A Proofreader's Tools

Monday

Apr122010

Monday, April 12, 2010 at 8:53AM

Proofreading sounds like something anybody can do. When your mom reads your 5th grade homework, she’s proofreading it.

But professional proofreading is a specialized skill that’s as much about knowing where to find the answers as about knowing the answers.

So here’s my list of the proofreader’s must-have resources.

A Business Proofreader’s Must-Haves

AP Style is the default for almost all business communication (at least for now), so the AP Style Guide is clearly the #1 tool in a business proofreader’s arsenal. But a style guide is never enough.

The recommended dictionary for AP Style is Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th ed.)

In general, I think dictionaries are probably undervalued resources. And the New World College Dictionary is a particularly good one — easy to use, easy to find what you need, up-to-date.

Personally, the thing I have to look up most often when I’m proofreading is hyphenation. (For example, is up-to-date always hyphenated or only when it’s used as an adjectival phrase? Answer: always hyphenated).

A Book Proofreader’s Must-Haves

If you’re working on a book project, you need a slightly different batch of tools.

The Chicago Manual of Style is the standard style guide for books or book-like projects. I prefer to have a physical copy rather than an online subscription. I'm also actually holding on to my 14th edition for now, although the 15th has been out for some time.

Even if a company uses AP Style for most of their communications, I always recommend Chicago Style for books, unless there is an extremely compelling reason not to.

The dictionary preferred by academic publishers, in my experience, is the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.) The Merriam-Webster’s is more complete and has more usage notes than the New World College Dictionary. In short, it rocks.

Plus, everything a proofer needs . . .

If you really want to be serious about proofreading, you need a few other things. Here is a list of my favorites:

The Copyeditor's Handbook by Amy Einsohn. It’s where I go with thorny grammar problems. She explains things so well and so clearly. Great practice exercises, too.
A serious proofreader should also have at least one extremely giant dictionary. Webster's Unabridged (full title: Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged) is a classic, as is the Oxford English Dictionary (I’ve got a hand-me-down Compact OED from my dad, former English professor, but you can also get an online subscription).
It’s also handy to have some reference books on great writing. The Elements of Style, often called Strunk & White for the authors' last names, is the classic, but I personally prefer William Zinsser’s On Writing Well.
It’s also a good idea to have a resource about quotations so you can easily check them. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is the standard, although I happen to have the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
A usage guide can also be handy. Academic types tend to prefer Fowler’s. It can be hard to sort out the many vintages and editions, but the preferred edition is generally thought to be the second edition (full title: Fowler's Modern English Usage, 2nd ed., rev. and ed. by Sir Ernest Gowers).

By the way—Slate.com had a fun article comparing dictionaries back in 2003.

Bridget Reddick |

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