Correction 101

With origin in Latin, the term correction refers to the action and the results of correcting. This verb, for its part, refers to rectify or reverse a failure or an error. For example: “I must correct this text before sending it to the editor”, “There was a problem correcting the book and it was published with a spelling mistake on the first page”, “The correction of the trajectory of the ball was not enough and he ended up entering the goal».

It is also known as correction to the process of control and modification that a person with authority performs on an evaluation or a text. In this sense, teachers are the ones who are in charge of correcting the exams they take for their students, while an editor is the subject who is dedicated to correcting the articles written by a writer or a journalist: “The correction of the exam will be ready for tomorrow”, “I am tired of the correction being so strict”.

According to abbreviationfinder.org, correctness is, on the other hand, the quality or the main characteristic of someone who is correct. For this reason, it allows us to name someone or something that lacks faults or imperfections: “Carlos has behaved very correctly”, “The book did not deserve any correction from me”.

In rhetoric, correction (also called epanorthosis) is a figure that is used when, after having pronounced an expression, a different one is postulated to amend the above or expand the notion: “You are very intelligent, what am I saying, you are a true genius ”.

Finally, it may be mentioned that “Correction” is an engraving by the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, which was published in 1799 as part of the series called “The Caprices”.

Spelling and style correction

A style corrector is someone to whom a work is given before it is published in order to make the changes it needs to be well finished; it is an essential profession in the publishing market, although little recognized and even ignored.

This professional is not a writer who takes someone else’s work and embellishes it; His job consists of studying and improving the typographical and grammatical aspects, that is, polishing issues of syntax and grammar and all those details that prevent the work from being read cleanly or that prevent its understanding. His work is essential to achieve a good finish of the works, fundamentally because the writer is the worst corrector for his own work, since while analyzing concepts that have to do with style, he also observes other aspects of the story (characters, events, etc) and then you may not notice small details that deserve to be checked. Also, as we all know, four eyes always see more than two.

In addition, the style corrector has to notice the inconsistencies or contradictions in the text, such as a character beginning with a certain name and then changing the name (the author will modify it on all pages but it is normal for it to be missed). some page), or that by reversing the order of the chapters details escape and for example at one point an event that will happen in the future is mentioned. The proofreader must read carefully, analyze the facts and understand what things need to be changed so that the text has a more presentable finish.

In orthotypographical correction, professionals use a series of symbols to mark on the work those changes necessary to later make them from the computer; in this way an organized and detailed work can be carried out.

It is normal that when a writer presents his work to a publishing house, they request a style correction in order to ensure that the text has been correctly revised. In many cases, the publishers themselves have correctors who are in charge of carrying out this task, although sometimes it is the authors themselves who look for a corrector and are in charge of returning the well-finished work to the publisher.

Spelling and style correction, in short, allows a good work written in an inconvenient way to be modified so that readers understand it better and enjoy it; In many cases, the work of the proofreaders is essential for the texts to be accepted and published by a publisher.