Learn To Proofread Professionally And Kick-Start Your New Career
Start your new career today with our accredited proofreading course. Learn from our world-class course content, engage with our expert tutor team, and enter the industry immediately with our work guarantee.
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CPD-certified course -
Guaranteed work for graduates
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Expert tutors for learner success
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24/7 customer support team
What You’ll Get With Our 7-Day Free Trial
Instant access to two complete lessons to give you a taste of learning with Knowadays
A chance to test your skills with interactive quizzes and a proofreading assignment
An understanding of our guaranteed work offer and how you can instantly start earning after completing the course
A Course Built For You
- Looking for a freelance proofreading career but not sure where to start?
- Willing to learn but need the support of a tutor or peers?
- Worried you’ll pay for a course but won’t find work afterwards?
We understand the self-doubt that can accompany a career change or learning something new. That’s why we developed a world-class proofreading course that goes beyond the classroom and offers a guaranteed path to immediate work to kick-start or accelerate your new career.
About The Course
- Expert tutor team
- Guided videos, real practice documents, interactive quizzes, and case studies
- CPD accredited
- Private alumni group
- Instruction on proofreading in formats beyond Word
- 13-module course designed by experts
- Final assignment graded by a tutor
- Insights on how to find clients and manage your freelance business
- Lifetime course access
- 24/7 customer support
About Our Guaranteed Work Offer
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We partner with Proofed, a world-leading proofreading and editing provider for clients including Philips, Substack, and Harvard University. If you pass the final assignments on Becoming An Editor and Becoming A Proofreader with a score of 80% or higher, we’ll immediately send your information to Proofed.
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The team will reach out to you with onboarding information within five business days. After this, you’re guaranteed access to a minimum of 10 paid documents to edit or proofread over a 2–4 week period. This trial is to make sure you can meet deadlines and maintain a high standard of work.
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Once you pass the probation period, you can work with Proofed as a freelance proofreader, setting your own hours and having access to a steady stream of work. You can work anywhere, anytime, and as much or as little as you like. At last, work will fit around your life – not the other way around.
“Knowadays definitely delivered on all that they promised. Their course really makes you stretch. I gained a lot of new skills and added to my knowledge. The tutors and staff are very responsive and helpful. It’s well worth the time and effort.”
Guaranteed Work: What To Expect
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Around 40% of our learners so far have passed the final assignment with distinction and gone on to work with Proofed.
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Of these distinction graduates, 62.5% have completed the work trial at Proofed. Of those who have completed the trial, 80% were successful and were invited to join the editing team.
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Around 75% of these new editors were still working with Proofed 12 months later.
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On average, editors who maintain a 20-hour per week schedule typically make around $25–$35K a year.
Guaranteed Work: The Numbers
“This course provided me with more than just the relevant skills and knowledge I needed to become a proofreader. It ultimately changed my life and gave me the confidence I needed to go forth into the unknown and become the person I dreamed of being!”
How We Compare
| Knowadays | Our Competitors | |
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| 13-module course designed by experts |
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| Full-time tutor support |
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| 24/7 customer support |
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| Final assignment graded by a real tutor |
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| Paid work offer |
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| Price | $499 | $599 |
FAQs
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Do I need to have a degree or any other qualifications?
No qualifications or previous experience are needed – we teach you everything you need to know to work as a professional proofreader.
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What do I need to get started?
You’ll need a laptop or desktop computer, a full version of Microsoft Word, and an internet connection to complete the course successfully. You can use Microsoft Word 2016, 2019, 2021, or 365, but not free or partial versions of the program (for example Microsoft Office Online or Open Office). As smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks don’t support the full version of Microsoft Word, you wouldn’t be able to complete the course, or professional proofreading assignments, using them. Clients will require you to have the right professional tools for the job and Becoming A Proofreader ensures you can use these tools with confidence.
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How soon can I start work as a proofreader after getting my distinction grades?
If you score 80% or higher in the final assessments of Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor, you’ll have the opportunity to work with our partner company, Proofed, on a trial basis. Within five working days, we’ll send you the information you need to start this probationary period. After that, you’ll be guided through your first assignments and will be on your way to becoming a professional proofreader and editor. You should note that Proofed is a US company, so payments to its freelance team must comply with US tax law. That means you can only work with Proofed if your country of residence has what’s known as a ‘dual-tax treaty’ with the US. You can check the Internal Revenue Service’s list of countries to find out if you qualify. For more details about the trial period with Proofed, visit our Guaranteed Work page.
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How much work will I be able to do?
The Proofed team will support you with your initial assignments. These will be short documents that let you test your skills and boost your confidence. Over time – as you gain experience, build speed, and receive positive feedback – the volume of work can increase. You can work your way up to longer and more complex documents and get regular projects with some of Proofed’s business clients.
There’s no fixed amount of work you’ll receive – that will depend on your availability and interests, as well as on your skill level and the opportunities Proofed has at any given time. Head over to our Guaranteed Work page for more details on working with Proofed.
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Is there a time limit for how long I have to complete the course?
When you sign up for a Knowadays course, you gain access for life. Users who are inactive for more than 90 days may have access to their account suspended. If this happens, just get in touch and we’ll reactivate your account immediately. Where course content is updated after purchase, you’ll receive these updates free of charge.
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Does it matter where I’m based?
As long as you have a PC, Mac, or laptop with the latest version of Microsoft Word and an internet connection, you can take the course and proofread anywhere. If you pass your course with a distinction of 80% or over and want to pursue our guaranteed work offer with Proofed, where you’re based will matter. You’ll need to reside in a country that has a dual-tax treaty with the US and is on the Internal Revenue Service’s list. This is important, as Proofed is US-based and must comply with US tax laws when working with freelancers.
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What resources do I need to do the course and work for Proofed?
Aside from a laptop or desktop computer, access to an internet connection, and Microsoft Word 2016 or later, you won’t need to buy extra resources to complete the course. We provide all course materials, including real-world sample documents for you to download and practice proofreading.
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Have another question?
We’ve got answers! Email us at [email protected] or click here to make an appointment to have a chat. Our friendly team is always happy to help!
Module Breakdown
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Module 1: An Introduction To Becoming A Proofreader
Know what to expect from our Becoming A Proofreader course and get situated before delving into the details of what it means to be a proofreader. -
Module 2: Proofreading And Editing
Find out why editing and proofreading have traditionally been treated as separate tasks in print publishing, as well as how they often merge in digital work. Get to grips with the ethical issues you might encounter while proofreading. And meet the different client types you might work with once you start your career as a professional proofreader! -
Module 3: The Basics Of Microsoft Word
If you’re a bit rusty on computing, this module will oil you up! Take a tour through all the tools in Microsoft Word you’ll need to get started with proofreading. If you are a technophobe, worry no more! Our back-to-basics course covers tracking changes, changing the proofing language, setting your user name in Microsoft Word, and more. -
Module 4: Common Spelling Mistakes
Finally, you can nail the difference between ‘there’, ‘they’re’, and ‘their’, and much more. Get to grips with British, US, and Australian spelling, clear up the rules about irregular plurals, and impress friends with your knowledge of closed, open, and hyphenated compounds! -
Module 5: Common Grammar Mistakes
Perfect your prepositions, parenthetical clauses, and parallelism! Fix fragments and faulty agreement! And free yourself from dangling and misplaced modifiers forevermore! Grind down the grammatical gremlins of UK, US, and Australian English, and bust some well-worn myths as you boldly go where no non-proofreader has gone before! -
Module 6: Common Punctuation Mistakes
Queries about question marks? Extremely excited about exclamation points?!! Do you, put, too, many commas, in your sentences? We’ll iron all that out. If you’re the type who goes shopping with a paintbrush to correct grocer’s apostrophes, you’ll be right at home here. -
Module 7: Other Common Errors
Take our guided tour through everything else you need to know about the nitty-gritty of language, including Latin terms, abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms, number use, and capitalisation. Find out where most people trip up and separate your ‘i.e.’s from your ‘e.g.’s for good! -
Module 8: Proofreading In Practice: Style
What’s the difference between a style guide, a style sheet, and a referencing style? Worry no more, we’ve got you covered in our style module. We’ll also talk you through written tone, technical jargon, avoiding offensive language, and how to turn clunky confusion into elegant flow. -
Module 9: Academic Proofreading
We’ll take you back to school with an in-depth look at proofreading academic documents, ranging from undergraduate essays to journal articles and PhD theses. We’ll show you how to work with LaTeX (no, it’s nothing kinky), how to make sure quotes are used properly, when the active and passive voices are appropriate in academic writing, and much more. -
Module 10: Academic Proofreading: Referencing And Citations
Does Harvard hurt your head? Does APA make your eyes ache? Are you shy about Chicago? And what does ALWD even mean? We’ll soothe all your referencing woes with our extended guide to some of the major citation styles, as well as some not-so-well-known ones. -
Module 11: Creative Writing And The Publishing Industry
Learn how to work with authors and publishers as we guide you through how to proofread creative writing. This module looks at both fiction and non-fiction, as well as non-standard English, authorial voice, and proofreading dialogue. After completing the lessons, you will be primed to proofread a range of different writing styles and document types common in the publishing world, including book manuscripts, screenplays, and PDF page proofs. -
Module 12: Proofreading Business Writing
Here, we teach you how to proofread for different business clients. We take you through working with brand voices and understanding how grammatical point of view works in different types of business writing. After completing this module, you will know how to proofread many document types and formats common to business writing, including formal reports, website copy, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and Google Docs. -
Module 13: Finding Work And The Final Assignment
Drum roll, please! It’s time to show off what you have learned! In this final part of the course, you’ll discover how to find work as a freelance proofreader. We’ll also guide you through top review areas and give you a practice mock assignment. Then you’ll take two proofreading tests, which we’ll provide detailed tutor feedback on. If you score 80% or above on this and the final assignment in Becoming An Editor, we’ll offer you the opportunity to undertake a paid trial as a freelance proofreader and editor with Proofed.