Things to Know Before Using Free Online Proofreading Services
Everybody loves being given a freebie. Regardless of value or use to us we always tend to gravitate towards free options when possible. Studies have uncovered that when we get something for free we ignore the downsides of the transaction, giving us a false sense that what we are receiving is of much higher value than it really is.
In the case of proofreading services this is particularly true. There are countless platforms for free online proofreading out there but using them can actually be counterproductive to the standard of your material. In order to understand why this is we need to look further into how free online services actually work.
First of all, these services are most likely automated and so this means they rely on computers, not humans, to spot and correct mistakes. They work based on an algorithm, which is basically a set of rules, to distinguish these ‘mistakes’.
This is where accuracy levels dip as the algorithm cannot take into account the contextual background of the text or the tone that you are trying to achieve. Mistakes may slip through the net unnoticed or the computer may find errors that are not really errors when you take into consideration the context of your text. It has no way of knowing who your audience is and what you are trying to convey to them. Slightly problematic.
If you are looking for something on a similar level to Microsoft Word spell checker...to point out obvious spelling or punctuation mistakes, then free online platforms may be of some use. They won’t, however, notice the majority of grammar mistakes, such as tense problems or awkward sentence construction.
It doesn’t just stop there. Free editing services will also not notice many misused words such as whether it is “affect” or “effect”, or “ensuring” or “insuring”. You will have to check these for yourself, along with making sure that apostrophes are placed correctly. For example, whether it’s “your” or “you’re”, or if it should be “its” or “it’s”. These are common issues that professional proofreaders will spot instantly, although you can’t be so sure with free platforms.
Compound words such as “notebook” could be incorrectly written as “note book” but not be considered as a mistake by free checkers. Same goes for missing words or articles; “There is cat on the table”. We all know that it should be “there is a cat on the table” but sometimes when skimming over our own work we also skim over mistakes. Don’t expect free platforms to notice this for you!
Proofreading over your own work is simply not effective as your eyes may skim over errors, assuming that they aren’t there. For a more reliable proofread it is imperative to have someone else (preferably a professional) to read it over, although it can be rather costly and time consuming.
This is where eAngel comes in. A proofreading service that provides accurate editing by real professionals with a rapid turnaround. Affordable due to the fact that charges are worked out according to number of mistakes and at very low rates. If your text is relatively error free then you will pay next to nothing but still receive a top notch service. Can be easily implemented into your everyday life by setting it up to correct all of your emails before they are sent on to the recipient. This unique platform is suitable for any type of text and can be useful for absolutely everyone.
Next time think twice and don’t just go with your instinct that tells you that the free option will be more valuable to you, because it won’t!
Have a look at our next article about what makes a quality proofreading service.