The parents of a pre-schooler (we’ll call her Sharon) taught her basic reading skills before she started school. When Sharon started her Grade 1 year, she was excited to receive a new book from her teacher – so excited that she read the whole book within a week. When her teacher found out, she scolded Sharon for “reading ahead”. Apparently, Sharon was supposed to take the whole term to read that book! Luckily, Sharon was undaunted by the criticism, and she has been a voracious reader ever since.
Her favourites included The Famous Five and Secret Seven series by British author Enid Blyton, but Sharon’s curiosity was piqued by the fact that one of the characters put on a jumper before heading off on an adventure. Sharon couldn’t figure out why someone would stop to put on a sleeveless dress worn over a blouse before going outside… So, she proceeded to do her first fact-checking – at the library, as the internet didn’t exist – and discovered that a “jumper”, “sweater” and “pullover” were essentially the same thing!
Checking and double-checking have always come as second nature to Sharon, so it was natural that, as ProofingQueen, she would ensure that client materials are as accurate as possible. We (there’s that “royal we” again) double-check every fact and then give you our recommendations as to how to handle any potential errors or inconsistencies. And if we happen to find a fact that we can’t confirm, we will let you know, so you can decide what to do.
Want to know more about our fact-checking services? Check out this ProofingQuips post.