One thing that we have all learned is that mistakes happen. However, there is one type of mistake that I cannot accept – typos. I’m one of those people who find typos everywhere – magazines, newspapers, websites, books, etc. I’m an avid reader and when I find a mistake in a book it stops me in my tracks and I find it difficult to move past it. I often find myself wondering how many people were involved in the review process, and how it could slip past each person. This article on CNN.com outlines how a little typo can have a big impact:
The theory seems to be that, in e-mails and instant messages and various other forms of digital discourse, speed counts for more than accuracy, and those whose blood pressures rise when they see such typos are stodgy, ancient, out of touch. The contemporary attitude is: Who cares if a few words are mistyped?
We live in an incredibly fast paced world, but I don’t think that speed should be an excuse for sloppiness. The examples in the article show how a “little typo” can become an embarrassing, high-profile problem.
In a related article on CNN.com you can see some benefits of being a stickler
Image from Flickr user pnoeric
for typos. Doesn’t this make you want to run out and find a high-profile typo?
In my previous post, I discussed the benefits of writing quickly – but typos may be an unintentional result of that process. As a speed writer myself, I have learned two tricks that have saved me from many a lazy typo.
Once I complete my document and have finished my review of it:
- I read my document backwards. Reading each word separately from the end to the beginning of your document allows you to side step that pesky trait of ours that allows you to read the word you intended to write, and not the word that you actually typed.
- I read my document out loud. When you read out loud you tend to slow down and pay more attention to the actual words on the page, which can help you notice a typo that slipped past you before.
What tips and tricks can you share for catching typos?
I feel your pain. I also find typos everywhere and they bother me to a point that is probably not even rational. Imagine my amusement to find a typo in this very article! You write, “…I have learned two tricks that has saved me from many a lazy typo.” One trick would make the use of “has” correct. Two tricks requires use of the word “have”. Intentional mistake? Goodness, I hope not. I guess my best tip would be to have a third party read an article prior to publishing
I’m in the market for a proofing gig…interested?
Well, Tammy, consider me embarrassed. As the person responsible for a proofread prior to publishing (and believe me, given the subject matter of the post, I paid particularly close attention), that’s one that I should have caught. Kudos to your keen eye! Updated – and my hat tips to you.
It just goes to show that even when looking specifically for typos and grammatical errors, they can still slip through. I’m reminded, in this instance, of this graphic that I saw at Bits & Pieces. The brain does tricky things when it wants to read things a certain way – which can contribute to editing challenges. In this instance, mine insisted that it actually read “have” instead of “has” – thanks for pointing it out.