I read a lot and I like to think I do OK with writing - but - my pride (and I blew off the high school semester for typing) makes me think I don’t need to. Yet, my perfectionism makes me reread and I always need to edit.
I think nothing of error testing code.
I guess if it were easier I’d have more incentive - maybe.
I’ve picked up some oddball habits along the way the necessitate proofing. Sometimes I throw what I wrote through a text-to-speech tool to make sure that I don’t miss words, double up on words, or have somehow ended up changing tenses after revising a sentence a few times. It helps especially when your mind sees one thing after reading it over and over again, and it actually says something else.
Example:
If you read this sentence, you might see that the
the wording is a little odd, and may need to be reviewed.
i have two styles of writing – fast and loose, such as when i reply to emails or post on forums, and careful, dare i say painstaking, such as for formal articles
i revise and edit both types of output, and i find i make roughly the same number of errors no matter which style i’ve used
but errors i do make, and i am loathe to let anything out the door, as it were, if it has spelling or grammatical whoopsies
my greatest skill, and this is not a boast, seems to be the ability to spot errors, and i think it is because i have two styles of reading – quick, for comprehension, and intensive, where i see each and every error
one of my dirty little secrets is that i read a lot of library books, and will gleefully red pencil the errors in them – you’d think that after going through the professional proofreaders at a publishing house, most books will be error-free, but few really are
the “if you read this sentence” example is one that never gets past me
here’s another example, let’s see how you all do on this one:[indent]this sentance has three errrors[/indent]
I think some of my resistance has to do with the limitations I’m used to.
Both false-positives and false-negatives for spelling.
If there is something that checks grammar too I would try that.
I use a spell and grammar checker but only because it forces me to re-read my content. Often I pick up homonyms or find sentence or paragraph structure that doesn’t stand up to muster.
It is always good advice to suggest that someone use them as long as they also understand that even the best software will miss many of the details that make good content better.
I also use a speech to text program to hear what I’ve written read back. Sometimes I read something to Ed and either he, I, or both of us find little somethings out of place.
Another item that comes in handy, if you are writing more than one page, is a writer’s style guide. This is NOT css. For instance, when writing for clients, one client may prefer “web site” and another “website”. One may prefer “Internet” and another “internet”. The jury is still out, so all are correct, but it is important to the flow of the content that same words are the same from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, and page to page. A style guide can also serve as a tip sheet to make sure that commonly confused words are used correctly (e.g. there, they’re, and their) and punctuation is consistent.
BTW – Rudy’s sentence should read: This sentence has three errors.
i don’t believe you found all three errors 
I’ve become known around my office as a good person to have proof-read something if you want it to go out perfect, and a bad person to have proof-read something if you want it to go out quickly
here’s another example, let’s see how you all do on this one:[indent]this sentance has three errrors[/indent]
They why does your entire post contain NO capitalization and NO punctuation? 
dude, it’s called poetic licence, style, what-evah
apparently you missed the part of my post where i described how i have two styles of writing, and only one of them is formal
well, at least you understood the little hidden whoopsie 
Oh well, yes I did.
You wrote:
“this sentance has three errrors[.]”
Actually there are four errors.
“This sentence has three errors.”
In my opinion, the word “has” should also have been replaced with the word “contains”, but that is really a matter of preference, not correction.
you still didn’t get it, and you are letting the punctuation get in the way
okay, if you would kindly have a bit of patience, please forgive me, and i will re-state the question
how many errors do you see now --[indent]This sentance has three errrors.[/indent]now you guys won’t get all hung up on the cosmetics and you can start to focus on what the purpose of the exercise was, to spot actual errors
Oooh, nasty catch-22…
i called it a whoopsie a while back, and i’m glad it rung you up more than once
see, that was the whole point of the example, before the typography and punctuation zealots grabbed aholt of it – to actually think while proofreading (and yes, i wanted to deliberately split that infinitive)
Okay, okay… I get it now. If you correct it, the sentence is error free. Sheesh Rudy!
um… how should i put this…
no
Well then, draw me a picture.
:tup: Rudy
paradox
Mike:
(and Rudy, too.)
This sentence has no errors.
Fix’d 