Proofreading your custom training course is probably as important as the content that you are putting into it. While grammatical and typo errors in your course should not compromise your level of expertise, it can have a negative effect on the effectivity and success of the learning process.
First of all, typo and grammatical errors can be distracting. Noticing the errors can keep your focus from the lesson. And this is IF the learners can recognize the typo and grammatical mistakes. What if your errors provide learners with the wrong facts and concepts? They might get the wrong conclusions from the lesson.
Take for instance the wrong use of a comma. “Let’s eat, grandpa” and “let’s eat grandpa” mean two different things. You need to be careful about how you will use punctuation marks and tenses. Sentence construction is very important for your message to be received well. Even typos can completely alter what you mean. “How to destroy a boat” and “how to destroy a goat” can attract different learners to your custom training course.
Now all of the confusion and wrong information brought about by wrong typos and grammar construction can be avoided if you only proofread your course. However, proofreading is not that easy and can sometimes still make you miss out the errors in your custom training program. To avoid this, here are some tips that you can use to help make this task easier.
- Take a break before you proofread your course. After spending hours looking at your course, it will be very tiring to proofread it all over again. Sometimes, the feeling of tiredness would make us scan the text faster than we should. That could make us miss a couple of errors. It is advised that if you finish creating the training course today, take some time off and do your proofreading tomorrow.
- Read the text aloud. In most cases, you will identify any grammatical errors if you read it out loud. If it does not sound right, then you need to check if your grammar is correct. In most cases, the sentence construction needs revising.
- Start from the end. This is a great tip for those who are checking for typo errors. Reading from the end will make your brain think that it is reading something new. That will make it more attentive and observant – which will make it easier for you to find any errors.
- Stay away from distractions. This is very important. If you are in a noisy room, your mind could go in and out of focus as you are reading the custom training course. It will make you miss out on any corrections that you should be making. Go to a place where you can concentrate well. If you do it correctly, you do not have to spend too much time proofreading.
- Ask someone to help you out. Sometimes, a new pair of eyes can help a lot. They do not know what you are trying to say so they will tend to focus on every word. Since you created the text, your brain could go over any typos and grammatical errors and correct them in your mind – thus making you miss out on any corrections that should be done. A fresh set of eyes could eliminate this danger.
- Use the dictionary or thesaurus. In case you are not sure about a spelling or if you are using the right word, the do not hesitate to consult the ever trustworthy dictionary or thesaurus. It will really help speed things along if you stop guessing and just consult the books.
Using these tips should help you conduct an effective proofreading of your custom training course. That way, you can deliver the best lesson to your learners.
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