1.10: Proofreading

“To write is human, to edit is divine.” (Stephen King [2000], On Writing, p. 13)

Usually, proofreading is explained as a two-step process of reading the essay and, then, marking it up. The problem with this approach is that the mind cannot process all the information being read at the same time. Therefore, some information is going to be missed.

Many books suggests two to three readings. One is to quickly skim the text. This reading is focused on the content, organization, quality of writing, elements that require special attention, and identification of weak sections that may require more time. The second reading is to answer the global readings from the first reading and mechanical errors. There can be a third reading if the text is a book for style and format. This is more of a holistic approach, as a highlyrecommended book, The Copyeditor’s Handbook, takes. Although it does not present proofreading as this book does, it is still a very valuable book to read. The focus of this book is on the procedures of proofreading assignments in baby steps, using a heuristic.

Because of the problems with proofreading in two steps, this handbook uses a four-step process to verifying that the rough draft is as free from errors and mistakes as it can be. Each step of the proofreading process focuses on a different aspect of the text. Hence, more attention is spent on all aspects of the writing process. The military stresses that all their soldiers, commanders, lieutenants, officers, and sergeants to pay attention to detail and standard operating procedures. Proofreading must hold the same standards as the military. If more time can be spent on each aspect of the writing process, then the end product is going to be of much better quality.

The proofreading process follows the writing process in terms of its procedure. Reading two exactly follows the writing process. The writing process from Chapter 2 serves as the basic foundation for readings two. Since the concepts in readings one to three are already previously explained instead, only the procedures of proofreading will be explained here.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): The four steps of the proofreading process. 

Since this is not a grammar book, the concepts in reading four for sentence structure and grammar will be briefly defined since it is assumed that students had this information from other required composition and grammar classes at the point in their academic careers

Reading One – Audience & Purpose

Reading one of the proofreading process focuses only on audience and purpose, thesis statement, organization, and content.

Audience and purpose are the two most important concepts that need to be addressed first. Anything incorrect here would be considered the death penalty of the writing process. Since everything is dependent on the audience and purpose, if something is wrong with either of these them, part of, if not the whole, the text is appropriate for the target audience.

Proofreading Read for Audience, Purpose, Thesis Statement, Outline, and Content Read for Format Read for Plagiarism Read for Sentence Structure and Grammar

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Questions for Reading One

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is the audience appropriate?
Have the reader's expectations been met (purpose)?
I lave all the instructions been followed?
Does the thesis statement reflect the title, audience, and purpose?

 

Thesis statements are statements that state what the whole text is about. Thesis statements must be clearly stated without being too broad or too specific.

Table \(\PageIndex{2}\): Questions for Reading Two

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is there a clear thesis statement?
Does the thesis statement contain only one idea?
Is the thesis statement written in third person?

Organization

Since outlining serves as overall organization and paragraph development, the focus here is on making sure all paragraphs are completely developed and the essay, as a whole, is cohesive and cogent.

Overall organization refers to the essay level, meaning a clear introduction, body, and conclusion for the whole text. Depending on the type of text, subheadings may be required. In some technical writing texts, specific formats and headings must be followed; there is no room for creativity.

Also, paragraph development entails the same basic idea of the overall organization but for a paragraph. Every paragraph has a topic sentence, which states what the paragraph is about.

It also serves as an introduction to a paragraph. The details that follow the topic sentence is the body of the paragraph. The last sentence serves as a conclusion.

Table \(\PageIndex{3}\): Questions for Reading OneQuestions for Outlining

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is there a clear outline?
Are the subheadings appropriate?
Are there enough subheadings?

 

Table \(\PageIndex{4}\): Content

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Does each body paragraph have an introduction, body, and conclusion?
Is there enough content?
Does each body paragraph contain only one idea?
Does each body paragraph contain 7-10 sentences?
Is the language appropriate for the text?
Is the vocabulary appropriate for the text?

 

 Reading Two – Formatting

Reading two of the proofreading process emphasizes formatting. Formatting involves checking margins, spaces between words and sentences, white space between paragraphs, consistency with bullets and lists, and indentations and tabs.

The easiest and first one that should be checked for is margins.

The second one is white space between paragraphs. Unless others stated, all spacing, before and after, should have a numerical value of 0 and 0. Single or double spacing depends on the type of text.

The third is indentations and tabs.

The fourth is consistency with bullets and lists. The fifth is spaces between words and sentences.

Table \(\PageIndex{5}\): Formatting

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is the citation style correctly formatted?
Are all quotations formatted correctly?
Is there any unnecessary white space?
Are all margins correctly formatted?
Is all spacing between words, sentences, and paragraphs consistent?
Are all lists and seriation consistently formatted?

Reading Three – Plagiarism

Reading three of the proofreading process stresses plagiarism. Plagiarism is not something that any professor or editor wants to accuse any student of plagiarism; however, it is one of those duties that must be dealt with when it is necessary.

There are two components to plagiarism: in-text citations and bibliographic references. In-text citations are notations that indicate that information has been taken from sources. The basic rule is that, if it is not common knowledge, it needs to be cited. Bibliographic references comprise the complete list of sources used in the essay. This list contains all the information for all the sources.

The best way to make sure that all the in-text citations are in the bibliographic references and vice versa is to have one person look for the in-text citations and to have another person look for the bibliographic references. Regardless of how many people do this task, it is best to separate the bibliographic references from the main text.

There is no excuse for not having correctly-formatted in-text citations and bibliographic references because this information is free online. Also, school libraries have the manuals for the different formats on reserve. Students can reserve them for two hours at a time. In addition, these formats are in every writing handbook. The format just has to be copied correctly. There is no real thinking involved with this.

Table \(\PageIndex{6}\): Plagiarism

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is everything cited that needs to be cited?
Do the in-text citations match the bibliographic references?
Are all paraphrases in the writer's own words?
Are all quotations copied correctly?
Has the writer verified that everything has been checked with turnitin.com?

 

Reading Four – Sentence Structure & Grammar

Reading four of the proofreading process refers to sentence structure and grammar. Each sentence is read twice. The first time focuses on sentence structure, and the second time is read for grammar.

Sentence Structure

Sentence structure refers to subjects, verbs, and punctuation. Only the broad concepts (i.e., fragments, run-ons, and comma splices) are addressed here. This must precede grammar because the focus is always on structure, whether it is a sentence, paragraph, essay, PowerPoint slide, or PowerPoint presentation.

Table \(\PageIndex{7}\): Sentance Structure

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is there an independent clause?
Does each clause contain, at least, one subject and verb?
Is all the punctuation correct?

Grammar

Grammar refers to the little details about sentences. This includes subject-verb agreement, noun and verb forms, verb tense. The two most important things to be concerned with are simple subjects and simple predicates. These two items are at the top level of grammar.

Although simple subjects and simple predicates are the most important, any issues with noun and verb forms not associated with simple subjects and simple verbs are considered egregious but not as egregious. The main thing to look out for here is plural-s and adjectives in the form of present and past participles.

Pronouns are not as important as noun or verb forms, but they can change the focus of a sentence and/or audience. Pronouns are the lowest level of major items.

Other minor concerns with grammar are prepositions, articles, spelling, and word choice.

Prepositions are not usually a problem for most students unless English is a second language for them. Articles, on the other hand, can become a problem. They can cause ambiguities, especially in research studies.

Spelling and word choice are the last two minor issues to deal with in reading two. Spelling, broadly speaking, can be anything from a name to misspelled plural. Word choice, broadly speaking, can refer to vocabulary or repetition of words. As Strunk and White (2000) state in rule 17 of their book The Elememts of Style, “Omit needless words” (p. 23).

Spell check and grammar check only catch 75% of the errors maximum. Tutors and other trusted people can only suggest and guide students. However, the final proofreader is the student.

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is the subject-verb agreement correct?
Is the verb tense and aspect correct?
Are active voice and passive voice used correctly?
Are all noun and verb forms used correctly that are not simple subjects or predicates?
Are all pronouns used correctly?
Are all adjectives and adverbs used correctly?

Overall Impressions Overall impressions are very important.

Question	Yes/No	Comment
Is this what I wanted to say?
Would I put my name on this?
Is the text boring to read?
Would readers want to read this?

Reading papers is not like reading a romance novel. The point to get out of this paper is how an editor thinks. It is my hope that you will see a very specific procedure from reading this. The text that follows gives you an idea how editors read and think.

Proofreading does not have to be a laborious, difficult task if it is broken down into separate little baby steps Proofreading is best executed if it is completed in multiple readings. If the right steps are followed, then the actual process goes smoothly. Each reading focuses on a different aspect of the text. This way, every item to be reviewed receives full attention, and nothing is missed or over looked. Ultimately, the author is the final proofreader. The author decides when his or her assignment is ready to be turned in for a grade.

References

Einsohn, A. (2011). The copyeditor’s handbook: A guide for book publishing and corporate communications. (3rd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

King, S. (2000). On writing: A memoir of the craft. New York: Scribiner.

O’Hair, D., Stewart, R. & Rubenstein, H. (2018). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference (7th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press.

Pressat, R. (1972). Demographic analysis; methods, results, applications. Chicago: AldineAtherton.

Schriver, K. A. (1997). Dynamics in document design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.