LaTeasha Colquhoun
HillTop Trumpet Journalist
Communication Studies Major (Public Relations Emphasis)

MANDEVILLE, NCU- On Monday November 4, 2019, the Jamaica Observer published an article which read ‘National Caribbean University’ instead of  ‘Northern Caribbean University.’

This article was not well received by the masses because a part of the institution’s name was misspelt. it it left many saying proofreading needs to be taken seriously and done timely and carefully.

It is often said that before submitting or printing a scholastic research paper, email, reminder, or in this case, a news article, it is vital to deliberately edit it. Proofreading is important because we are often ignorant, careless, or ‘blind’ to errors, mistakes, bad grammar, poor layout of sentences and paragraphs, poorly constructed sentences, lack or incorrect use of proper punctuation, and of course spelling or typing errors.

We are all prone to making mistakes and upon speaking with experienced media practitioner, Rhoma Tomlinson White, she said “it is important for media practitioners, whether they are journalists or other persons working in any media entity to understand value and practice editing.” White continued saying that language is dynamic and there are instances where just one or two letters has been left out of a word and the meaning of that word has been changed completely, sometimes unfortunately, not for the better.

University students especially those in Media and Communications are reminded daily of the importance of proofreading and consequences that will follow insufficient proofreading. White agreed in saying that “I always encourage media students and media practitioners to constantly pay attention to details, one or two letters left out of a word may not cause a challenge in all instances but it shows a level of unprofessionalism and shows carelessness, which may not have been the intention of any media entity in the first place, but this is the message it sends out to the world.”

We are encouraged to pay attention to details because it makes a difference. It is important to carefully proofread all written material. Editing is not just the icing on the cake; it is an essential part of the writing process. Proofreading helps to ensure correctness, completeness, and accuracy of one’s written or typed content.