Why Pencil Editing Is Important

Cover image
A row of longer and longer pencils.
Body

To ensure correctness in your writing, pencil editing is one of the best things you can do. Pencil editing is a proofreading technique. To do it, touch and speak each word when you edit your documents.

Here's a great example of why pencil editing is so important: 

It dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Were you able to read this paragraph? Did it matter that most of the words in this paragraph were misspelled?

If you don’t touch and speak each word when you pencil edit, you might miss spelling mistakes like these because your mind might think one thing and your eyes might see something else!

PS – University of Cambridge explains the psycholinguistic evidence on scrambled letters in reading in this article

 

Category
Professional Writing and Editing
Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
Marie Antaya avatar

By Marie Antaya, CTDP

Author of The Eclectic Writing Series.

Continue reading

woman writing and contemplating
How Much Are Your Workplace Documents Costing You?
Professional Writing and Editing, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
A "Danger Shallow Water" sign in the water.
Are Poor Spelling and Grammar Really All That Bad?
Professional Writing and Editing
A person with a questioning look.
Do You Place a Comma Before the Word "And"?
Professional Writing and Editing
A document with bulleted lists.
Use Bulleted Lists for Visual Appeal
Professional Writing and Editing, Workplace Well-being and Effectiveness
man in a suit sitting at a desk withhis right hand on his chin thinking about how to best refine his closing statment
Refining Your Closings for Better Results
Professional Writing and Editing