Our proofreading course explains how to proofread printed documents, in really simple terms. Here’s an extract that details what to do once you’ve printed the document.

1. Get a thin red pen and make markups from the symbols list for every error you find.

You need to check every single word, punctuation mark etc and mark your findings on the printed out Copy for correction in red.

2. Then use a pencil to mark parts of the text that you aren’t sure about. This would be things like names of places and people, figures, maths, dates, URLs etc that could be incorrect, even if corrected by the proofreader.

These are things that you are unable to prove correct by checking through the stages of section 1, above. You need to make a query about every one, asking whether it is correct.

Also, look at the meaning of words. Could a word or sentence construction be confusing to the reader? Could the meaning be ambiguous? If so, circle it and query it.

Then, your focus is on consistency of words, figures, type, spacing, names etc. Query anything that looks wrong.

3. Now that you have finished marking up your Copy for correction, compare it with the Marked up copy.

The marked up copy is full of errors where the proofreader has got some things right and other things wrong and has missed altogether things they should have marked up or queried.

Make notes of every instance where:

  • You marked an error in red on your copy but the proofreader didn’t mark this up on the marked up copy.
  • Your markup is different to the marked up copy ie the proofreader might have indicated that a hyphen should be deleted but you believe it should remain.
  • Where you noticed the markups on the copy are different than what the BSI sheet says ie the proofreader has used them incorrectly.
  • The previous proofreader circled something in pencil.
  • You circled something in pencil, to be queried.
  • Do not make notes of any red markups that are the same as yours.

Then, you make your query list. In the list, you will put the notes you made above, each note as a query in the format explained in the instructions.

Then, have a look at the Corrected copy. See if you can find any differences between it and your copy.

Finally, add to your query list a query for each difference you have found.

See our proofreading course