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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Unruly Prefixes: Pre and Pro
Unruly Prefixes: Pre and Pro
Jan 23, 2018
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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When Alright and Anymore Aren’t All Right Any More
When Alright and Anymore Aren’t All Right Any More
Jan 16, 2018
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 […]
How to Fix Subject–Verb Agreement Errors
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What to Do When a Document Is Hard to Follow
Jan 01, 2018
Early January is just like any other time of year, except you see a lot more people jogging in an attempt to keep to their new year’s resolutions. But here at Proofreading Academy, we believe that your resolutions don’t have to be exhausting! So instead of paying a year’s membership fees for two days at […]
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Ghosts of Typing Conventions Past
Dec 25, 2017
Chapter 1: Common Misconceptions It was Christmas Eve and Mr Scrivener Drudge, a wicked old miser who bore no similarity to anyone that would raise copyright issues, sat gloomily at the computer in his office. His nephew had bought it for him last Christmas after, in a fit of rage, Drudge threw his typewriter at […]
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Citing Chapters of Edited Books in Harvard and APA
Dec 19, 2017
The Becoming A Proofreader course has an academic referencing module that tells you how books, journal articles and websites should be cited in the Harvard, APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE styles. But it would take a hefty book to cover all possible sources and referencing styles. So every now and then our blog will focus […]
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How to Correct Right-to-Left Text Issues
Dec 12, 2017
Fans of Knowadays’ blog (we know you’re out there) will know that we try to make our posts fun and entertaining. But even fun-packed jobs like proofreading have their boring, technical bits. And more often than not, these bits are annoyingly important. Take, for example, the issue of correcting right-to-left text in Microsoft Word. Script […]
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Our Proofreading Christmas List
Dec 05, 2017
Here at Knowadays, we’re not tempted by the latest must-have gadgets, but we always get the latest version of Microsoft Word. We don’t crave luxury beauty products, either, but we do want every document we work on to look good. If we could ask Santa for a gift this Christmas, then, it would be something […]
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To Change or Not to Change? When to Edit a Document
Nov 28, 2017
That, as one famously poor speller might put it, is the question. One challenging part of being a proofreader is knowing when to make changes and when to leave well alone. It’s a delicate balance, and it requires more than a set of rules. More than anything, it requires common sense and good judgement. However, […]
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Proofreading Before Computers
Proofreading Before Computers
Nov 21, 2017
Proofreading dates back to the early days of printing: a contract from 1499 even mentions it, saying that the responsibility for proofreading lies with the author. But it may interest technology fans to know that Microsoft Word was not around in the fifteenth century. And proofreading before computers was, necessarily, very different. As such, to […]
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Word Choice: Historical vs. Historic
Word Choice: Historical vs. Historic
Nov 14, 2017
The invention of the computer was a historic event. Without it we would still be scribbling in the margins of galley proofs, unaided by word-processing software. The invention of the computer was also a historical event, hence our use of the past tense. Yet not every historical event is historic, and not every historic event […]
