What do I do?
“[As a proofreader], you are the last line of defence before the document goes ‘live’. Your task is to eliminate the blunders that no one saw, without making unnecessary changes.” (CIEP)
I carefully check through everything in your text in detail, correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors; ensuring consistency of style and format; making sure that figures and tables are correctly labeled¹ and cited in the text; and that headings and page numbers on the contents page match those in the text. I read your work actively and raise any queries where a typo might have led to a factual error (“London hosted the Olympics in summer 2912”). I also try to retain your wording as much as possible and not change things unnecessarily.
For a more detailed description of what a proofreader does, please click here.
¹US English spellings used throughout this website.