Your mentor or boss may have told you in the past you have to proofread your work before submitting it. Though you didn’t admit it at the time, it is possible that you asked yourself these questions: What is proofreading anyhow? What’s involved in the proofreading process? Why should I bother?
You might know that proofreading doesn’t demand in-depth adjustments or fact-checking which proofreading isn’t the same as editing.
Among the matters clouding people’s understanding of what proofreading entails is the fact that the word is used differently in various fields. Asking”What’s utopian?” To someone at the publishing career, by way of instance, will likely garner a very distinct response than asking someone in a university.
Someone from the publishing business would see proofreading because of the last possible chance to revise a manuscript before it is published and printed. The proofreader compares the proofs–printed versions of this manuscript, including all of the formatting, page numbers, headers, etc., that will be contained in the final edition–using all the edited copy to make sure that no errors are introduced from the formatting or printing.
The term proofreading has taken on a definition different from the role it performs in the book of manuscripts.
What most individuals are speaking about when they use the word proofreading is the practice of checking a document for virtually any grammatical, typographical, or grammatical mistakes. Proofreading should always be the last step taken before a record is printed online, handed into a professor, submitted for a project application, or shared with the intended viewer.
The future of the law industry, like almost every other, will see a total immersion of assistive technology and software. The challenges facing our profession simply demand it. Clients having knowledge at their fingertips mean easy access to understanding but lessening acceptance for the inefficiencies of the profession.
In the eyes of the client, editing, proofreading legal documents and the unseen elements are less tolerable given the advancements of technology. While the world adapts to technological immersion, Loio offers the legal industry the chance to do the same. Eliminating proofreading inefficiencies is one of the more obvious time savers and ought to be addressed by client and staff conscious firms.
How to Improve Efficient Proofreading Legal Documents?
Cost, reputation, competition, and commoditization are just some of the factors requiring lawyers and legal proofreaders to improve processes to more economical models. Here we provide a list of proofreading legal documents tips including what Loio can provide to ensure each firm can make adjustments where needed.
Take a Between Writing and Editing
Regardless of legal proofreading experience, writing a document and then launching straight into editing often means mistakes are missed. Your brain is already associated with what the text is supposed to say and thinks it can scan quickly with little regard for detail. Taking a break is the simplest and one of the most effective tips for proofreading legal documents.
Maintain a Consistent Style
Proofreading legal documents often go before many different eyes before the final draft emerges. Each individual has preferences and biases. This often leads the readers to make editorial changes in accordance with their style causing incongruence among the team. Save time by selecting the styles, fonts, grammar, paragraphs, and capitalization of your client. When this is the accepted practice, the writer employs this from the beginning meaning there is no need to change throughout.
Read Your Document Aloud
Legal proofreading is not devoid of the simplest of grammatical and sense-making errors. Although basic, reading aloud saves time and embarrassment in the future by highlighting sentences and areas that simply do not make sense.
Proofreading Legal Documents Backwards
Due to familiarity with the overall meaning of individual documents and occasional reversion to scanning, errors can be missed. By starting at the last sentence of your document or paragraph, legal proofreaders mark each item in isolation without bias to meaning.
Incorporate Technologies like Loio
Proofreading legal documents tips would not be complete without offering a digital solution. Loio is the accountability partner that every legal proofreader should consider.
Loio is a Microsoft Word add-in that scans your legal documents for all errors including spelling, headers, numbering formatting. It even makes suggestions on how to fix the mistakes or errors you might have overlooked.
Proofreading legal documents and new technologies are no longer exclusive to high paying firms as Loio offers a cost-effective, affordable option regardless of size and budget. There is a three-month free trial to optimize processes and keep clients satisfied. Stay ahead in your profession by adopting cutting edge technologies early!