Humanize AI Text: “What is Proofreading?”

During their work as online proofreaders, editors, and rewriters, the proofreading experts at Editly have mastered the art of humanizing AI text. In Humanize AI Text with Editly, they draw on their experience to offer a glimpse of the differences between a 100% AI text and a 100% human text. In this post, we take on a topic that is very close to our hearts—proofreading.

ChatGPT Text Answer to “What is Proofreading?” 

Proofreading is the process of reviewing and correcting written material to ensure it is free of errors before it is published or shared. This final stage of the editing process focuses on surface errors such as mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting. Unlike more extensive editing, which may involve reorganizing content and improving clarity and style, proofreading is primarily concerned with the accuracy and consistency of the text. Here's a closer look at what proofreading entails:

Key Aspects of Proofreading

• Grammar and Syntax: Checking for correct sentence structure, verb tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and proper use of articles and prepositions.
• Spelling: Identifying and correcting misspelled words, including those that are not caught by spell-check because they are homophones (e.g., "their" vs. "there" vs. "they’re") or specialized terminology.
• Punctuation: Ensuring the correct use of commas, periods, semicolons, colons, dashes, and other punctuation marks to improve readability and prevent ambiguity.
• Formatting: Verifying consistency in font size, style, margins, and headings, as well as adherence to specific formatting guidelines (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago Style) if applicable.
• Consistency: Checking for consistency in terminology, capitalization, numerals, hyphenation, and overall style choices throughout the document.

Importance of Proofreading

• Professionalism: Errors in a document can distract readers and undermine the author's credibility. Proofreading helps present a polished and professional final product.
• Clarity and Readability: Mistakes in a text can obscure meaning and make it difficult for the reader to understand the intended message. Proofreading ensures that the content is clear and easy to follow.
• Accuracy: Especially important in academic, technical, and scientific writing, proofreading ensures that information is accurately presented and that citations and references are correctly formatted.

Methods of Proofreading

• Manual Proofreading: Reading the text carefully, often multiple times, to catch and correct errors. Some proofreaders print a hard copy for this purpose, as it can be easier to spot mistakes on paper than on a screen.
• Digital Tools: Utilizing software and digital tools that check for spelling and grammar errors. However, these tools are not infallible and may not catch every mistake or understand the context well enough to suggest accurate corrections.
• Professional Proofreaders: Engaging the services of a professional proofreader, who can bring expertise, experience, and an unbiased eye to the task.

Effective proofreading is a crucial step in the writing process, ensuring that the final document is polished and free of errors that could detract from its effectiveness or professionalism. (398 words)

Human Rewrite of the ChatGPT Text Response

The final stage of the editing process, proofreading involves reviewing and correcting surface errors such as grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting mistakes. Unlike more extensive editing, proofreading is primarily concerned with the accuracy and consistency of the text.

Key Aspects of Proofreading

• Grammar and Syntax: Checking for correct sentence structure, verb tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and proper use of articles and prepositions.
• Spelling: Identifying and correcting misspelled words.
• Punctuation: Ensuring the correct use of punctuation marks to improve readability and prevent ambiguity.
• Formatting: Verifying consistency in font size, style, margins, and headings, as well as adherence to specific formatting guidelines (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago Style).
• Consistency: Checking for uniformity of terminology, capitalization, numerals, hyphenation, and overall style choices.

Importance of Proofreading

• Professionalism: Errors can distract readers and undermine the author's credibility. 
• Clarity and Readability: Mistakes in a text can obscure meaning for the reader. Proofreading ensures that content is clear and easy to follow.
• Accuracy: Especially important in academic, technical, and scientific writing, proofreading ensures that information and citations are accurately and properly presented.

Methods of Proofreading

• Manual Proofreading: Reading the text carefully, often multiple times, to catch and correct errors.
• Digital Tools: Utilizing software and digital tools that check for spelling and grammar errors. 
• Professional Proofreaders: Engaging the services of a professional proofreader who can bring expertise, experience, and an unbiased eye to the task.

Effective proofreading is a crucial step in the writing process, ensuring that the final document is polished and free of errors that could detract from its effectiveness or professionalism. (255 words)

The AI Text vs the Humanized Text

In On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing, William Zinsser advised writers to “Examine every word you put on paper. You'll find a surprising number that don't serve any purpose.” While ChatGPT may have “read” this classic text, the message seems to have escaped it. Indeed, the ChatGPT response to the straightforward question weighed in at 398 words. On the other hand, the human rewritten version is only 255 words—or 36% shorter. Beneath the large number here is the process of eliminating repetition and extraneous information, as well as utilizing specific words in favor of longer, more generic phrases. (For a more thorough look into how to humanize AI text, you can check out our post "How to Humanize AI Text.")

You, too, can practice these skills and become proficient at humanizing texts. But, if you would like some help, then don’t wait to get started on Editly.