Any tips on getting better at paying attention to detail and proofreading? I’m in transactional law and it seems like no matter how much I try, I miss some silly mistakes when editing. I hate looking like an idiot when a partner catches something I should’ve caught. I’m starting at a new firm and want to start off on the right foot. Any tips or resources would be great!

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Read it from back to front, one sentence at a time. It’s silly but prevents you from anticipating what it “should” say rather than was it actually says.

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I second this!

Once you’re done with a draft, leave it for a couple hours, or even a day if you can. Then come back to it with “fresh eyes.” You will catch more typos that way!

likehelpfulsmart

I help proofread for the attorneys I support as fresh set of eyes.

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I know it wastes a lot of paper but I had a law professor who insisted that the best way to catch mistakes is to print and take a red pen and go word by word while reading aloud.

If you have an iPad with the pencil maybe that would be helpful too? At least that’s a more environmentally-friendly option.

likesmarthelpful

I always print when I proofread too

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Read aloud feature on word is helpful for me

likehelpful

Stress management. High anxiety has caused me to miss some things. Also , print out the document to proofread.

likehelpful

Thank you, that’s true!

Love these suggestions. I’ve also found reading out loud to help me.

likehelpful

Yes! Definitely.

Highlight the entire document in Word. Check each sentence individually and un-highlight that sentence once you’ve confirmed it to be error-free. If you’re not sure of anything, leave it highlighted and return to it at the end. This was a tip given to me by a partner at my first summer law job during law school - gold!

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Wow genius!! This makes a lot of sense. Thank you, will try this as well.

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Read backwards to catch typos! You can either do by sentence or word. When you read normally your brain will predict what's coming next making it more difficult to notice issues.

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If the doc is on word, I take an 11 x 8 piece of paper (turn it sideways) and put it against your screen. The paper fits just enough so you can see 1-2 lines at a time. This is how I was taught to proof (except to print it off and do it that way but that’s a waste of paper). Also, word has a “Read” feature (I have a friend who is vision impaired who showed me this). So you can have word read the doc while you listen to it. Oftentimes, you catch words that don’t make sense while you read along and hear someone read to you.

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Thank you! Super helpful!

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Thank you so much ladies. I’m going to try reading out loud and the backwards reading.

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Print the doc, use a pen to write a check mark next to every detail/word changed. Do it at least two times. I’ve killed plenty trees, but it simply works best.

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Do all of you who suggest reading backwards do this for say an entire credit agreement or are you referring to shorter documents? I want to get better at these kinds of mistakes but don’t know where to find extra time to read a 160 page document backwards.

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Usually just certain sections. The whole document backwards would take forever!

I also zoom in on the document so that the text is big. I catch misspellings and punctuation issues much easier that way.

likehelpful

It takes a lot of discipline, but read word by word with a pen under each word in hard copy form out loud. Can be a truly painful exercise but it works.

likefunny

Agreed. I do that on my iPad - has the same effect due to the move from typing to handwriting.

There are apps that will read the document out loud to you. Do that and listen carefully. After that, set it down, take a break, and then come back to it and review the formatting and words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

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Make a checklist of things to look for and fix - section references, consistent formatting, use of defined terms, use of shall (and eliminate as many as possible), table of contents, how you deal w numbers - spell out vs actual numbers vs both - basically anything you’ve been corrected on. Use the find function and run through your list before finalizing a doc. There is also software out there that looks fit these kinds of things.

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Very helpful. Thank you!

This is going to sound a little silly, but read it out loud. When you read it out loud, you actually read it as opposed to skimming what you already know it contains. You’ll find little mistakes when you’re reading it out loud.

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Oh and I should have mentioned, print it and read from the printed version. Don’t read it from a screen.

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Printing and editing with a colored pen, reading from front to back and back to front, and reading it out loud usually helps!

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Change the font and print it out. (The font changing is just for printing - you don’t have to keep it in comic sans.)

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I know several partners who exclusively review paper copies so they can pull out a ruler or straight lime and read word by word (often with checkmarks or proofreading marks along the way)

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