So you have just finished writing an article. What now? The next step is to proofread your work to ensure that it meets its best potential. We understand, though, that most of us have deadlines to meet, so you’re probably looking into ways to get this task done fast.
If you are strapped for time, then here’s a quick solution: those who are only looking into double-checking basic grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors can try out Grammarly’s free plan. Those who require further proofreading features can sign up for a Grammarly Premium account.
What Is Proofreading?
In a nutshell, proofreading is the act of reading through a written piece to make sure that it doesn’t contain any errors that might have been missed at the time of writing. After all, it can be easy to overlook small mistakes like spelling or punctuation when you’re chasing your ideas to write them down.
You can always do it yourself. However, it is ideal to seek a professional proofreader’s assistance, especially if it’s an important document.
Different Factors to Consider
There are four factors that you should consider before proofreading:
- Time: First is your article’s deadline. You shouldn’t proofread your article right after writing it. You should ideally wait for a day or two before doing it so that you can look at your article with fresh eyes. This is why it’s a good idea to hire a proofreader to do it for you during tight deadlines.
- Skill Level: One of the most common misconceptions regarding proofreading is that it’s very easy to do. In reality, it’s not. It also requires a certain skill level to get it done efficiently, much like writing and editing.
- Article Length: Another important factor to consider is the length of the piece you’re going to proofread. Understandably, the more words the article has, the longer it will take for you to go through it. By the way, we will focus on a 1000-word length.
- Article Type: Finally, the length is not the only determinant of how long it will take to proofread a piece. You should also consider what type of article it is because some types are definitely more challenging to check than others.
Different Types of Articles and Average Proofreading Time
The proofreading projects that we receive can generally be categorized into three article or project types:
- Fiction: Fiction is probably the easiest type to proofread. A 1000-word piece takes about an hour to complete depending on the writer’s skill.
- Non-Fiction: A non-fiction piece will definitely take longer since, aside from the usual errors (grammar, punctuation, and spelling), you might need to fact-check the article as well.
Jargon can be exceptionally challenging to proofread, especially for legal and medical topics that you simply can’t afford to make a mistake. A 1000-word non-fiction piece can take at least a couple of hours to complete depending on the proofreader’s proficiency in the topic.
- Bibliography: Speaking of non-fiction work, some clients require proofreading for their bibliography rather than the article body itself. This may also take a while to go through since it is the proofreader’s task to ensure that each citation is formatted correctly.
Author names, reference titles, publishing location, and dates also need to be checked. A 1000-word bibliography can take several hours to complete depending on the number of entries.
Proofreading Tools to Make It Faster
Yes, proofreading can be a painstaking task due to the attention to detail it requires. Fortunately, there are many online tools and applications that you can use to make the task faster and easier.
Grammarly
This is our go-to tool since, as mentioned, its free plan is already pretty efficient to catch common mistakes. Those who need advanced suggestions, especially for non-fiction pieces that require a level of formality can consider signing up for their premium plan. Finally, those who want to share their account with other users will find their business plan to be a better deal.
Wordrake, Grammark, and Edit Minion
Grammarly is not the only proofreading tool in the market. Some of our other favorites include Wordrake, Grammark, and Edit Minion.
Other Options
You can also hire professional proofreaders at online job marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr. They usually charge per hour or project.
You can also check out proofreading advice from universities if you want to refine your proofreading skills. NYU, for instance, has a great article about developing proofreading habits.
To Sum Up
Proofreading is an essential step that a written article must go through before publishing. It ensures that your piece is free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling issues at the very least.
There are various factors to consider when proofreading. For instance, the type of article can significantly impact how long you’ll be able to go through a 1000-word piece. On average, though, it can take a couple of hours to proofread an article of this length.
Finally, you can always utilize online tools like Grammarly or hire a professional proofreader if you need extra help. Good luck!
