As I haven’t yet prepared detailed instructions for proofreading, the following Q&A with a proofreader is a starting point for getting these into writing:
Q1: Can I put the bottom page numbers as a footer, or should I just put it at the bottom of each page using the enter button? The example document left it at the bottom of the page, but I think the page numbers as a footer (or even using the page number option and customizing them) would be easier, since they wouldn’t move around during formatting…
A1: I think you’re talking about the “Bates numbers”. Those are the numbers put there by the law firm. We generally don’t put them in the footer since oftentimes, on these jobs, we don’t get them in perfect sequential order and that makes the footer approach much harder.
Q2: Your example document had Times New Roman font at 12 font size, which I remember you mentioned on the Resource page is the preferred font. The files I received are in Batang 10. Is there a specific reason for this, or should I change it to TNR 12 font?
A2: Yes, please change to Times New Roman. Batang is a horrible looking font. 12-point font is preferred for normal documents where the text can flow naturally from page to page and may be fine here. But if you find it hard to get each page of text onto a single page in Word, you may have to reduce the font size, which is fine.
Q3: Should I track my changes?
A3: Yes, please. I find that it’s easiest for me to turn on tracked changes but then have the changes hidden while I work. That way, everything is tracked but I don’t get distracted by all those extra edit marks while doing the work. Does that make sense?
Q4: I think I can finish the 6 page document in a couple hours…
A4: BTW, I should have mentioned that about 1,000 words per hour would be about average output on a job like this, though it’s fine if you go over that while still learning the ropes.
Q5: In the source document, they write all the English words in the document in bold letters (company names, financial terms, etc.). Should I also make them bold when I do the formatting?
A5: No, just write them normally. If there is an English word mixed into a Korean sentence, write it normally as we would in English; you don’t need to maintain the same capitalization, etc. Occasionally the English will even be completely Konglish, in which case you might want to put it into quotation marks to show that the awkward phrasing isn’t your fault.
Q6: Do you want one Word document page to equal one PDF file page? If so, I’ll have to make the font size smaller.
A6: Yes, in general, please do make one Word document page equal one PDF file page, and reducing the font size is OK. However, if for some reason, it is problematic to get all the text onto one page, then nothing terrible will happen if it flows to two pages.
Q7: On page five there is a tricky section with 3 graph pictures (copied on from the PDF file and in English) and one graph that was remade and translated. Should I try to fit them all on one page, like in the source document? I could double column them, but you said that in most cases you didn’t think that was a good idea. Alternately, I could copy and paste the four pictures, and then put a * symbol to reference the translated version of the Korean graph on the following page… which would be an additional page to the source document.
A7: That sounds like a good example of a page to let flow to two pages.
