Editing With Checklists

Whenever I begin editing a new project, the first thing I do is create a checklist. The items on the list vary, depending on the nature of the project. A checklist for editing a novel will look very different from those used to edit academic journal articles or training materials. Based on the document's requirements, I create a list of items to check. It's good practice for anyone who has to review manuscripts, and I'd be lost without my checklist.

Why do the extra work? The first reason is because our eyes can't spot all the errors at once. It's easier to do multiple passes through a document, each time focusing on a different thing. The first and second passes through a document, I can decide whether the content and organization make sense without worrying about capitalization or punctuation. Also, although I advocate for having a dedicated editor, using a checklist helps you to distance yourself from your own work when there's no one else around to proof it. 

The checklist doesn't have to be long or complicated. Here are some sample items from a checklist I used to edit training materials:

• Is the document set up correctly for double-sided printing?
• How's the spacing on each page?
• Have titles been capitalized correctly? What about proper nouns?
• Are headers and footers accurate and consistent?
• Are internal headings consistent?
• In bulleted items, is the format correct and used consistently? Do the items all have a parallel structure?
• Are tables, figures, and visuals numbered correctly and consistently?
• Are numbers and acronyms correct and used consistently throughout?
• Is the document punctuated correctly?
• Are there misspellings?
• Are there grammatical errors?

The next time you have to edit your own work or someone else's, take a few minutes and create a simple checklist. You'll be glad you did.

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