What Does a Proofreader Even Do?

We've talked before about the different levels of editing, including proofreading. You know that proofreaders have sharp eyes and that they correct errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, formatting, etc. 

But you may still be wondering, "What does a proofreader actually do?"

Well, the simplest answer I can give is that we correct what is wrong and investigate what might be wrong. 

Proofreaders only fix what is technically incorrect according to basic rules and a specific style guide; they leave everything else alone. Word choice, paragraph organization, voice—these things should have already been taken care of in previous editing phases. We're down to the nitty-gritty now. 

A proofreader is knowledgeable and experienced enough to see obvious errors right away and apply the proper fixes. If the writer uses there instead of their or uses a comma to splice two sentences together, those are easy corrections to make.

But a proofreader does more than just read through the text and pick out the blatant mistakes. They read carefully, word by word, pulling apart the text and putting it back together. Some errors like to hide, and others are too prevalent to fix individually. Three different spellings of the same word will take some time to suss out and reconcile. The proofreader will have to use the search function to find and fix things like double spaces or a mixture of curly and straight quotation marks. 

And there are some errors that take a bit of digging to excavate. These are often dependent on context. Should this word be hyphenated, one word, or two words? If it's an academic document, do the references adhere to the specified referencing system? Did the writer use depraved when they really meant deprived? (There's a big difference!)

Here's a little secret I've revealed on my social media pages before: we proofreaders don't know the answer to every single grammar or punctuation conundrum off the tops of our heads. 

Yes, professional proofreaders study hard and are quite knowledgeable about the English language. We know the basic rules intimately. But there simply isn't enough room in one person's brain to carry the information from every dictionary and style guide. 

What proofreaders do know better than most people is how to find those answers. We have the tools and resources many people don't have. When you hire a proofreader, what you're actually doing is hiring an expert researcher. 

If there's even a tiny bit of doubt about the spelling or usage of a word, we look it up. If the basic punctuation rules leave wiggle room in a certain situation, we check it against your particular style guide. 

Every sentence is an investigation, and proofreaders are the lead detectives. 

Proofreaders dig into the minutiae of your writing so you don't have to. It's so much more than just an extra set of eyes.