Refining and polishing your corporate documents
Okay, so you’ve written your copy and ready to upload to your website or send to the printer but have you checked for mistakes?
At Lucid Lingo, we can proofread and edit your documents to ensure they are mistake-free and ready for publishing.
Proofreading
As the writer, it’s easy to overlook small errors – typos, spelling mistakes, punctuation slip-ups, that missing or misplaced apostrophe, the ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’ or ‘its’ instead of it’s.
Proofreading is vital but doing it yourself can lead to over-sights because you are too familiar with the text. What’s more, you can’t fully rely on spell check or other software editing tools.
The more effective approach is to use a fresh pair of eyes; an impartial and experienced proofreader who can pay close attention to detail.
When we proofread your draft, we’ll identify and correct typographical, grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
We’ll also make sure page numbers are correct, proof the table of contents, check the alignment of pictures and tables, and check to see if your cross-references are correct.
Editing
Editing is about ensuring your written copy is optimised for your target audience. Some of the areas we’d examine include:
Content
- Are you writing with your target reader in mind?
- Are your ideas explained clearly?
- Are complex concepts explained in an easy-to-follow manner?
- Are your descriptions precise and not vague and ambiguous?
- Are you being relevant througout and not diverging?
- Are you delivering your core messages succinctly?
Organisation
- Are you presenting a logical flow of information?
- Are your sections and subsections built around a central theme and clearly delineated?
- Are your headings and subheadings meaningful and eye-catching?
- Is your line of reasoning easy to follow?
- Is your information broken down into easily digestible chunks that are carefully sign-posted?
- Are you being consistent?
Language
- Is the tone and style of your language suitable for your target readers?
- Are your sentences punchy and focused and not rambling?
- Are your paragraphs succinct, containing no more than one main point?
- Are you adopting plain English principles and avoiding jargon, corporate-speak and gobbledegook?
- Are you using specific, descriptive and engaging words?
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About plain English
Oxford Guide to plain English:
"The writing and setting out of essential information in a way that gives a co-operative, motivated person a good chance of understanding it at first reading, and in the same sense as the writer meant it to be understood"
