Proofreading Tips
Whether you’re just getting started or are an experienced proofreader, there’s always something new to learn. That’s where our blogs come in! We've got expert advice on spelling, grammar, punctuation, referencing, proofreading different types of writing (from creative to business and academic), and much more!
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5 Top Tips for Giving Great Feedback on a Document
5 Top Tips for Giving Great Feedback on a Document
Published Jan 23, 2020
Last Updated Nov 26, 2024Knowadays is about more than just grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It’s about how you can help clients produce excellent writing, which often involves leaving feedback. But how should you comment on a document you’re editing? Let’s find out.
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What to Do with Tentative Language
What to Do with Tentative Language
Published Jan 13, 2020
Last Updated Nov 18, 2024Tentative language – also known as – is a common feature of many types of writing. But what exactly do we mean by tentative language? And what should you do if you encounter hedging when editing or proofreading a document? In this post, we explain all. What Do We Mean by Hedging? If a document […]
Proofreading Tips: Working With Religious Terms
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How to Proofread Negative Prefixes in English
Published Aug 07, 2018
Last Updated Nov 25, 2024English is a magpie language. It picks up shiny words wherever it can, and it doesn’t care how disorganised its rules become in the process. Or should that be ‘unorganised’? Take prefixes, for instance. We have de-, dis-, un-, and in-, all of which signify that something isn’t the case. And they’re not the only […]
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Proofreading Creative Writing
Published Jul 30, 2018
Last Updated Jun 02, 2025The truth hurts. That’s why everyday life can be scattered with little white lies – and why most of the human race avoids telling anyone that their baby isn’t all that pretty. But proofreaders aren’t so lucky. This career can involve sharing some uncomfortable truths. And this is especially true when working with authors and […]
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Capitalisation: Compass Points and Titles
Published Jul 02, 2018
Last Updated Aug 07, 2023In our time training proofreaders, we’ve noticed that the subtleties of capitalisation can sometimes confuse even the best students. So, today, we’re going to look at two tricky capitalisation issues that might trip you up: compass points and titles. Compass Points and Directions It is a common misconception that the four compass directions should always […]
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Formatting Titles in Academic Documents
Published May 18, 2018
Last Updated May 16, 2023Although proofreading and formatting are different, they overlap in some respects. For instance, when an essay names a source in the text, it is standard for the proofreader to ensure its title is appropriately formatted. Let’s take a look at how formatting titles works. Italics and Quote Marks Formatting titles in the text of a […]
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A Brief Guide to Proofreading for Websites
Published Apr 26, 2018
Last Updated May 28, 2025Is proofreading for websites different from other types of proofreading? The answer is yes! You can’t always apply the same proofreading techniques and guidelines to different kinds of documents. Academic proofreading, for instance, is very different to proofreading web copy. This is one reason why proofreaders haven’t yet been replaced by robots. Crucially, reading on […]
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Citing Edited Books in Chicago Style
Published Apr 13, 2018
Last Updated Nov 28, 2024Sound the celebratory trombone and strike the ritual tambourine. It’s referencing time again! And today we’re looking at how to cite edited books again. In this post, we’re going to look at Chicago referencing. There are two versions of this system: Author–date citations and a reference list (more common in the sciences) Footnotes and a […]
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13 Latin Terms Every Proofreader Should Know
13 Latin Terms Every Proofreader Should Know
Published Mar 26, 2018
Last Updated Nov 25, 2024You might want to throw on some Ricky Martin before you read this because we’re going Latin. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be as sexy as Señor Martin was at his hip-gyrating peak. In your proofreading career you will encounter several Latin terms, and you may already be familiar with many of them. However, it’s […]
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Top 5 Formatting Tips for Proofreaders
Top 5 Formatting Tips for Proofreaders
Published Mar 15, 2018
Last Updated Jan 02, 2025If there’s one thing that this blog has said ad nauseam, it’s that being a proofreader isn’t just about having good spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Take formatting, for example. It’s not proofreading, but a lot of jobs aimed at proofreaders require it and a lot of employers will expect you to format documents professionally. For […]