Give Your Copy the
Finger
Now, come on: you know that's not
what I mean. This is a trick for copyediting that might come in handy,
especially if you've written something in a hurry but it has to be perfect.
This is what newspaper editors do to
make sure they don't have a highly embarrassing misspelled word in a headline.
It's a good technique for proofreading blurbs and subheads on an important memo
for the office, or a sales brochure.
Take what you've written, and run
your index finger underneath it, from left to right, starting with the first
line, and continuing to the bottom. As your finger zooms along underneath the
words, your eyes should be zooming along, too, checking for accuracy, and your
brain should be speed-reading your text
to make sure it's OK.
It's a
great way to catch typographical errors and missing words. There's something
about the multisensory approach - combining your sense of touch in the movement
of your finger with your sense of sight as you read - that's a powerful polisher
of written words.
By Susan Darst Williams • www.GoBigEd.com • Grammar Granny
024 • © 2006
