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Proofreading –
give your texts one final polish

Who doesn’t know the sense of achievement when a text you created yourself is finally finished? Of course, you checked it after it was written to make sure that there really were no errors and that the content can be easily understood. Depending on its intended purpose though, for example, print, publication in a technical journal or translation into 20 languages, you may wish to consider incorporating a professional proofreading step so that at least one other pair of eyes looks over the text. Our expert team can advise you and can explain the differences between proofreading and text optimisation.

Why is a pre-translation proofreading step beneficial?

A thorough proofreading step is the best preparation for a seamless translation process. Even in a document that “looks good” at a glance, there can be hidden traps, stumbling blocks and other time-consuming obstacles that only become apparent at the translation stage. Our translation experts have many years of experience in evaluating texts.

Our proofreaders check for spelling, grammar and punctuation and also check that no terminology errors have crept in.

With their experience and expertise, preferably combined with a customer briefing, the experts at STAR will get your texts translation-ready: Formatting and layout errors are systematically removed, unnecessary variations in phrasing are eliminated and style guides for translation-suitable writing are applied. This process removes errors at source that would otherwise have been transferred into the target language translations.

When is it recommended that you have your target language texts proofread?

Are you planning to publish a document in additional languages to the one in which it was created? It can be worthwhile erring on the side of caution by allowing for an additional proofreading step of the translated texts. Our team of experts at STAR can, among other things, analyse whether the translations will have the desired effect on the reader and can give the text a final polish. If desired, we can also work directly with your colleagues in other countries using our review process to enable them to check and approve our translations. After all, they have the best knowledge of your products and are familiar with your communications strategy for end customers.

The result is an optimised translation that uses your specialist terminology, which exactly matches the expectations and requirements of your target market and will have the desired effect on readers.

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What we offer – STAR proofreading levels

We proofread your texts in various file formats and can also handle proofreading of translated texts in common CAT tools. We differentiate between the following levels of services:

Basic proofreading = checking for errors

  • Spelling
  • Consistent spellings
  • Punctuation
  • Grammar
  • Content check

Enhanced proofreading

In addition to the basic proofreading, we check:

  • Style: Pointing out clumsy phrasing, colloquialisms, repeated phrases, and more besides.
  • Formal errors: Writing conventions for institutions, locations, dates, technical values, device names, etc.

Additional services

In particular, printed materials and texts with intricate layouts require a more in-depth proofreading. Depending on the layout of the text, the requirements and the wishes of the customer, we can also offer additional proofreading steps from our portfolio of services.

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Key benefits at a glance

  • Ensure the correct content in your target language by proactively checking that you’re on the right track – optimise once, benefit many times over
  • Shorter time to market thanks to clever preparation of your texts
  • Better global understanding of your products
  • Hassle-free translation workflow and reduced queries because potential pitfalls are removed before they can cause delays

Text optimisation – the right word in the right place

Putting the right word in the right place isn’t just a “nice-to-have”, it is a requirement of text optimisation: Unambiguous and consistent terminology improves reader comprehension and simplifies work for the translator. As a result, a text that has been checked for terminology has a double benefit. From their experience with many small and large terminology projects, our terminologists know how Terminology can be obtained, prepared, organised and used. This gives you a basis with which you can say the right thing with the right words – in the source language and in all target languages.

Technical documents are not the same as fiction: In novels, varied and flowery sentence structures are allowed – while technical documentation requires unambiguous, consistent and concrete phrasing. This is the only way that the target audience can understand and use your information. This way, you don’t just increase convenience for your customers, you also improve the legal certainty of your technical documentation.

An additional starting point when optimising texts can be eliminating redundant information or reducing the content. The phrase “less is more” often applies to instructions. If you improve the content structure, there is less for the end user to read and at the same time, your translation costs will be reduced.

In contrast with proofreading, text optimisation goes into much greater depth.

Portrait of STAR team member Virginie W.

Need more advice and information?
We are here for you!

Virginie Wespel

Team Leader Sales & Marketing
virginie.wespel@star-deutschland.de
+49 (0) 7031 21 7014