Proofreading Courses: What to Avoid.
So, you're looking for a proofreading course. You've heard that proofreaders can earn as much as 24 an hour for just checking documents for spelling mistakes and grammatical missteps. Well, you heard right, proofreaders can earn as much as 24 an hour for checking documents. But there's no 'just' about it.
To become a proofreader, it goes without saying that you'll need to have a sound grasp of grammar, an extensive vocabulary and a keen eye for detail. But you'll also need a thorough understanding of proof readers' marks and access to a reliable proofreading methodology. To acquire these latter two essential components, you're going to need an effective proofreading course.
The good news is there's lots of proofreading courses out there. The bad news is... well, there's lots proofreading courses out there. Just Google 'proofreading course' or 'proofreading courses' and brace yourself for a flood of websites clamouring for your attention, not to mention your hard-earned cash. The problem is how to choose.
Well, you'll have to weigh up the pros and cons of each proofreading course for yourself, but here are two things that should set alarm bells ringing.
1. Proofreading Exercises
Any proofreading course which is padded-out with pages and pages of proofreading exercises is not offering you good value for money.
What passes for a proofreading exercise in most of these courses is usually a few chapters harvested from some public domain novel, like Pride and Prejudice or Tess of the D'Urbervilles, crammed full of screamingly obvious spelling mistakes and grammatical blunders. Such exercises have cost their creators nothing to produce, as the original material is out of copyright, hence free to use, and deliberately 'incorrecting' a proof requires nothing in the way of time, effort or expertise. That they then expect you to pay for these materials is nothing short of outrageous.
A more fundamental problem with these exercises is that they don't actually reflect the kind of work you are likely to be offered in the real world. The likelihood of you being presented with a proof that is overflowing with easy-to-spot clangers is vanishingly remote. In reality, the proofs you will be checking will have been produced by professionals keen to keep their error rate to an absolute minimum.
So, where to go for proofreading exercises? Well, if you want proofreading exercises that reflect the real world, there's only one place to go. The real world. Offer your services, gratis, to anyone who is looking for proofreading assistance. Writing forums are ripe with these kinds of opportunities. You'll have no difficulty at all finding a budding novelist eager to have his manuscript made submission-ready. Plus, as well as providing genuine proofreading experience, you can also request testimonials in exchange for your free services, and use these on your website or resume to promote yourself or your business.
2. Grammar and English Usage Guidance
Any proofreading course with an extensive 'grammar and English usage" section should be viewed with extreme suspicion. I recently came across a proofreading course which boasted about 40 pages of guidance relating to grammar. When I worked out the cost per page of this course, it emerged that its authors were charging an astonishing 27 for a pale shadow of the kind of information you could get hold of for less than 7 if you were to purchase a copy of the excellent Fowler's Modern English Usage. You could even grab a second-hand copy of this excellent resource for a couple of pounds. Or why not make the most of the many free resources available online? The Plain English Campaign website is particularly useful in this respect.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Best of luck with your proofreading ambitions!
To become a proofreader, it goes without saying that you'll need to have a sound grasp of grammar, an extensive vocabulary and a keen eye for detail. But you'll also need a thorough understanding of proof readers' marks and access to a reliable proofreading methodology. To acquire these latter two essential components, you're going to need an effective proofreading course.
The good news is there's lots of proofreading courses out there. The bad news is... well, there's lots proofreading courses out there. Just Google 'proofreading course' or 'proofreading courses' and brace yourself for a flood of websites clamouring for your attention, not to mention your hard-earned cash. The problem is how to choose.
Well, you'll have to weigh up the pros and cons of each proofreading course for yourself, but here are two things that should set alarm bells ringing.
1. Proofreading Exercises
Any proofreading course which is padded-out with pages and pages of proofreading exercises is not offering you good value for money.
What passes for a proofreading exercise in most of these courses is usually a few chapters harvested from some public domain novel, like Pride and Prejudice or Tess of the D'Urbervilles, crammed full of screamingly obvious spelling mistakes and grammatical blunders. Such exercises have cost their creators nothing to produce, as the original material is out of copyright, hence free to use, and deliberately 'incorrecting' a proof requires nothing in the way of time, effort or expertise. That they then expect you to pay for these materials is nothing short of outrageous.
A more fundamental problem with these exercises is that they don't actually reflect the kind of work you are likely to be offered in the real world. The likelihood of you being presented with a proof that is overflowing with easy-to-spot clangers is vanishingly remote. In reality, the proofs you will be checking will have been produced by professionals keen to keep their error rate to an absolute minimum.
So, where to go for proofreading exercises? Well, if you want proofreading exercises that reflect the real world, there's only one place to go. The real world. Offer your services, gratis, to anyone who is looking for proofreading assistance. Writing forums are ripe with these kinds of opportunities. You'll have no difficulty at all finding a budding novelist eager to have his manuscript made submission-ready. Plus, as well as providing genuine proofreading experience, you can also request testimonials in exchange for your free services, and use these on your website or resume to promote yourself or your business.
2. Grammar and English Usage Guidance
Any proofreading course with an extensive 'grammar and English usage" section should be viewed with extreme suspicion. I recently came across a proofreading course which boasted about 40 pages of guidance relating to grammar. When I worked out the cost per page of this course, it emerged that its authors were charging an astonishing 27 for a pale shadow of the kind of information you could get hold of for less than 7 if you were to purchase a copy of the excellent Fowler's Modern English Usage. You could even grab a second-hand copy of this excellent resource for a couple of pounds. Or why not make the most of the many free resources available online? The Plain English Campaign website is particularly useful in this respect.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Best of luck with your proofreading ambitions!
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