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)
q
I have written
my name on my paper.
q
I have thought
of a title for my story.
q
I have numbered my pages.
q
I have re-read
my sentences aloud to a friend.
q My
handwriting is readable.
Author________________________________________________
Editing
Sheet (2)
q
I have written my name on my paper.
q
I have read my paper.
q I
have capital letters and lower case letters in my story.
q I have thought of a
title for my story.
q
I have circled ____ misspelled
words.
q
I have corrected the misspelled
words by asking someone or looking in my Word Bank.
q
I have re-read my sentences aloud
to a friend.
q
My handwriting is readable.
Author________________________________________________
Editing
Sheet (4)
q
I have
read my paper.
q
My story
has an interesting title that is capitalized.
q
I have
begun all sentences with a capital letter.
q
I have
capitalized all the names of people, places, and things.
q
I have
put a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. (. ? ! )
q
I have
circled all the misspelled words.
q
I have
corrected the misspelled words.
q
I have
added the misspelled words to my Word Bank.
q
I have
re-read my sentences aloud to a friend to be sure they are fluent and make
sense.
q
My
handwriting is readable.
q
I have
added information to my draft to make it more interesting.
Author________________________________________________
Editing
Sheet (5)
q I
have read my paper.
q
My story has an interesting title that tells about the story and makes people
want to read it.
q
I have begun all sentences with a capital letter.
q I
have capitalized all the names of people, places, and things as well as the
title.
q
I have put a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. (. ? ! )
q
I have circled all the misspelled words.
q
I have corrected the misspelled words.
q
I have added the misspelled words to my Word Bank.
q
I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend to be sure they are fluent and
make sense.
q
My handwriting is readable.
q
I have added information to my draft to make it more interesting.
q
I have found something in my story I don’t really need or that I have changed.
q
I have added some describing words to make people, places, and things in my
story more interesting.
Author________________________________________________
Editing
Sheet (6)
q
I have read my paper.
q
My story has an interesting title that tells about the story and makes people
want to read it.
q
I have begun all sentences with a capital letter.
q
I have capitalized all the names of people, places, and things as well as the
title.
q
I have put a punctuation mark at the end of every sentence.
(.
? ! )
q
I have used commas ( , ) and quotation marks ( “ ” ) where needed.
q
I have circled all the misspelled words.
q
I have corrected the misspelled words.
q
I have added the misspelled words to my Word Bank.
q
I have re-read my sentences aloud to a friend to be sure they are fluent and
make sense.
q
My handwriting is readable.
q
I have added at least two pieces of information to my draft to make it more
interesting.
q
I have found at least two things in my story I don’t really need or that I
have changed.
q
I have added some describing words to make people, places, and things in my
story more interesting.
q
I have written my story in paragraph form.
From
the Writing Curriculum Files
of Children's Author, Suzanne Williams
www.suzanne-williams.com