Checked and Re-checked Your Writing? Establish a Brand as an Author (Step Five)

Before you start writing your article, you should decide if you want to use spelling and grammar as it is used in the United States or in the United Kingdom. If you are a native speaker of either side of the big pond, that decision is an easy one to make. If on the other hand English is an acquired language, the decision has to be made and stuck to. My primary language is German, and I acquired my English in school. We were taught British English, and that has made me decide to go with British spelling standards. There is another aspect to this decision; I am used to use certain idiomatic words like autumn, and not fall, and there are many Americanisms I don’t even know. Using US spelling with British expressions makes for odd reading; this is something you’ll have to consider when making your choice.

I write on Microsoft Word and use Thesaurus as a primary check on spelling and grammar. It is not perfect but keeps me out of trouble most of the time. This kind of check is but the first step of several when you proofread your writing before publishing. Before you let go of your brain child, make sure you get everything right.

One check you have to run is on any figures you may have included in your article. Are the correct figures there in the first place? And are the conversions into other currencies or measurements correct? Did you use dates in a consistent format? And did you use AD and BC or CE and BCE, and did you apply the same throughout the article and indeed throughout all your articles?

The next check you have to go through with is about using the correct word for the correct meaning. Even native English speakers are not always sure of the concise use of certain words, and checking words you are not sure of for their correct use is time well spent. For British English, The Oxford Dictionary is the correct source for any definition; for American English you could use The New Oxford American Dictionary. Both are included in Kindle should you consider buying one.

Special care should be given to any words you had to translate with Google Translate. Make sure you got the right one, not just the one Google happened to put at the top of its list. There are many sites on the Internet that offer you lists of synonyms. Don’t use these synonyms without first making sure that their meaning is consistent with what you mean. There are more wrong ‘synonyms’ proposed on such sites than there are correct ones. The problem with synonyms applied in the wrong context is the reason why article spinners don’t work.

The final step of your proof reading is to put aside the article for some time and do something else. When you come back to it after an hour or two or even a day or two, start reading it again. You are now able to find the spelling mistakes you missed before; like the single o standing there where you wanted to write to, or the likes that had become lies. Try to read your article with fresh eyes and as if you knew nothing about what you are going to read about. It will help you find inconsistencies and leaps of faith where explanations might be helpful. Once you have eliminated typos and filled the holes in your logic you are ready to publish.

Sources and further reading:
What is in a Name? Establish a Brand as an Author (Step One)
Did You Get the Picture? Establish a Brand as an Author (Step Two)
What Kind of Expert Are You? Establish a Brand as an Author (Step Three)
Quality Over Quantity? Establish a Brand as an Author (Step Four)
What Kind of Brand Are You?