Proofing Makes Perfect
It is hard for most people to proof their own writing. I am no exception. For my professional prose, I hire a proofreader to check my work. For this blog, I rely on the gracious input from family members — albeit only after something has been posted.
Often they alert me to egregious errors, such as the wrong word spelled rightly, incorrect word usage, a missing word, or stating something in the negative when I intended the positive. Once I have been so enlightened, I quickly correct the offense. Those who read this blog via email miss the corrections, but those who delay their reading are often benefactors of the revisions.
A minor case in point occurred yesterday. When I used the word "addon" I briefly contemplated whether a hyphen was in order. However, before a determination could be made, I was distracted and forget to deliberate further. It was posted as "addon."
My bride, one of my three primary familial proofers, was quick to posit that it should have been hyphenated as "add-on."
Since both looked correct to me, I consulted Google. A search for each rendering showed 19.9 million entries using "addon" and 33.9 million entries using "add-on." The online dictionaries that were consulted, as well as Microsoft Word, all confirmed that a hyphen was in order. Even so, I am in good company in using the alternate version. [I once similarly used Google to research the meaning of the word "relective," but that is another story.]
In this instance, I will not go back and correct my error — preserving it for posterity so that you who are so inclined may go and check it out.
Often they alert me to egregious errors, such as the wrong word spelled rightly, incorrect word usage, a missing word, or stating something in the negative when I intended the positive. Once I have been so enlightened, I quickly correct the offense. Those who read this blog via email miss the corrections, but those who delay their reading are often benefactors of the revisions.
A minor case in point occurred yesterday. When I used the word "addon" I briefly contemplated whether a hyphen was in order. However, before a determination could be made, I was distracted and forget to deliberate further. It was posted as "addon."
My bride, one of my three primary familial proofers, was quick to posit that it should have been hyphenated as "add-on."
Since both looked correct to me, I consulted Google. A search for each rendering showed 19.9 million entries using "addon" and 33.9 million entries using "add-on." The online dictionaries that were consulted, as well as Microsoft Word, all confirmed that a hyphen was in order. Even so, I am in good company in using the alternate version. [I once similarly used Google to research the meaning of the word "relective," but that is another story.]
In this instance, I will not go back and correct my error — preserving it for posterity so that you who are so inclined may go and check it out.
Posted by Peter DeHaan at 12/15/2009 10:42 AM 
Categories: Writing, Family, Blogging
Tags: proof reading Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
Categories: Writing, Family, Blogging
Tags: proof reading Peter DeHaan blog author Peter DeHaan Peter DeHaan Musings Musings of Peter DeHaan
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