Crystal Clear Proofing: Trusting Your Eyes

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Trusting Your Eyes

Mnay of you hvae sene tihs tpye of pargarpah bfeore. The etnrie piont is taht it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. And I'm nto eevn srue abuot taht! The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit too mcuh porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Since we're able to read the above paragraph, it provides an excellent example of just how easy it is to miss errors. It's important to be consciously aware of what you're doing when going over your work; don't rely solely on your eyes!

16 comments:

AnonymousAugust 11, 2010 at 7:06:00 AM CDT
CCP - There was a really interesting study of exactly this question. A researcher tested people to see how they process what they read and it turns out that part of our processing ('though not all of it, of course) is "top-down." That is, we get the general sense of what we're reading, rather than focusing on decoding words. So when a word is missing or spelled differently, we mentally "fill in the blanks." It's really interesting.
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Mason CanyonAugust 11, 2010 at 7:32:00 AM CDT
Crystal, it always worries me when I can read paragraphs like that without any problem. LOL
I have to read and reread my writing several times to cut down on how many mistakes I do have in it.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
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JournoMichAugust 11, 2010 at 7:35:00 AM CDT
It's scary how easily I could read that! And when word processing spell checkers don't catch them...Humans are the only option left! So pick several of them, I suppose is the lesson.

Michele
Writers Jailed today on SouthernCityMysteries
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Old KittyAugust 11, 2010 at 8:01:00 AM CDT
LOL!! I'm all cross-eyed now! It really is amazing what eyes would read and transmit to the brain!!

take care
x
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Willsin RoweAugust 11, 2010 at 8:38:00 AM CDT
Even given the jumbling of letters, "important" still doesn't have an 'e' in it, though...
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Carol KilgoreAugust 11, 2010 at 9:44:00 AM CDT
So true. I'm very thankful for my wonderful critique partners. And editor.
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UnknownAugust 11, 2010 at 9:50:00 AM CDT
Margot: Sounds like an interesting study! I'd love to find that and learn more of the results!

Mason and Michele: It IS scary, isn't it? It really makes you realize how very easy it is to miss things. Also, as you pointed out, Michele, if you use, for example, hear instead of here, spell check won't catch that.

Old Kitty: LOL! ♥

Willsin: Welcome!...and...OOPS! Thanks for pointing that out! I actually found the paragraph online and simply copied and pasted it – another excellent example of the importance of proofreading! I will never again just assume that something I find like this is 'okay as is'... !

Carol: Gives you a whole new appreciation for critique partners and editors, doesn't it? :)
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SouthpawAugust 11, 2010 at 10:34:00 AM CDT
That’s why we love editors and line editors.
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Terry OdellAugust 11, 2010 at 10:37:00 AM CDT
Helps to start at the bottom of the page (or the last page) and read backward for editing. While it doesn't avoid the 'brain sees what it wants' issue totally, it does help remove context from the mix.

Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery
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AnonymousAugust 11, 2010 at 12:57:00 PM CDT
Thank God for good editors and proof readers. I've had a few really good ones. Without them I'd be a mess.

Stephen Tremp
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Alex J. CavanaughAugust 11, 2010 at 1:45:00 PM CDT
Believe me, I don't trust my own eyes!
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Creative ChroniclerAugust 11, 2010 at 7:22:00 PM CDT
I seen this before. It always amazes me. I love it!
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Elizabeth Spann CraigAugust 12, 2010 at 7:43:00 AM CDT
I could read it perfectly! Good point, Crystal. :) Reading aloud definitely helps, or passing it through a great editor, like yourself.
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UnknownAugust 12, 2010 at 8:11:00 AM CDT
Holly: ♥

Terry: Reading backward is one oldest "tricks" in the proverbial book. I remember teachers stressing that this be done before handing in a paper.

Stephen: LOL! A mess, huh? Hopefully you held on to those few good editors you found! :)

Alex: Mmmm...I hear you have a pretty good editor! :)

CC: I know. Every time I see this it still amazes me!

Elizabeth: Aww...thank you so much for the compliment! Made my day!
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Talli RolandAugust 12, 2010 at 9:52:00 AM CDT
I love that paragraph! Thanks for the reminder to read more carefully when editing.
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Susan FieldsAugust 12, 2010 at 6:53:00 PM CDT
Excellent point! I'm amazed at how easy it was to read that paragraph...the human mind really is incredible.
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I.E AND E.G.
Thank you! I've never know what those meant or how to properly use them!

JOINT AND SEPARATE POSSESSION
Thank you so much! I had a hard time finding what joint and seperate possession means! Once again, thank you!

WAIT AND AWAIT
Oh, I love this site! Do you have a past post about lay, lie and all that good stuff?

This is a very clear and succinct explanation of the distinction between the two words."

LAY AND LIE
OMG! This is GREAT!!! I might actually understand it now! Thanks so much, Crystal. This is an awesome site!

You have a great way of explaining words. Your blog is a wonderful source for writers. I'll have to search your post to see if you have "affect" "effect", I know I use those improperly often.

AFFECT AND EFFECT
Thank you for this great post! I have printed it to keep it handy. Hopefully, it will positively affect my future writing.

Thanks for this post Crystal. I was going to actually email you and request that you explain the difference between these two, because these are usually a problem for me. Thanks again!

Another classic, Crystal Clear explanation...this tutorial contains some subtle nuances well worth being reminded of. Thanks!

THAT AND WHICH
Another excellent grammar lesson!

You are really rockin' this grammar instruction! I am currently working on a short story for class, which must be submitted this week, and this was very helpful. Did I get it right? (Note from CCP: she did get it right!)

WHO AND WHOM
Perfect! Got it...I keep all these tutorials in a bookmarked file now.

Great tutorial!! I'm saving this one.

Another great tutorial.

QUOTATION MARKS
Great post. Good tips about punctuation.

AWHILE AND A WHILE
Another fine tutorial. Got it added to my Clear as a Crystal file.

What a wonderful tip!

Oh!!! Those examples are perfect and it really makes sense now. Thanks!

APOSTROPHE USE WITH POSSESSIVE NOUNS
Excellent and very thorough. Got this one copied and stored along with ALL your tutorials in my Crystal Clear Writing folder. :)

Another excellent post. I always have trouble with these.

Now that my eyes have re-focused after glazing over, I can say that this is why writers need to hire editors--So they don't have to think too much about grammar. I can't keep all the darn rules straight in my head. Thanks for doing what you do. I am cutting and pasting this into a new word file for grammar tips.

Good one! I'm tweeting this.

Clear and concise. Thanks.

That possessive S has at some points been the bane of my existence...so thanks for this.

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LEVELS OF EDITING
Crystal, great explanation and post today - I copied it as a word doc and stored it in my "Crystal Clear" file.

You've written a wonderful post that throws light on a rather mysterious (to me) subject.

ONE WORD VS. TWO WORDS
Another great post.

Thanks for sharing this list and clarifying these points.

WRITING DATES AND TIMES
Writing dates and times is always confusing for me, so I really appreciate this, Crystal! Thanks.

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PREPOSITIONS
Excellent tutorial, got it saved as usual.

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SEMICOLONS
Another great and much needed post for people like me. This is why you are the Grammar Goddess!

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COLONS
As always, awesome advice and clarification.

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Helpful as always. Thanks.

DASHES
You should really turn your blog into a book. Now THAT is a grammar book I would buy!

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Most helpful. I just had to change a host of en dashes to em dashes in my ms.

HYPHENS
Thank you very much for this post!

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OVER THE TOP AWARD
Congratulations, you and your blog are "Over the Top."

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FIFTEEN PUNCTUATION FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Great summary.

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EFFECTIVE WRITING
I think this is one of my favorite rules post yet. So helpful!! May have to post this one on my desk too, I know I'll get one of those flip book easels so I can have all your post handy and in my face to remind me. I need that, you are an editor extraodinaire!!!

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CLAUSES
Thanks! I love these tutorials.

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CHALLENGES
Great idea for a proofreader post!

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***************************************************************************************** "Editors and proof readers are the unrecognized support structure of books. Without them, books would take authors twice as long to complete." Comment left by Leigh Russell (CRIME FICTION)