Why Proofread?

So by now, you may be wondering why I spend so much time talking about, writing about, and actually proofreading. Here are just a few of the reasons I think proofreading helps you:

• You Learn Stuff. When you work on developing proofreading skills, not only do you continually learn grammar rules, but if you start reading more for recreation, you learn about people, places, and things outside of your small circle.
• You Enhance Your Grammar Skills. Once you start paying attention to what you’re reading and figure out why something is wrong (or why it is right when you didn’t think it was), you are developing your grammar skills. And then you can help others develop their grammar skills. Particularly if you do it nicely as a teaching/learning moment, you can share what you know with others. Just don’t be a jerk about it. Everyone makes mistakes and if you use it to teach them, they will likely pay attention.  If they think they are being attacked or you treat them like they’re stupid, they will not learn and will continue in the way they know (and they’ll think you’re a jerk and won’t listen to you the next time either).
• You See The Big Picture. Whether you work in a law office, a bank, or any other industry, if you pay attention to the documents you are proofreading, you can learn more about the industry, about your cases, about legal strategy, and about your career. It’s important to see the big picture in everything you do rather than working in a vacuum of just your specific tasks. Find out WHY you do things a certain way. Discover what happens after you’ve done your part. Figure out what others have done before it reached you. Find the place that you fit in the flow from beginning to end.
• You Could Become More Valuable. With text speak and teachers being forced to teach skills to pass standardized exams and not skills that people actually need, a person with a good grasp of grammar and the ability to correct other work will become even more valuable. People judge and I’m pretty sure that no one in your firm wants to be looked upon as having bad grammar.
• You Make Your Firm Look Good. My motto has always been that everything that leaves my office is a reflection of me–whether I’ve touched it or not. Anyone who knows you and knows where you work associates you with that firm. If the things that your firm files or sends to opposing counsel have glaring errors, people (including the judge) may have a very different perception of your firm and all the people in it. That perception goes both ways and I want my firm’s reputation to be that we do quality work.
• You Feel Good. I love that people whom I worked with 10 years ago still email me for proofreading advice. I’ve developed a reputation for quality work product and for actually caring about every document that I touch. That has consistently shown up in reviews, raises, and the respect I receive from others.

 Proofreading is a skill that can be learned and should be practiced. It is something that may well change your life (or perhaps only if you’re a nerd like me). So keep learning, keep practicing, and keep honing that skill.

Follow