Proof-Reading and Editing

Proof-reading is a part of editing. It includes checking of spellings, grammar and punctuation. Proof-readers have to correct the errors and make modifications wherever required.

While proofreading a document, it should be ensured that the document is free from:  

• Spelling errors
• Grammar errors
• Punctuation errors

 Proof-read your article both manually and by using tools. If you detect any kind of errors mentioned above, make required modifications to the content and even re-work up on the portion, if it is required. Manual proof reading is the best proof-reading and no tool can replace it. However, there are a good many spellcheckers and grammar checkers which help you while proof-reading a document.

Effective editing adds value to the content by making it more meaningful, relevant and well presented. Editing is a wider term and includes following aspects:

• Proof-reading
• Checking of the accuracy of content
• Checking of presentation style
• Checking of readability
• Checking of relevance
• Checking of missing points
• Rewriting

Re-writing as a part of Editing:

•  If content is not accurate and misleading, the editor has to replace the inaccurate content with accurate content
•  If presentation style deviates from the style mentioned in style sheet, the editor has to re-write the content in such a way that the content will be in tune with the guidelines mentioned in the style sheets
• If a document lacks readability, the editor has to identify the areas where the readability is missing and has to re-write the content in order to make the document more readable and crispy
• Has to check the relevance and remove all the irrelevant stuff
• Has to find out missing points and has to add the points or else, has to instruct the content writer to add them to the content

 

 Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Flow-chart of Plagiarism Detection

Advantages of plagiarism detection tools

Following are the advantages that the end user derives by using plagiarism detections tools:

• Content writers can submit their content with confidence that their content is original after checking the content by using plagiarism detection tools
• Content re-writers can check their content time to time and make further modifications to the extracted content in order to look it original
• An entrepreneur can check the content submitted by his content writer whether the content is original or not. He can detect if the content writer cheats him by submitting their copied content
• Publisher can check the content whether it is original or not before publishing it so that he can be away from legal problems and also safeguard his reputation and good will among readers and industry circles
• Online publishers can check the originality of the content and thus, can safeguard their search engine rankings by publishing the original content. They can also protect their sites from being banned by search engines as some search engines prohibit the displaying of the sites containing copied content
• Online publishers with membership in advertisement network programs such as google adsense can safe-guard their memberships as most of advertisement networks terminate the memberships of publishers whose sites contain copied content

• If you suspect that your content is being copied by other site owners, you can send removal notice to the offending site owners with the help of a service like DMCA.

List of effective spell and grammar checkers

Following is a table containing a list of Spell and grammar check tools with their URLs, Comments and limitations.

Tool	URL	Comments*	Unique Features & Merits	Limitations
Spell Check	http://spellcheck.net/speller/	The best spell checker among free spell checkers.	---	---
Spell Checker	http://www.spellchecker.net/spellcheck/	---	---	---
White Smoke	http://www.whitesmoke.com/free-online-checker	The best grammar among free grammar checkers.	---	Does not accept text containing more than 250 words at a time.

Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Spell and Grammar Checkers: Advantages and Limitations

Advantages: Following are the advantages that the end user derives by using Spellcheckers and Grammar Checkers:

•  An automated tool does not get tired and affected by the change of mood, like a human being
• Some of the tools even suggest better words in place of existing words, which better suit the situation
•  Spell and grammar checkers help the writer to improve the quality of writing 
• Those, who are not so good at English, can improve their vocabulary and grammar
• Most of the tools are available free of cost
• Content writers can submit their content with confidence that their content is free from spelling and grammar errors after checking the content by using the tools
• An entrepreneur can check the content submitted by his content writer whether the content is free from grammar and spelling errors and can judge the quality of the writing to some extent.
• Publishers, writers, proof-readers and editors can ensure text is free from errors before publishing so that they can safeguard their reputation among readers and industry circles
•  If a webpage contains a large number of spelling, grammar, punctuation errors and inconsistencies in style/presentation, the search engines may consider the content as auto generated one and thus, give lower search engine ranking to the sites. Sometimes, the search engines may ban the sites and stop displaying. Advertisement network programs such as google adsense too terminate the membership of web and blog sites with auto generated content.
• Online publishers can safeguard their search engine rankings and memberships in advertisement network programs such as google adsense by publishing  error free content.

Disadvantages and Limitations:

• Based on his personal experience, the author of this article is of an opinion that no spellchecking and grammar-checking tool can replace an experienced proof-reader.
• Spell and grammar checkers usually does not accept, at a time, text exceeding 250 or 500 words.
• Some of grammar aspects considered as an error may not be real errors according to the situation.
• A tool is after a tool after all and its efficiency depends on the efficiency of its designer.
• If a tool states that the tested content has no errors, it does not mean that the content is completely free from errors. Some of the errors may not detected by the tools 

Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Guidelines for using Spellcheckers and Grammar checkers

• Spell checker and grammar checker options, provided by Ms-Word, are most effective than any other spell and grammar checking tools. Hence, give first priority to the Ms-Word and go for other tools only after checking the content in Ms-Word
• Use only free spell and grammar check tools and do not go for the paid versions unless yours is a large-scale organization. However, paid versions are usually more effective than free versions.
• As no spell and grammar check tool can be as effective as an experienced proof-reader, check the content manually at first. Use tools only after doing the work manually.
• Some of the spell and grammar check tools ask you to register with them and to enter your username and password to allow you to make use of them. Avoid such tools as they consume more time and kill your productivity
• A large number of spell and grammar check tools are mushrooming the market and hence, select only effective tools 
• If you are employed by somebody as a proof-reader, submit your articles only after checking them by using a set of selected spellcheckers and grammar checkers
• If you are the employer, accept the articles of your content writer only after checking them with a set of selected spellcheckers and grammar checkers 

Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Spellcheckers and Grammar checkers - Brief Introduction

The origin of grammar and spell checker can be traced back to 1970’s. Grammar checkers used to be sold as add-on programs until 1992 and there were several grammar checker tools in the market. In 1992, Microsoft added its grammar checker as a feature of Microsoft Word and the feature made a good reputation as the best spell and grammar checking option for most of the writers. Though a large number of grammar and spellcheckers entered the market, Ms-Word remained the best and most popular tool while checking grammar and spellings of a particular text. 

If you search online, you can see a large number of spellcheckers and grammar checkers. Some of them are free tools and rests of them are priced tools. Priced tools are usually more effective than free tools. The quality and reliability of the tools vary from tool to tool.

No spell and grammar check tool is as effective as an experienced proofreader. Hence, no spell and grammar check tool could replace the manual proof-reading and editing till today. In fact, it will not be possible to produce such a tool that will completely replace manual proof-reading because a programming language or tool is developed based on a particular syntax but, a natural language is not so. Hence, it must be remembered that automation proof reading is not a complete alternative to manual proof reading and both must be made complimentary to each other in order to make the work more effective.

However, the tools that we use now are better than the tools that we used in the past and the tools that we will use in future will certainly be better than the tools that we use now. Of late, developers started focusing on developing context sensitive algorithms, which can recognize grammatical mistakes according to the context. Grammar checking option in Microsoft Office 2007 contains some of such algorithms. 

Points to remember:

• Spelling and grammar errors irritates the reader and often kill the readability of a write-up.
• The readers may not visit once again in future
• Readers may not understand the content completely and sometimes, even they may not understand anything. Chances are there that they may even take different meaning and get misled
•  Looking at the spelling and grammar errors, the readers may even question the creditability of the actual subject even if the subject is correct and written by a Subject Expert
• Search engines may consider it an auto generated content and may ban the sites/web pages and stop displaying them, resulting in lower search engine rank   
• If your website or blog is attached to an advertisement network program such as google adsense account, the network program may terminate your network account with a view that your content is an auto generated one.

 Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Guidelines for using plagiarism detection tools

• Use only free plagiarism tools. Do not go for paid versions unless yours is a large-scale organization.However, paid versions are usually more effective than free versions.
• Some of the plagiarism tools ask you to register with them and to enter your username and password to allow you to make use of them. Avoid such tools as they consume more time and kill your productivity. 
• A large number of plagiarism tools are mushrooming the market and hence, select only effective tools
• When you are employed by somebody as a content writer, submit your articles only after checking their originality by using plagiarism detection tool(s).
• If you are the employer, accept the articles of your content writer only after checking their originality with the help of plagiarism detection tools.  Sometimes, your content writer may copy some text from offline sources which can be detect by the tools and hence, you take from your writer a written statement ensuring that the content is original, not copied from anywhere and that he is legally responsible for the damages suffered by the company in case of plagiarism detection.
• If you suspect that your content is being copied by other site owners, you can send removal notice to the offending site owners with the help of DMCA.

 Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Plagiarism detection tools

If you search online, you can see a large number of plagiarism detection tools. Some of them are free tools and rests of them are priced ones. Priced tools are usually more effective than free tools. The quality and reliability of the tools vary from tool to tool.

Following is a table containing a list of plagiarism detection tools with their URLs, comments, unique features and limitations.

Tool	Comment	URL	Unique Feature	Limitation
PlagScan	The most effective plagiarism detection tool (according to the personal opinion of the writer)	http://www.plagscan.com/seesources/analyse.php	---	---
Copyscape	The most popular plagiarism detection tool	http://www.copyscape.com/		Allows only URLs and not un-posted text
Article Checker	---	http://www.articlechecker.com/checker.php	Shows percentage of matched phrases	---
Duplichecker	---	http://www.duplichecker.com/	---	---
Plagiarism Checker	---	http://www.plagiarismchecker.com/	---	---

Limitations of plagiarism detection tools:

• Plagiarism detection tools can check only online sources. They cannot detect the plagiarism that takes place in offline sources.
• Some tools do not accept the text containing more than 250 or 500 words
• Some of the detections made by the tools are not genuine and irrelevant.
• Sometimes, the tools may consider an original article as a copied one. For example, a writer named John may write down, with his general awareness, that Washington DC is the first President of USA. A plagiarism detection tool may consider the content copied content (though it is original) as several websites contain such general information, containing similar phrases. 

 

Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

Plagiarism detection (Copy Check) in Content Writing

The word ‘Plagiarism’ refers to the copying of thoughts and expressions of others.

• It is an unethical and unlawful act.
• According to Copyright’s Act, it is a crime and the owner of the original content may sue the copier in the court of Law.
• Search engines give lower page ranks to the websites and web pages containing copied content. Sometimes, search engines may ban such sites and pages completely and stop displaying them. Search engines give higher priority to the sites with original and unique content
• If your website or blog is attached to an advertisement network program such as google adsense account, the network program may terminate your network account in case your site contains copied content

While re-writing (spinning) an article, make adequate changes to the original (extracted) text in order to make it look original. To ensure its originality, check your content with a plagiarism detection tool. If the tool considers any portion of the text copied one, re-work up on the portion and make further changes to ensure its originality. It is an iterative process, which has to be repeated unless the text is free from plagiarism detection.

The following flow chat diagram illustrates the process:

 

Written by: S. Chandrashekara Reddy

Contact: 91-9849856722

Chandrashekara_reddy@yahoo.co.in

vansathalipuram - The most beautiful residential area in Hyd

Vanasthalipuram is a peaceful and one of the most beautiful residential areas in Hyderabad. The area is popularly known for its greenery and parks.  It is located on the outskirts of Hyderabad and near the Vijayawada Highway, NH-9. The area belongs to L.B. Nargar zone, which comes under the purview of GHMC(Greater Hyderabad Muncipal Corporation).  After Kukatpally, it is the second largest colony in Hyderabad.

The place has become one of the preferred residential areas due to several reasons, some of which are mentioned as follows:

·         Peaceful environment

·         Greenery

·         Residential colonies with rich infrastructure

·         Location of the area near the Vijayawada Highway

·         Well connection to other areas in the city

·         Location of Ramoji Film City and Mount Opera: within 10 – 15 km

Highlights of Vanasthalipuram:

·         Rythu Bazar

·         Government Hospital

·         Government Library

·         Telugu Kalakshetram

·         Rajiv Gandhi Park (a recent addition)

·         20 well developed parks

·         Naagarjuna ground

·         Mahavira Harina Vanasthali (Deer Park)

(Note: The Government hospital is located in NGO's colony)  

The best place for Andhra Settlers: The area is located near Vijayawada highway and all the buses traveling towards and coming from Vijayawada stop here. Hence, most of the settlers coming from Coastal Andhra would prefer the area to settle down in the area. Though Ameerpet, Sanjeeva Reddy Nargar and Kukatpally areas too are preferred by Andhra settlers, they lack greenery and peaceful environment that is found in Vanasthalipuram. Moreover areas like Ameerpet, SR Nagar and Kukatpally are crowdie, noisy, and highly polluted. Due to all the above factors into considerations, Vanasthalipuram emerged as hub of settlers from Coastal Andhra.   

Colonies: As the area is a well developed residential area and some of them are mentioned below:

·         NGO's Colony

·         T.V.colony

·         F.C.I.colony

·         Medical and Health Colony

·         Hill Colony

·         Sachivalaya Nagar

How to reach Vanasthalipuram?

You can direct buses to Vanasthalipuram from almost all the areas in the city and some of the are mentioned below:

• Secunderabad railway station
• Nampally
• Koti Women’s Colledge
• Jubilee Bus Station
• Kukatpally Housing Board Colony
• Tarnaka
• Hayathnagar
• Uppal
• Mehedipatnam
• Charmina

If you want to travel by local trains, get a train to Malakpet, the closest MMTS railway station, which is 12 km away from the area. From Malakpet, you can get buses to Vanasthalipuram.

Well connected to other areas:  You can get buses from the area to several places, in the city, such as Hitechcity, Banjara Hills, Lakdi Ka pool and Jubilie Hills. Major bus stops are located at Ganesh temple, Rythu Bazaar and NGOs Colony.

History: Before 1980’s, it was almost a village and known to a few people living in Hyderabad. The area was completely unoccupied and untouched and the area was like a mini forest. When the AP State government has started allotting the Houses to the Non-Gazetted officers at nominal rates, the area started attracting the attention of city dwellers. By 1990’s, it emerged as a small town. Now, it has become an integral and important part of city.

During the reign of the Nizams, the area was a dense forest with wild animals and was the hunting ground of the Nizams. It was called Shikarghar in Urdu. The area continued to be a mini forest until 1980’s. Hence, the areas was named after Vanasthalipuram, a combination three Telugu/Sanskrit words “Vana”, “Sthali” and “Puram” which mean forest, place and town/city respectively.

How true the name is! The area is really a town/city built in the place of forest.