The ABCs of Proofreading

Cost	$335 for the United States; $360 for Canada and Mexico; $375 for other countries
Instructor	Loralee Windsor

This correspondence course introduces you to the procedures, symbols, and conventions that professional proofreaders use in publishing firms and corporate communications departments. You can use them in proofreading all kinds of documents, including textbooks, fiction, corporate reports, advertising copy, and computer documentation.

The course materials are designed to meet the needs of many levels of students, including beginners hoping to break into publishing, people already working in publishing who want to upgrade their proofreading skills or move into editorial work, desktop publishers, and even writers wanting to clean up their manuscripts. But the main focus is on those who are interested in doing proofreading professionally, whether as employees or as freelancers.

The course includes 17 exercises that you will correct yourself, using the answer keys provided, and 3 that you will send to the instructor for corrections and suggestions.

Materials and Supplies

When you enroll, you will receive a course guide (106 pages), an answer key booklet (27 pages), and a packet containing 3 mail-in proofreading exercises.

You will need a dictionary and a word break book. The Merriam Webster Collegiate is the most commonly used desk dictionary in publishing, but any desk dictionary will do, as long as it’s a recent edition. Webster’s Instant Word Guide is the word break book your instructor uses. The only other supplies you will need to begin are sharp pencils and a straightedge. Later you’ll need a special ruler for measuring type and space.

Method

The course guide is arranged in four parts of two units each. The first describes the responsibilities and place of the proofreader in the publishing process, and the remaining three cover the proofreader’s three areas of responsibility. See the course guide contents for more details. The eight units present information in chunks interspersed with exercises that help you practice and remember the material.

After completing each of the last three parts, you will undertake a proofreading exercise to test your understanding of the information. By the time you complete the course, you will have completed 20 exercises on subjects ranging from forming proofreading marks to translating design specifications. You will also have proofread about 8 pages of typeset copy containing every kind of error you’re likely to see.

Schedule

There is a lot of information in this course. It will seem less intimidating if you break up the material into small sections and schedule regular, short study sessions for yourself (30 minutes three times a week is better than an hour and a half once a week, for example). Consider using the practice exercises as dividers for scheduling purposes.

The units will take different amounts of time. For example, in the first two units you will simply read the information and then do one exercise. Each of them could take as little as 2 hours. The third unit, in which you will learn the proofreading marks and symbols, will take longer. You might spend one whole session of 30 minutes on a single page, so that unit might take 5 or 6 hours before you do the mail-in exercise.

You may want to write out a schedule for study. Then stick to it! Since you’re studying independently, it’s easy to put off a study session, but you’ll retain more of the material if your sessions are fairly close together and on a regular schedule. Assignments will not be accepted more than 1 year after you register.

Loralee Windsor has 36 years’ experience in publishing, as a printer’s assistant, typesetter, proofreader, editor, and production coordinator. She is one of Editcetera’s founders and taught our proofreading classes for 16 years.

Course Manual Contents

Questions and Answers

Registration Form for Courses by Mail (PDF)

PayPal Registration Form for Distance Learning Programs