PROOFREADING GUIDELINES

DO I HAVE A TITLE?

  • Is it capitalized?
  • Will it hook my reader?

DID I REMEMBER TO USE MARGINS?

  • Did I indent the first line of each paragraph?
  • Did I indent to start a new paragraph each time I changed speakers in dialogue?

DID I CAPITALIZE?

  • People’s names
  • Names of cities, towns, months, days, holidays, the letter “I”
  • First letter of sentences
  • Abbreviations. Mrs., Dr., etc.

DOES EACH SENTENCE END WITH A PUNCTUATION MARK?

  • Period- This is my dog.
  • Exclamation point -Wait for me!
  • Question mark – Whose pencil is this?

DID I USE QUOTATION MARKS CORRECTLY?

  • Direct quotes
  • “I want to go to the library,” said Joe.
  • Mary said, “I’ll go with you.”
  • Divided quotes
  • “I want to go, too,” said Sue, “if that’s okay with you.”
  • Quotes around titles
  • “Dear Tom: A Thanksgiving Fable” is a funny story.

COMMAS

  • Separate words in a series.
  • Set off “yes” and “no” when part of an answer.
  • Set off the name of a person addressed from the rest of the sentence.
  • Set off direct quotations from the rest of the sentence.
  • Separate the names of a town or city from the state.
  • Separate the names of days, months and years.
  • Separate please, thank you and excuse me from the rest of the sentence.

DO MY SENTENCES READ WELL OUT LOUD?

  • Could I break very long sentences down by using a period instead of and, so, but or then?
  • Do my sentences vary in length—some short and some long?
  • Do my sentences start in different ways?

For a list of common proofreading symbols followed by examples of their use, go to: www.cantonia.com

The following Editing Sheets can be given to students as a final check-off for pieces of writing taken to the “final” draft stage.  The Sheets are arranged in order from beginning primary writers to older intermediate-aged writers.

 

Author________________________________________________

Editing Sheet (1)

  • I have written my name on my paper.
  • I have thought of a title for my story.
  • I have numbered my pages.
  •  I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend.
  • My handwriting is readable.

Author________________________________________________

Editing Sheet (2)

  •  I have written my name on my paper.
  • I have read my paper.
  • I have capital letters and lower case letters in my story.
  • I have thought of a title for my story.
  • I have circled ____ misspelled words.
  • I have corrected the misspelled words by asking someone or  looking in my Word Bank.
  • I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend.
  • My handwriting is readable.

Author________________________________________________

Editing Sheet (3)

  • I have read my paper.
  • My story has an interesting title that is capitalized.
  • I have begun all sentences with a capital letter.
  • I have capitalized all the names of people, places, and things.
  • I have put a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. (. ? ! )
  • I have circled all the misspelled words.
  • I have corrected the misspelled words.
  • I have added the misspelled words to my Word Bank.
  • I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend to be sure they are fluent and make sense.
  • My handwriting is readable.
  • I have added information to my draft to make it more interesting.

Author________________________________________________

 Editing Sheet (4)

  • I have read my paper.
  • My story has an interesting title that tells about the story and makes people want to read it.
  • I have begun all sentences with a capital letter.
  • I have capitalized all the names of people, places, and things as well as the title.
  • I have put a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. (. ? ! )
  • I have circled all the misspelled words.
  • I have corrected the misspelled words.
  • I have added the misspelled words to my Word Bank.
  • I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend to be sure they are fluent and make sense.
  • My handwriting is readable.
  • I have added information to my draft to make it more interesting.
  • I have found something in my story I don’t really need or that I have changed.
  • I have added some describing words to make people, places, and things in my story more interesting.

Author________________________________________________

 Editing Sheet (5)

  • I have read my paper.
  • My story has an interesting title that tells about the story and makes people want to read it.
  • I have begun all sentences with a capital letter.
  • I have capitalized all the names of people, places, and things as well as the title.
  • I have put a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. (. ? ! )
  •  I have used commas ( , ) and quotation marks ( “ ” ) where needed.
  • I have circled all the misspelled words.
  • I have corrected the misspelled words.
  • I have added the misspelled words to my Word Bank.
  • I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend to be sure they are fluent and make sense.
  • My handwriting is readable.
  • I have added at least two pieces of information to my draft to make it more interesting.
  • I have found at least two things in my story I don’t really need or that I have changed.
  • I have added some describing words to make people, places, and things in my story more interesting.
  • I have written my story in paragraph form.

 

From the Writing Curriculum Files of Children’s Author, Suzanne Williams www.suzanne-williams.com