CORRECTION DEVICES
To err is human, to forgive divine. So said Alexander Pope more than two centuries ago (Barlett, 1968, 403). To err in the keyboarding process is human, but failure to correct errors is hardly forgiveable. That is why a variety of correcting devices have been invented to remove or cover up inevitable errors made at the input stage of typewriter or computer keyboarding. These devices are of two types: manual devices and electronic devices.
Manual Devices
Manual correcting devices include the typing eraser, cover-up tape, cover-up liquid, lift-off film, and lift-off tape. The most time-consuming and least satisfactory of these devices is the abrasive rubber typing eraser which was used for many years before more effective devices were invented. Of the manual devices available, the quickest and most satisfactory is lift-off tape which literally lifts the error off the paper when a special backspace (correction) key is used to position the printing point over the error and the key struck in error is restruck.
Electronic Devices
The use of special correction keys on electronic typewriters, computers, and word processors permits the automatic removal of individual letters, words, word groups, lines, and paragraphs so that all corrections can be made before paper copy printout occurs. Electronic error correction is the most efficient method for producing error-free documents and is being used increasingly to prepare letter perfect work. As Erickson (1983, 9) points out: The number of errors made in keyboarding is relatively unimportant provided the operator detects and corrects such errors in the proofreading. Speed of keystroking, speed of error detection, and speed of error correction are the critical elements in efficient document processing.