Proof reader's Rant

(sorry RSS people, I hit ctrl- enter after writing half the subject instead of apostrophe and it posted)

So I sometimes get asked to proof read things and edit things, partially because I have an inflated sense of my own English language abilities. In elementary school, I used to love the grammar pink panther exercises as well as Amidon workbooks. I was also the only kid in my 8th grade English class to raise my hand when the teacher asked who liked to diagram sentences... I didn't realize until I put my hand up that nobody else was nerdy enough to admit it even if they did.

Anyway so I'm ranting because I'm correcting a section of a group project that isn't my own, but so far they've just left it, so I'm overnight and punchy and cranky and venting.

First of all, if English is your strongest language, you should at least read it yourself before giving it to someone else to proof read. Preferably you should read it yourself Out Loud, you'll catch things that way. It's super irritating to correct things that ordinary people should be able to know.

Second, if English is ~not~ your strongest language, that is understandable. There is this thing called Spell Check and Grammar Check in word! Even in emails! Anything that has a red underline?? It's misspelled! At ~least~ there should be no underlines before you ask someone to proof it. If your grammar makes you put words in the wrong places, that's understandable. But at least figure out how to spell the words in red correctly. And the grammar check should be run as well, just in case you know what they mean. I don't want to correct things that you can easily do yourself. It's just a waste of my time.


Grrr.