—the god of metalworking, and Hebe—the goddess of youth. Hera was often the jealous wife and unhappy with Zeus’ many affairs with other goddesses, nymphs, and mortal women. As a result of these affairs, many ancient Greek heroes and rulers were produced, such as Perseus, Hercules, and even the famous Helen of Troy. As a god, Zeus ruled over the most important aspects of nature and human society, and he controlled the laws and fates of men as well as the sky and weather. He is often called by the epithets “The Thunderer” or “Gatherer of Clouds” in the Homeric poems, and his control of such natural forces was represented by his weapons and armor: Zeus was able to fight with both thunder and lightning, and the shaking of his aegis (his shield) could create terrible storms.

Proofreading Exercise 2 Key:

Moose-related deaths are on the rise in Canada. As highways expand and encroach on the habitats of Canadian wildlife, vehicle collisions with Canadian wildlife are becoming more commonplace, especially in provinces such as British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador. According to Wildlifecollisions.ca (2014), in 2014 there were four to eight large animal vehicle collisions an hour within Canada. A large number of these collisions involve moose and deer species, so much so that a class-action lawsuit was brought against Newfoundland’s provincial government for not controlling the explosive moose population in that province. In situations where average highway speeds are 100 km/hour and the average moose weighs 700 kg, collisions can be fatal for both the animal and the vehicle occupants. These types of incidents will continue to increase on the Canadian island as human populations expand alongside the moose, which is considered an invasive species on the island and has no natural predators.

Proofreading Exercise 3 Key:

The past decade has witnessed the rise in popularity of the fictional monster known as the zombie. From movies and TV shows to iPhone apps and bestselling novels, the zombie has permeated popular culture. What if a zombie plague was possible? Surprisingly, there are quite a few scientists who have taken a serious look at the causes and probability of a zombie pandemic occurring in the real world. They have broken down the common symptoms of zombie-virus sufferers to determine what might actually be going on in those half-eaten brains. First, the most common symptom of the zombie illness is the lumbering gait, which indicates a loss of coordination and neurological damage. This may go hand-in-hand with the classic loss of intelligence and penchant for moaning. Second, the insatiable zombie appetite for other humans could be associated with lost hypothalamic functioning. Zombies’ rage, one-track minds, and inability to remember loved ones are all symptoms of severe brain damage as well, with different areas of the brain being affected. So, what should you do if you’re ever face-to-face with a zombie? Much like with T-Rex in Jurassic Park, do not run and find somewhere to hide. Zombies suffer from something like Bálint’s syndrome, which causes the sufferer to only see whatever requires the most attention.

Did you catch all the mistakes in these proofreading exercises?

 

Filed Under: Editing and Proofreading Tagged With: proofreading, resources, rw

6 Article Marketing Tips for Your Business

Creating content for your website is a great way to promote your business. You can indirectly promote your business and encourage readers to become customers if you provide your readers with interesting information they enjoy reading.

Articles are an excellent form of content for marketing. Articles can be any length; they provide information that customers find useful, and they can be published regularly, often in a short time. These articles must be published online strategically so they can effectively promote your business and give your website the engagement it needs to succeed.

How do you achieve this? How can you ensure your article marketing reaches your audience?

1. Give your readers something unique

Article marketing is the presentation of written material that gives customers useful information about your product. This means that the articles you write must give your customers something no one else can. This content should be unique and interesting, as well as encourage readers to visit your website again. A really good question to ask yourself when thinking about what to write about is: “How can I serve my customers?” By making it about your customers, and not about you, you will provide value.

2. Summarize your article

To convince your customers to read your article, try writing a summary paragraph to accompany the full article. Beyond a catchy headline, a summary will give your readers a better idea of what your article is about so they will be more inclined to read it. In article marketing, a summary could be the deciding factor of whether someone browsing the Internet will devote time to reading your business’s material. The one or two line summary should reinforce the headline and suggest the article’s value proposition. You want to reassure the reader that the article will be worth his or her time.

3. Build authority

Obviously, you should share your own content to your followers. However, you should also share good material from other authors. Why? Because doing so will help you build authority in your niche.

The key word here is good material. Try to find articles that will provide high value to your followers. The more value you provide, the more likely people are to trust your judgement. You will become an authority in your industry, and you will find more people willing to share your articles.

4. Publish your articles elsewhere

While it is necessary to publish your articles on your own website, it is a good idea to publish them on other websites, as well. Some websites only accept new and original guest articles, while others allow you to republish material from your site. Readers that might not have previously heard of your business can be directed to your website, opening up new possibilities for potential customers.

Where should you publish? Where your customers are, of course. Rather than just submitting your articles everywhere and hoping for the best, it’s a good idea to figure out what your potential customers are reading and submit your work there. This will have two benefits: First, you will help search engines understand what your site is about if your inbound links come from places that are semantically related to what you do. Second, the best inbound link is one that also sends you visitors.

5. Use social media to share

Social media is an excellent tool for increasing your website’s visibility and engaging in valuable article marketing. Sharing your articles regularly on these newsfeeds will remind your followers of your business and brand. As well, customers can re-share your posts to their own networks.

6. Ask for the share

If your articles are well written and informative, other websites will probably link to them or share them organically. However, it doesn’t hurt to gently remind readers occasionally to help you get the word out. This can be done via share buttons at the bottom of your page, or in your status update (e.g., if you like this piece, please share it with your friends!)

 

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: writing advice

Learn American English

The English language is now universally used in business, politics, entertainment, and other spheres. One might think this would mean the rules of English are the same throughout the world, but this is far from the case. In addition to the countless regional varieties of English spoken in various parts of the world, two major types of English exist: British and American. Many scholarly journals, businesses, and organizations prefer one variety over the other, which makes understanding the differences between them more important than ever before.

Despite the differences between the two types, learning American English does not have to be difficult. Online grammar courses are available on many websites, while schools and businesses may offer conversational courses to help eager students learn American English. Most courses introduce you to the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary that are common to many English dialects. Below, we highlight some of the major differences between British and American English.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is the most obvious difference between the varieties of spoken English. For an experienced listener, the manner of pronouncing certain words can reveal where a speaker is from. When you learn American English, take the opportunity to listen to native speakers so you can hear the way certain letters, such as r and a, are pronounced in various words (such as farther). Although pronunciation is an important difference between the varieties or dialects of English, it is difficult to describe, and is more readily understood through practice than by reading text.

Grammar

When you learn American English, you will notice that it shares most English grammar rules with the other varieties of English. However, there are some differences, as outlined below.

Nouns: Collective nouns, such as herd, group, and class, often require singular verbs (formal agreement) in American English but require plural verbs (notional agreement) in British English. For example, in American English, you would say, “The team is preparing for the big game.” By contrast, the sentence in British English would be, “The team are preparing for the big game.” To avoid confusion in situations like this, you could rewrite the sentence to read, “The team members are preparing for the big game.”

Verbs: Although various verb forms are preferred in different varieties of English, the most common difference is the spelling of certain past tense verb forms. For example, in British English, irregular forms such as spoilt, smelt, and leapt are preferred, while those who learn American English should be careful to use the regular forms—spoiled, smelled, and leaped.

Prepositions: The usage and meaning of prepositions can vary between different forms of English. One common difference is how in and on are used. An American athlete plays on a team, while a British athlete plays in a team. The intricacies of prepositions, like those of verbs, are complex, so be sure to address these when editing your writing.

Vocabulary

All varieties of English share an extensive common vocabulary, but certain differences do exist. Many of these have to do with new concepts or inventions from the 19th century on. For example, an elevator in the United States is a lift in the United Kingdom. Other common examples of usage in American English/British English are given below.

cookie/biscuit, called/rang, cell phone/mobile, soccer/football, gas/petrol

Additionally, some words—especially slang words—have different meanings in various parts of the English-speaking world. Some of these meanings can be considered quite offensive, so the use of slang should be limited.

Spelling and Punctuation

The final category of differences involves those in written language. Although these differences may seem to be the smallest or least meaningful, they are actually the most noticeable in written English. If you are writing for an American audience, the following differences are vital in producing a polished final product.

Spelling (o or ou): Many words in American English are spelled with an o (e.g., neighbor or favor), while their British English counterparts may contain an ou combination (e.g., neighbour or favour)

Spelling (-er or –re): When you learn American English, please note that many words end in

–er (e.g., center or meter) rather than the British English ending of –re (e.g., centre or metre)

Spelling (-ize or –ise): Many American English words are spelled using an –ize ending (e.g., authorize or organize), but both endings are used in British English, with –ise being more common (e.g., authorise or organise).

Punctuation: When you learn American English, you will notice that quotations are typically surrounded by double quotation marks “like this,”while in British English they may appear in single quotation marks ‘like this’. In American English, the periods and commas are placed within the closing quotation mark, but in British English, they are placed after the closing quotation mark. American English calls for the use of a period (called a full stop in British English) after most abbreviations such as Mr., which is often not the case in British English. Despite these (and other) differences, punctuation is more common between varieties of English than is spelling.

The differences between American English and other varieties may seem intimidating at first. The points noted above are some of the most common differences, and understanding them can go a long way toward helping you learn American English.

Filed Under: Grammar Tagged With: grammar

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