A Guide to Proofreading and Editing

General advice on proofreading

• After writing, set your text aside for a while before you start.
• The best time to edit is early in the morning. Avoid editing late in the evening.
• Natural lighting is best for your eyes. That’s also one reason why you should work from a printout of the text before you move on to the computer screen.
• Read out loud while you do proofreading or have someone else do that.
• Break down the text into manageable parts.
• In tables, read down columns rather than rows.
• Give special attention on headings, letterheads, footnotes and captions. Writers tend to overlook mistakes in additional text that does not belong to the main body of text.
• The same goes for bold print, small capitals and italics. In general, double-check fonts that are unusual.
• Read slowly. It might be helpful to point with your fingertips to read word by word.
• Circle punctuation marks to ensure that you get back to them later.
• Read the text line by line and cover up the lines below the one you are reading.
• Watch out that your eyes are not attracted from the first big blunder to the next obvious error, skipping subtle errors in between.
• Have a close watch on small words (prepositions, pronouns) as they are often ignored by less meticulous proofreaders.
• Numbers are also part of the job. Check whether the numbers in your text are correct. Also, check the measuring units used in the text.
• As for illustrations, make sure they are not inverted and whether the captions go with the right picture. Also, include labels.
• Double-check proper names, especially foreign names.
• Text that comes in tiny fonts also needs your special attention.
• If possible (usually not during exams) use a digital proofreading system like PaperRater or Ginger.
• Do your proofreading in different stages: start with structure, go on with content, finish with a language check.
• Spelling mistakes are easy to detect if you read the text backwards word by word.
• Work with a proofreading buddy to double-check your text.
• Use a text-to-speech program like NaturalReader to spot all the mistakes you would otherwise overlook.
• Work with a readability checker to ensure your text is easy enough to understand.
• Sometimes, mistakes are repeated several times in the same text. Use the “find” function in your word processing program (e.g. MS Word) to spot all of these mistakes.
• Keep your knowledge of grammar rules up to date and expand your passive and active vocabulary.
• Make your correction work less tiresome and less tedious by listening to some nice music.

Questions for proofreading, editing and re-writing

I - Aptitude

• Look at the task descriptions. Are all elements fully addressed in your text?
• Check for the guidelines teachers normally issue for their classes. Does your text meet these requirements as well?
• Is your text too long or too short?
• Is it too detailed or is it not specific enough?

II - Structure

• Is each paragraph related to the thesis you present in your text?
• Does the text offer an introduction, a body, and a conclusion?
• Are all the paragraphs linked to one another?
• Are the proportions of each part of your text related to their weight?
• Is the order of your points logical and clear to the reader?
• Are there any gaps in your argumentation?
• Are the important aspects clearly presented as main points of your text?
• Are all paragraphs developed well?
• Do all the arguments combine claims with evidence and proof?
• Where do you need any further examples or evidence?
• Is there anything in your text that would profit from further research?

III - Content

• Does your text have a clear focus?
• Do you get sidetracked and wander off the topic?
• Are all the facts correct?
• Have you defined the key terms in your text?
• Are all the sources cited accurately?

IV - Rhetorics

• Does your text meet the expectations of the audience?
• Does the text use inclusive language that does not exclude minorities?
• Have you taken into account that readers might not share your opinion, world view or values?
• Do you provide enough background knowledge so that any reader may understand your points?
• Do you create a tone appropriate for this specific genre?
• Do you offer emphatic conclusions rather than mere summaries?
• Will your text provoke further discussions?
• Do you keep your text brief and simple?
• Where should you eliminate redundancy?

V - Language

• As for spelling, use a list of your favorite mistakes!
• Look for confusable words! (witchwhich, then vs. than, much vs. many, to vs. too, lose vs. loose, their vs. there, its and it’s)
• Many EFL learners have difficulties with adverbs and adjectives. (He sounded rather loud. – He sounded the horn rather loudly.)
• Irregular verbs are not always easy to master, too. (buy – bought – has bought, swim – swam – swum, set – set – set)
• Mind the articles! (an underdog, a university student; Love is all around – for the love of children)
• Watch out for irregularplural forms and 3rd person-s! (He / she / it > s / -es, try – tries, man – men, calf – calves!)
• If you’re an EFL learner, your first language might cause some trouble – look for translation blunders! (German: Im Text steht ... > English: It says in the text, German: Es gibt ... > English: There is ...)
• Collocations can be dangerous as well (do vs. make, discriminate against )
• Word order causes serious problems as well.
• Generally, check the tenses – especially present perfect and past perfect (including their continuous forms) are difficult to handle.
• Think carefully about the prepositions in your text! (in the picture, by bike, on the bus)
• Make sure you handle do-support correctly - with “did” and “do”, use the infinitive!
• Punctuation problems are also common – no commas before that-clauses!
• Capitalization often causes problems!
• Reported speech is also tricky (backshift of the tenses, adverbial expressions, possessive pronouns).

VI - Design

• Is the overall layout okay?
• Are all the fonts chosen attractive and readable?
• Are the illustrations apt and technically fine?
• Are the headings pithy and meaningful?

Proofreading marks and symbols

Correction signs used in the German Abitur

Abbr.	German	English	What your teacher wants to say:
GR	Grammatik	grammar	This is grammatically wrong!
L	Lexik	word	Replace this word! It cannot be used like that!
R	Rechtschreibung	spelling	This word is misspelled!
Z	Zeichensetzung	punctuation	This punctuation mark is misplaced!
St	Stil	style	Bad style. Find a more appropriate word from another language register!
ul	unleserlich	unreadable	What a dreadful scrawl! Even I cannot read this!
I	Inhalt	content	This claim or statement is wrong!
ug	ungenau	imprecise	This is too vague. Say it more precisely!
uv	unvollständig	incomplete	Something seems to be missing here!
Log	Logik	logics	There is a logical fallacy here. This statement doesn’t make sense.
Th	Thema	topic	You’re wandering off the topic!
Zshg	Zusammenhang	coherence	I don’t see what your last point has to do with your next point!
W	Wiederholung	redundancy	This is redundant, stop repeating yourself!

In class tests or term papers, some teachers – depending on temper – might use additional signs:

! = Watch out! --- !!! = Absolutely! Incredible! Shocking! --- ? = Huh? Pardon me? --- ??? = What? This is pure mumbo-jumbo! --- J = How funny! --- ~= Not again!!!

Proofreading signs in editing

Editing conventions differ a lot, nationally and internationally. Editors use a different set of correction marks. These are some of them:

• sp = correct a spelling mistake or spell out an abbreviation
• stet = ignore this correction
• caps = capitalize this word
• sc = this word should not be capitalized, use small letters
• rom = set in roman (= regular) type
• ital = set in italics
• bf = the text should appear in bold print
• ¶ = make a new paragraph
• ˄, ˅ = insert
• wf = wrong font
• [ = set farther to the left
• ] = set farther to the right
• Ꙩ = insert full stop
• # = delete space
• ? = request for clarification by the proofreader

Useful resources for professional proofreading

• The Chicago Manual of Style: Proofreading Marks: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/proofreading-marks.html (8/15/2018)
• New York Book Editors: A Guide to Copyediting Marks: https://nybookeditors.com/2013/06/copyediting-marks/ (8/15/2018)
• Interactive training Ltd.: Proofreading symbols: https://www.interactivetraining.co.uk/proofreading-symbols.html (8/15/2018)