Article: To be an online proofreader, or any proofreader, requires a love of reading. You should enjoy reading several forms of writing and become familiar with a number of writing styles, as well as acquire knowledge in a broad range of subjects. Proofing online text successfully requires a knowledge of correct word usage and punctuation, spelling words correctly and recognizing common word confusions ("then" for "than," etc.), and understanding what the writer intended to say through careful re-reading of the text. Website text you'll proofread will either be sent to you by email, or you'll be given access to a site where the draft text can be downloaded from or edited directly. If you download the text to your computer, you'll need to be familiar with the proofreading and editing tools in your word processing program, such as Microsoft Word's "Track Changes" and "Insert Comments" features. If you proofread the text directly, you'll need to learn whatever online proofing tool you'll be asked to use. Some clients may instead prefer you to print out the text, proofread it manually, then fax it back. In those cases, you'll need to know how to use a printer and fax, as well as the symbols used in proofreading and copyediting by hand. At a minimum, high school courses in English, journalism, and literature will give you a foundation in the language and proofreading skills you'll need to have. You can supplement this knowledge with courses at a college or university, a community college, or online, as well as with online tutorials. Online classes are available from such organizations as eLearners, Universalclass.com, and Mediabistro.com. While classes can give you a foundation in English, the organizations you'll be working with often adopt an established style guide or create their own in-house guide. At a minimum, you should become familiar with the AP Style Guide, used by most newspapers and online news organizations and many websites, and the Yahoo Style Guide, used by many other organizations with a Web presence. Other stylebooks to consider include the Chicago Manual of Style, the New York Times Manual of Style, and the AMA Manual of Style. For an overall refresher on usage, read "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk and E.B. White. In addition to the style manuals listed above, you should have a dictionary and thesaurus and, depending on the clients you plan to work for, specialized dictionaries of medical, scientific, legal, or financial terminology. You should also become familiar with and bookmark reference websites such as Dictionary.com; however, it can sometimes be faster or more effective to look something up in a book than online. Look at books, newspapers, websites, and even the text displayed on TV news programs and commercials with a critical eye. This will teach you to spot errors in spelling, punctuation, and usage of words.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Be well-read. Understand the specific skills required of an online proofreader. Develop your computer skills. Consider formal training as a proofreader. Familiarize yourself with several stylebooks. Build a reference library. Practice your proofreading skills on what you read.