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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    Post-Easter Eggs

    Post-Easter Eggs

    Apr 04, 2018

    • Proofreading Tips

    Here at Knowadays, we were so busy gorging on chocolate all Easter we forgot to get you anything. Better late than never, right? Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the technology to send actual chocolate via a blog, but we can share some ‘Easter eggs’ all the same. You might already know the pop-culture definition of […]

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    13 Latin Terms Every Proofreader Should Know

    13 Latin Terms Every Proofreader Should Know

    Mar 26, 2018

    • Proofreading Tips
    • Vocabulary Tips

    You 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

  • Proofreading and Editing Tips: How Commas Pull Their Weight

    How Commas Pull Their Weight

    Mar 09, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Grammar
    • Proofreading Tips
    • Punctuation

    In previous posts, we’ve discussed how proofreaders need to be aware of meaning when working on a document. And it’s not only word choice that affects meaning: punctuation can also change a sentence. In this post, then, we look at a few things you can do with commas. Direct Address A comma is necessary to […]

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    Top 3 Justifications for Sentence Fragments

    Mar 01, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Grammar
    • Proofreading Tips

    This post is very. Let that sink in for a moment. Deep, isn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s also poor grammar. As proofreaders, we know that incomplete sentences are usually unacceptable. But there are circumstances in which a partial sentence might make sense. Thus, here are our top three reasons to leave sentence fragments be. 1. For […]

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    All Together Or Altogether?

    Feb 21, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Proofreading Tips
    • Spelling

    The classic movie Airplane! plays on the similarity between the terms all together and altogether. In that film, the protagonist discovers that pressing the autopilot button is counterproductive. But when he explains this and uses the word altogether to mean entirely, his companions respond by echoing his words all together. And, lo, we immediately see […]

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    Citing Edited Books in MLA and IEEE

    Feb 15, 2018

    • Academic Writing
    • Proofreading Tips
    • Referencing and Citations
    • Style

    We’re sorry. We’ve made you wait, trembling with anticipation, for the next exciting instalment of our occasional series on referencing. Perhaps your desperation for referencing tips has led you to seek out the darker corners of the internet for dodgy tips cut with misconceptions. Stop. We have the good stuff. And if you’re not sure […]

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    Transatlantic Differences: 3 Tips on UK vs. US Punctuation

    Feb 06, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Proofreading Tips
    • Punctuation

    America and the UK have been cultural cousins for some time. For better or for worse, they therefore bear some striking resemblances, such as sharing a language. But there are some important differences in how each country uses English. The differences between UK and US spelling (e.g. organise vs. organize) and word usage (e.g. trousers […]

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    Unruly Prefixes: Pre and Pro

    Jan 23, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Other Errors
    • Proofreading Tips

    Prefixes. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t communicate without ‘em. Can’t even say prefixes without ‘em. And we can see both how essential and how tricky they are by looking at the words prescribe and proscribe. First, though, some preliminaries. Prefixes for Beginners If you’re pursuing a career in proofreading, you probably know a thing or […]

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  • Proofreading and Editing Tips: When Alright and Anymore Aren’t All Right Any More

    When Alright and Anymore Aren’t All Right Any More

    When Alright and Anymore Aren’t All Right Any More

    Jan 16, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Other Errors
    • Proofreading Tips
    • Spelling
    • Vocabulary Tips

    Even as a proofreader, alright and anymore may not ring any alarm bells. In less formal English, both are common. But two things you may need to know about these words include: That alright technically isn’t a word. That anymore (as one word) has a very specific usage. So put on your editing hats and […]

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  • Proofreading and Editing Tips: Making Verbs Agree

    How to Fix Subject–Verb Agreement Errors

    How to Fix Subject–Verb Agreement Errors

    Jan 09, 2018

    • Common Errors
    • Grammar
    • Proofreading Tips

    Do you ever feel like the only voice of reason in a world where all the words hate each other? We do. Sometimes, arranging a sentence so that it reads naturally is a daunting task. This is particularly true of ensuring that verbs agree when dealing with things like compound subjects and collective nouns. So […]

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