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Can you ace this basic proofreading quiz.

Posted by Phil Jamieson Mar 22, 2018 7:30:00 AM

Take our quiz to test your basic proofreading knowledge and see if you can catch every single typo. See if you can get every question right and ace the entire quiz. And don’t look for any of the answers online, so you can really step up to the challenge!

Let us know how you did in the comments below. Good luck!

Topics: proofreading quiz , typos, typographic errors

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Top-Tier Proofreading Tests and Quizzes (over 450!)

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I’ve scoured the internet to bring you some of the best online proofreading tests and quizzes!

I recommend using a dictionary and other resources while taking these tests since professional proofreaders use resources while working. In fact, we couldn’t do our job without them!

Below, you’ll find helpful information about the assessments. I’ve tried to order them from easiest to hardest.

At the beginning, I’ve included a test I made to get the ball rolling!

Two tests are in UK English, and the rest are in US English.

Please keep in mind that there are spelling, punctuation, grammar, and vocabulary differences between British and American English.

The duration of the test is listed as short or long.

Short means it will probably take you a few minutes to complete. Long just means it will probably take you more than a few minutes to finish; “long” really isn’t very long. Is that vague enough for you, lol?

I’ve included the number of quizzes on each website whenever more than one quiz is available. Some of these websites will probably add more tests over time.

I hope you have fun testing your skills and boosting your proofreading power! 😊

Om Proofreading

Test Format: Multiple choice

Type of English: US

Duration: Long

Test-Taking Note: This test focuses on mistakes that spellcheckers miss. Most sentences deal with homophones: words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings (and often different spellings). I hope you enjoy it!

Note: If you need to rid your writing (or someone else’s) of mistakes with homophones, the free version of Grammarly can catch a lot of homophonic errors!

And if you aced the test above, you may want to check out my article about confusing homophones . It contains a fun quiz at the end to check your understanding!

Edit Republic

Quiz Format: Multiple choice

Type of English: US

Duration: Short

What the Company Offers: Site owner Phon Baillie has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She offers several courses for those interested in working as proofreaders or editors.

Portland Proof

Quiz Format: Find the error in each sentence and write the correct word or punctuation mark in the text box

Duration: Short; I’m not sure how many quizzes are on this site, but it seems to have quite a few. I think they’re a ton of fun!

Quiz-Taking Tip: Click the “Begin Game!” button to start the quiz. Your score is based on how many mistakes you make and how long it takes you to correct each sentence. You can compete with other quiz takers for the highest score.

What the Company Offers: This company provides proofreading services.

GrammarBook.com

Test/Quiz Format: Multiple choice; 4 tests and 52 quizzes are available

Duration: Long (the 2 pretests and 2 mastery tests); Short (the other 52 quizzes)

What the Company Offers: This website is based on Jane Straus’s The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation . I own and love this book!

The site is a fantastic resource for proofreaders and copy editors as it teaches the rules for English grammar, punctuation, and usage. It includes 4 free tests and 52 free quizzes. Hundreds of additional quizzes are available with a paid subscription.

Grammar Monster

Test Format: Varies

Duration: Short (334 total tests!!!)

What the Company Offers: This site provides a wealth of knowledge about grammar, punctuation, and commonly misused words. And, of course, truckloads of tests are available. You can hone your English language skills to your heart’s content!

Quiz Format: Find the error in each sentence

Type of English: Not a relevant factor in this case (but UK punctuation is used)

Duration: Long

Quiz-Taking Tip: You have to click on the correct answer (located in the word bank below each sentence).

What the Company Offers: Sporcle provides trivia entertainment online and at live shows. If you’re into trivia, you’ll love this site!

BusinessWritingBlog

Test Format: Find the punctuation error in each sentence

What the Company Offers: This company is dedicated to helping people become experts in business writing.

Proofread NOW .com

Quiz-Taking Tip: As soon as you click inside the bubble to mark your answer, the quiz moves on, and you can’t go back.

What the Company Offers: Proofreading and copyediting for documents written in English and Spanish; English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English translation services

Employment for Proofreaders: Yes. However, they weren’t hiring the last time I checked. They require a minimum of five years of experience as a professional proofreader. You must also perform exceptionally well on several complicated editing tests.

You can go here to see if they’re currently hiring.

Grammar Lion

Test Format: Multiple choice

Duration: Short

Test-Taking Note: You need to create an account to access this free test. I took it and enjoyed it! You can take the test now and then retake it after finishing the Grammar Lion Refresher class to see how much you’ve learned.

Test-Taking Tip: You can’t go back on any questions, so make sure you’re happy with your answer before moving on. After finishing the test, choose “Next Lesson” to see your score.

What the Company Offers: Site owner Ellen Feld has a master’s degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University. She offers a grammar course and a writing course, both suitable for beginners. Ellen also provides coaching services for writers.

The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)

Test Format: Finding errors in a passage of text

Type of English: UK

Test-Taking Note: One question requires a bit of copyediting

What the Company Offers: The CIEP is a nonprofit organization that puts forth editorial standards. They serve as a community that provides support and training to people working in the editorial profession. They have useful resources and offer unique benefits to paying members.

CMOS Shop Talk (from The Chicago Manual of Style )

Workout Format: Multiple choice; 47 workouts are available

Workout Tip: Remember to breathe deeply and engage your core. Oops! I mean, enjoy this fabulous resource! These workouts mainly contain questions related to proofreading; however, they also include questions about editing and knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).

I own a hard copy of CMOS and have an online subscription. CMOS is my go-to guide for proofreading and copyediting.

CMOS Shop Talk is an incredibly valuable resource for general proofreaders!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i prepare for a proofreading test.

To get ready for a proofreading test , you need to know the details of the exam (e.g., if it has a particular focus, any style guide requirements, or a time limit).

You can take practice proofreading tests to boost your confidence and uncover areas that need improvement, such as specific aspects of grammar and punctuation. Then, you can use online resources and reference books to improve your skills.

What is a proofreading test?

A proofreading test evaluates an individual’s proofreading proficiency. These tests are administered for various purposes: to assess job candidates, verify progress made in a proofreading class, or determine if someone should earn a particular credential.

What are five items to check when proofreading?

Five items to check while proofreading are grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. Proofreaders fix errors and inconsistencies in these areas. They also look for proper usage and repeated or omitted words. Verifying that writing adheres to a style guide may be needed too.

Is there a website that can proofread my paper?

The best website I’ve found that can proofread a paper is Grammarly’s free grammar checker . However, please know it’s unlikely that this checker will catch all the mistakes in your writing. If you have an important, complex, or long text, I’d recommend hiring a proofreader.

I hope you’ve enjoyed putting your proofreading skills to the test!

Please see my post about the skills proofreaders possess if you’d like more information about this topic.

Om Proofreading also has an article about the signs you would make a good proofreader !

Best wishes to you!

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou

Lindsay Babcock

Lindsay is the creator of Om Proofreading. She has a BA in psychology and earned a certificate in proofreading by passing the final exam in Proofread Anywhere’s general proofreading course. She shares what she’s learning in the field and through research to inform and inspire her readers.

12 Free Proofreading Tests to Check Your Skills

May 26, 2023

Written by:

Jessica Norris

Jessica is a writer for SideHustles.com. Her side hustles include freelance academic writing and editing, which she's done for...

Time Required

If you’re thinking about becoming a proofreader, you might be wondering whether your skills are good enough. To find out, you can take a proofreading test.

Tests can highlight gaps in your knowledge and help you work out whether you need more training and practice. They’re also a good way to identify the skills you need to improve.

We’ve compiled a list of 12 sites with proofreading tests you can take—all for free.

01. Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)

Who they are : The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) is a British association that provides training and support for editorial professionals. They’re a well-recognized authority in the editing and publishing industries.

The test : The CIEP proofreading test comes in the form of a document that contains common mistakes and an accompanying answer sheet showing you how to correct them. The test covers many of the different types of problems that proofreaders have to deal with, including mistakes in punctuation, spelling, and language use.

Other resources : As well as their proofreading test, the CIEP site has a lot of different quizzes on proofreading-related topics, from punctuation to formatting. There’s also a blog for editorial professionals, a selection of high-quality paid courses, and lots of free resources—fact sheets, booklets, and more.

Anything else I should know? While the CIEP proofreading test is very comprehensive, it uses British English. Watch out for the differences between British and American English.

02. ProofreadNOW.com

Who they are : ProofreadNOW.com is a company that offers paid proofreading services.

The test : The test on the ProofreadNOW.com website is multiple-choice and mainly checks your spelling and punctuation. A couple of the questions are a little tricky, but there are only 10 of them, so it’s fairly easy overall.

Other resources : The site also has a resources section where you can get free ebooks and white papers . There’s also a page where you can ask grammar questions (they’ll reply via email).

Anything else I should know? One of the proofreading test questions is contested by people in the comments, so this question probably has two correct answers.

03. Authority Pub

Screenshot of the Authority Pub homepage

Who they are : Authority Pub is a site that’s designed to help writers build a self-publishing business.

The test : The Authority Pub proofreading test is an entertaining letter riddled with errors that you have to correct. The answer sheet has a corrected version of the letter, which you can review when you’ve finished proofreading.

Other resources : Authority Pub has lots of informative articles on writing (and a self-publishing course for $397), but not much for proofreaders, although the website has a few tips on how to improve your proofreading skills.

Anything else I should know? The answers given on the corrected version of the letter in the proofreading test aren’t necessarily the only correct answers. Some of the errors can be corrected in more than one way.

04. Using English for Academic Purposes (UEfAP)

The test : This website has 10 proofreading tests that focus on different writing skills, including grammar, punctuation, and word use. There’s also a mixed test covering all 10 subjects. In these tests, you select the incorrect words and then type in the correct words, so it’s harder than a multiple-choice quiz. Luckily, there’s a “hint” button to help you if you get stuck.

Other resources : In addition to the tests mentioned above, the UEfAP site has another general test . Unfortunately, this one doesn’t include answers. The UEfAP also has a wealth of other resources to develop your proofreading skills, including exercises and explanations of many different aspects of language use.

Anything else I should know? This is another site that uses British English. It also focuses on academic English, and some of the tests are very advanced. Academic writing makes for great practice, as it’s one of the hardest types of writing to proofread. However, academic proofreading is quite different from many other types of proofreading (e.g., fiction proofreading), so the UEfAP’s tests aren’t all-purpose.

05. Earn Smart Online Class

Screenshot of the Earn Smart Online Class webpage

Who they are : Earn Smart Online Class is a website that offers advice about how to earn money working from home with jobs like proofreading, transcription, writing, and more.

The test : Earn Smart Online Class has a 20-question proofreading test that covers common errors in spelling and grammar, as well as homophones (words that sound the same but mean different things). It’s common for people to mix up homophones in their writing and also for spell checkers to miss these types of errors, so they’re important for proofreaders.

Other resources : The Earn Smart Online Class site features a few tips on how to get good at proofreading (including links to a free proofreading webinar from the company Proofread Anywhere ). There are also job listings, but these aren’t very up-to-date.

Anything else I should know? The test has a few tricky questions, but overall, it isn’t very hard. You should be able to get a high score fairly easily. If you don’t, you should consider whether you need to spend more time training your language skills before you take on proofreading projects.

06. Edit Republic

Screenshot showing the Edit Republic homepage

Who they are : Edit Republic is a company that offers professional courses in proofreading and editing, as well as how to start an editorial business.

The test : The Edit Republic proofreading quiz is a very quick multiple-choice test with 10 questions. It’s one of the easiest tests on our list, and you should be able to complete it in a few minutes.

Other resources : As well as the editing and proofreading courses that Edit Republic sells, they offer free training materials and other resources you can check out.

Anything else I should know? You’ll have to enter your email to get your proofreading test results.

07. Freelance Writing

Screenshot showing the FreelanceWriting homepage

Who they are : Freelance Writing is a platform for freelance writers to find work. It also directs businesses who want to hire writers to the website of a content-writing service.

The test : This proofreading test is a little different from the others on this list. Arguably, it’s more realistic. You have to find just three errors in several paragraphs, which is similar to what you’d expect if you were proofreading a text that had already gone through a round of copyediting (or was well-written enough not to need it), which will be the case for most of the pieces you’ll actually review as a proofreader.

Other resources : The Freelance Writing site has lots of resources for writers (including how-to articles, free ebooks, and information about writing competitions), but just a handful of articles specifically for proofreaders.

Anything else I should know? In theory, you’re supposed to complete the Freelance Writing proofreading test in 10 minutes. However, the site doesn’t time you, so you have to time yourself.

08. LoveToKnow

Screenshot showing the LoveToKnow homepage

Who they are : LoveToKnow is an online media company that features news, content on parenting and family life, resources for pet owners, home and garden advice, and more.

The test : The LoveToKnow site has a downloadable proofreading test, which features an email containing lots of errors. You have to correct them on a printout (or you can mark up the PDF file they provide). The answer sheet has all of the errors highlighted and provides explanations of how a proofreader should correct each one.

Other resources : There aren’t many resources for proofreaders on this site, but there’s a grammar test on the same page as the proofreading test. The site also has an article on how to proofread your own writing .

Anything else I should know? Throughout most of the proofreading test answer sheet, the errors are highlighted and left uncorrected (with annotations explaining what changes should be made). However, a couple of the corrections are made directly onto the highlighted answer sheet. Watch out for this—it can be a bit confusing.

09. Sporcle

Who they are : Sporcle is a trivia website with hundreds of different quizzes.

The test : The 25-question Sporcle proofreading test takes a different format from the others on this list. It will show you a sentence featuring an error, and underneath it, there are many possible corrections. You have to pick the right one.

Other resources : There are plenty of other Sporcle quizzes that are relevant for proofreaders, covering grammar, spelling, word definitions, and more.

Anything else I should know? Sporcle times how long it takes to complete their proofreading quiz. You have a maximum of 8 minutes to complete it.

10. Business Writing Blog

Screenshot showing the Business Writing Blog homepage

Who they are : Business Writing Blog publishes articles for writers working in a “professional, academic, and social setting,” according to their About Us page .

The test : This proofreading test features three emails that contain a number of errors (which you can correct on a printout or in a Word document). There’s an answer sheet for each test. The errors are highlighted and corrected.

Other resources : The Business Writing Blog site has an entire section dedicated to proofreading-related posts, plus more articles on useful topics like grammar and punctuation. They also offer a paid course on proofreading (for $159).

Anything else I should know? As you’d expect, this test focuses on business English, but it’s still good for general proofreading practice. Note that some of the errors on their test have more than one possible fix.

11. Om Proofreading

Screenshot showing the Om Proofreading homepage

Who they are : Om Proofreading is a website run by Lindsay Babcock, a proofreader who offers services for new age and spiritual content.

The test : Om’s proofreading test is fairly short and easy, featuring 20 multiple-choice questions on homophones.

Other resources : As well as a proofreading test, the Om Proofreading site offers general advice for proofreaders and a quiz on adverbs .

Anything else I should know? The Om Proofreading test doesn’t cover grammar, punctuation, syntax, or other areas that are important for proofreaders to know about.

12. The New York Times

Screenshot showing the The New York Times proofreading test webpage

Who they are : In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, the New York Times is one of the most widely circulated and well-respected newspapers in the US.

The test : The New York Times test assesses your proofreading and fact-checking skills. You have to find 14 errors that have been inserted into extracts from five of the newspaper’s articles. You can then check the PDF under the test to see all of the correct answers.

Other resources : There are also many other quizzes on the website that test your copyediting skills. All of them are part of a series called Copy Edit This! Unfortunately, these tests aren’t collected on a single page on the NYT’s website, but you can find them easily by googling. You can view the first few for free, but eventually you’ll need a subscription.

Anything else I should know? The New York Times proofreading and fact-checking test focuses more on fact-checking than proofreading. Also, it’s from 2014, so some of the information is obsolete.

13. Other free grammar and writing tests

These tests don’t specifically cover proofreading, but they do cover topics that are useful for proofreaders to know about:

Portland Proof : This is a proofreading service that also hosts free tests on their website. Their quizzes feel more like games. You have to pick the erroneous word and then correct it, but your speed is tested along with how many right answers you get. The errors mostly involve spelling and homophones.
GrammarBook.com : You can find quizzes on all kinds of language skills here, including grammar, punctuation, and how to use numbers in writing.
Grammar Monster : This site also has lots of tests on grammar, punctuation, and other topics that proofreaders need to know about.
Grammar Lion : This site, where you can sign up for paid grammar courses, offers a 20-question test that asks about various grammar points rather than getting you to correct errors in a text.
CMOS Shop Talk : This is a blog about the Chicago Manual of Style. It has a page full of multiple-choice tests on using Chicago style, including one on how to proofread .

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Robert is a writer and editor for SideHustles.com. He has 7+ years of experience in freelance writing and previously worked as the in-house editor for Compose.ly, a platform for remote and part-time writers.

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10 Free Proofreading Tests (To Boost Your Editing Skills)

Are you ready to kick-start your career as a proofreader?

How about testing your skills through a free proofreading test? Taking free proofreading quizzes will help you improve your editing capabilities rapidly. Can you take these tests without spending a dime? Yes! To make things easy for you, I’ve compiled tests that will help you grasp English grammar rules and common language errors. Are you ready to become a successful proofreader? Let’s do this!

The 10 Best Free Proofreading Tests Online:

1. earn smart online class.

Earn Smart Online Class is an excellent platform for new proofreaders as it offers more than just proofreading tests. The website contains several tips for improving your proofreading skills. Although the proofreading test is short with a few multiple-choice questions, it tests your capability by asking questions where most proofreaders make mistakes. Thus, you can easily test your proofreading skills through this test. The good thing about this website is that besides offering an online test, it also provides a downloadable PDF. Thus, you can choose to take the test at your convenience. It also has an answer key to make sure you check your answers as well!

2. Freelance Writing

As the name suggests, Freelance Writing is a platform dedicated solely to writers. So, if you’re a proofreader, you can get much more from this website. I like this test and would suggest you take it as well because it’s different from many others. It specifically checks your professionalism on the job. The test isn’t composed of multiple-choice questions but of one paragraph with only a few grammatical errors. This test trains you to check documents written by professional writers as well. You’ll also find the solution at the end, which explicitly explains how it works to help improve your proofreading skills.

3. Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)

The proofreading test by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) is perhaps the best choice for people who want to test their copy-editing skills through a credible source. Unlike many other tests, it contains several multiple-choice questions. The questions also focus on a broad spectrum wherein you’ll have to highlight grammar mistakes, punctuation errors, language use, etc. The website has 14 quizzes, and you can download the PDF version of the test. You’ll also have to download the answer key, which is right next to the quiz. The best thing I like about this free proofreading test is that it focuses not only on grammar and spelling mistakes. Instead, you’ll learn a lot more to help you become a professional freelance proofreader.

4. Using English for Academic Purposes (UEfAP)

Using English for Academic Purposes (UEfAP) is a credible source with many tips and resources to help you improve your skills in checking copies for errors. It has several quizzes to test your proofreading skills, which you can take after learning the pointers taught by the site. It enables you to assess whether your proofreading skills have improved. Another good thing about this website is that it has a wide assortment of quizzes, including punctuation, parts of speech, spelling, word order, etc. By taking these quizzes, you can have a better grip on various parts of the English language, which will help you a lot in your proofreading career.

5. Grammar Book

Grammar Book is another excellent website for writers and proofreaders because it contains a lot of tips and information to help boost your skills. You can find almost everything about English on this website. So, if you want to learn about proofreading and writing, as well as expanding your vocabulary , it can be an amazing resource. Apart from that, the website has 52 free quizzes and 4 free tests. If you want to access more, you’ll have to subscribe. However, I believe attempting the quizzes and tests is enough to help you improve your English skills . The quizzes are also of different types to help you unlock a broad range of knowledge about proofreading.

6. Portland Proof

Portland Proof is a company that offers proofreading and editing to clients all over the world. This site is quite popular for providing amazingly professional services. As this company is a provider of proofreading services , we can rely on it to give us a better insight into doing this job. That’s why it has also designed quizzes and tests to evaluate your abilities. It offers different quizzes, each of which contains ten questions. You’ll have to check the mistake, and the next question will appear after attempting the one already on the screen. Attempting this test can be an excellent way to improve your proofreading skills.

7. ProofreadNow.com

ProofreadNow.com is an excellent platform for both beginners and professional proofreaders. However, this quiz can be tough because it challenges you to spot the tiniest mistakes. Their meticulous method is excellent for testing your proofreading skills. That’s why professional proofreaders can also try it to polish their skills even more. The quiz consists of 10 multiple-choice questions, and it won’t take much time to solve them. However, you’ll have to rack your brain to spot and point out the tiniest mistakes. The quiz starts as soon as you select the first answer, and it’ll go on from there. Another thing, there is no do-over once you answer, so you have to think hard before solving.

8. AuthorityPub

If you want to take a shot at really challenging tests to polish your proofreading skills, I recommend you try the tests made by AuthorityPub. The site provides you with amazing tips and tricks to improve your proofreading skills before you attempt to ace the quiz. It then offers the option for you to take the quiz to check if you’ve understood the guidelines. There are a lot of paragraphs for you to proofread and highlight the mistakes. After taking the test, you can check the answer key at the end.

9. Love To Know

Love To Know is another free online proofreading test that I liked a lot. The test itself is moderate, and the best thing about it is that it’s printable. This feature makes it easier for people who find it difficult to underline and highlight mistakes on the screen. This test won’t tell you the number of mistakes in the document beforehand. You must fish them out. This method is amazing because when clients give you documents to proofread, you will not be told about the number of mistakes as well. So, attempting this test can be an excellent way of getting some practical experience .

10. Sporcle

What draws my attention to Sporcle’s proofreading test is that it has 25 questions and is much longer than standard proofreading tests. Also, unlike many other free proofreading tests, you only have a fixed time of 8 minutes to solve all 25 questions. So, it also helps develop your reading comprehension skills. It seems more difficult to solve because of the time pressure. As for the multiple-choice questions, the difficulty level varies as you go along. You’ll have to find the mistakes in each question and click the correct answer as the time ticks away.

Proofreading takes more than just spotting grammatical and spelling errors. You must be eagle-eyed in identifying even the smallest punctuation mistake. Sometimes, you even have to do quick fact-checking to ensure the veracity of each sentence before publishing. Taking a stab at a free proofreading test can be an excellent way to improve your English language skills and easily spot misspelled words or missing punctuation marks. Taking these tests repeatedly and improving your results will make a positive impression on your employers and perhaps even help you start a proofreading business . The best thing is that you can complete these quizzes at no extra cost. Later on, you can try a course for professional editors that will let you obtain certification and take your skills to the next level .

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Copy Editing Tests || Copy Editor Testing || Editor Testing || Tests For Editors || Proofreader Testing || Proofreading Tests Tests For Writers || Writer Testing

PROOFREADING TESTS

Over 48,000 proofreading tests served, over 48,000 potential proofreaders have challenged our proofreading tests for employee assessment purposes. for ten years, companies and individuals around the world have successfully used our proofreading tests for assessments of employee proofreading skills., contact form.

Your opinion matters. We want to know what's wrong . . . or right.

SAMPLE PROOFREADING TESTS

Are You Ready To Test Your Proofreading Skills?

Even the most grammar-savvy amongst us benefit from a thorough proofreading of our work.

You may rely on an editor to check your work, or like many writers, it might be tempting to do a quick scan of your writing without thoroughly proofreading it.

But proofreading is as essential to your writing as writing is. It allows you to fix any errors that may obscure your intended meaning or distract your reader. It also helps you catch grammar and spelling mistakes , misused words, and punctuation errors.

If you have an editor, he or she can polish your work much more easily (and less expensively) if you’ve given it the careful once-over before the editing process.

If you don’t have an editor, proofreading can save you from embarrassing and critical comments from your readers.

Proofreading makes you a better, more mindful writer and, over time, it will cement the skills you need to be an accomplished writer.

Proofreading Test

Review this letter for mistakes:, corrected letter.

Here’s a checklist of actions you should take to properly proofread your writing:

Remove any distractions so you can concentrate on proofing your work.
Look for one type of writing problem at a time (first spelling errors, then word usage, etc.).
Read your writing out loud and silently.
Print a copy of your work to proofread it on paper.
Read it backward to spot any spelling mistakes .
Look out for homonyms (words that share the same spelling and pronunciation).
Double check contractions and apostrophes for common mistakes (like it’s and its or there and their).
Review carefully for punctuation mistakes. Look up anything you aren’t sure about.
Ask a friend to read your writing after you proofread it to check behind you.

So, why not spend a few minutes assessing your own proofreading skills with an easy and entertaining test?

woman on Mac computer at desk Proofreading test

To make this proofreading test more challenging, I’ve thrown in a variety of hurdles for you to spot and clear as you make your way to the finish line.

May you find the following proofreader and copy editor test as helpful and enjoyable as it was excruciating to write. Don’t let my agony be in vain.

Dear Ms. Adams;

We’ve recieved your manuscript and have read enough of it to offer this constructive critique, which we hope you’ll take unto consideration before sending us another sample of your work, we do value you’re time.

1. The beginning of your story is week. Try to evoke an emotional response within the first few paragraphs.

2. You use to many semicolons. Its distracting.

3. You use third person omiscient POV, which in our humble opinion, weakens the impact of your main characters painful situation.

4. You tell more then show what your characters are feeling. As Anton Checkov wrote: “Dont tell me the moon is shining, show me hte glint of light on broken glass.”

5. You switch points of view, jumping from one persons head to another without warning, it’s confusing and you risk loosing your reader’s trust end attention

6. The dialogue feels forced and unathentic: the southern accent is overdone and painful too read.

7. Your use of ellipsis is… awkward. And you use them quite alot. Consider removing most of them. Noone pauses that much..

8. You’re love of dashes is evident. Please eliminate most of them, and and make your sentences shorter clearer, and less wordy.

9. Please please please stop using dialog tags like “he grinned” or “she sighed”. You can’t sigh or grin words. It can’t be done. Stick with “said” but try to make it more obvious who is saying whom without using dialog tags for every quote. If you must indicate sighs, grins, and other nonverbal gestures set them apart from teh quotes with periods rather than commas .

10. Your main character launches into a stream of conscience monologue and his dialoge partner somehow doesn’t lapse into a coma before he finishes this is wishful thinking and makes it hard to sympathize with the mane character who’s soliloquy is way too long to keep you’re readers attention. We tired but had to skip to the end wear he finally sums it up nicely.

11. We dont really get to now your secondary character well enough to care about what happens to her. She listens to the main character and throws in a few responses hear and their but is otherwise bland and two dimensional. Her boyfriend the main character, does most of the talking, and she stairs out the window a lot and I mean a LOT. Yet we never find out weather she’s waiting for someone or something or if shes just really board. She’s certainly stiff as a board (see what i did they’re?).

12. My fellow editers here at Proper Publishing House agree with all the statements in this letter which I spent ours perfecting ought of sincere gratitude for your efforts and true dat concern for yore development as a writer.

13. We recommend you contact the services of a inexperienced proofreader or copyediter before submitting to us any future writing samples. Good proofreading makes such a deference!

In short let us offer you hour best hopes for the improvement of your writing don’t be discouraged keep at it and remember Proper Publishing House will always bee honest with you because

Sincerely and optimystically

Sarah jane Smythe

Cheif Editer

Now, it’s time to compare your corrections with the letter below. Keep in mind that not all your copyediting corrections have to look exactly like mine. There’s room for some creative improvisation. I’ve highlighted the errors and everything added or crossed out.

Dear Ms. Adams :

We’ve received your manuscript and have read enough of it to offer this constructive critique, which we hope you’ll take into consideration before sending us another sample of your work . We do value your time.

1. The beginning of your story is weak . Try to evoke an emotional response within the first few paragraphs.

2. You use too many semicolons. It’s distracting.

3. You use third person omniscient POV, which , in our humble opinion, weakens the impact of your main character’s painful situation.

4. You tell more than show what your characters are feeling. As Anton Chekhov wrote , “ Don’t tell me the moon is shining ; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

5. You switch points of view, jumping from one person’s head to another without warning. It’s confusing, and you risk losing your reader’s trust and attention.

6. The dialogue feels forced and inauthentic ; the Southern accent is overdone and painful to read.

7. Your use of ellipses is… awkward. And you use them quite a lot . Consider removing most of them. No one pauses that much.

8. Your love of dashes is evident. Please eliminate most of them, and and make your sentences shorter, clearer, and less wordy.

9. Please , please , please stop using dialogue tags like “he grinned” or “she sighed .” You can’t sigh or grin words. It can’t be done. Stick with “said , “ but try to make it more obvious who is saying what without using dialogue tags for every quote. If you must indicate sighs, grins, and other nonverbal gestures, set them apart from the quotes with periods rather than commas.

10. Your main character launches into a stream of consciousness monologue, and his dialogue partner somehow doesn’t lapse into a coma before he finishes . This is wishful thinking and makes it hard to sympathize with the main character , whose soliloquy is way too long to keep your reader’s attention. We tried but had to skip to the end where he finally sums it up nicely.

11. We don’t really get to know your secondary character well enough to care about what happens to her. She listens to the main character and throws in a few responses here and there but is otherwise bland and two-dimensional . Her boyfriend , the main character, does most of the talking, and she stares out the window a lot — and I mean a LOT. Yet we never find out whether she’s waiting for someone or something or if she’s just really bored. She’s certainly stiff as a board (see what i did they’re?).

12. My fellow editors here at Proper Publishing House agree with all the statements in this letter , which I spent hours perfecting out of sincere gratitude for your efforts and true dat concern for your development as a writer.

13. We recommend you contract the services of an experienced proofreader or copyeditor before submitting to us any future writing samples. Good proofreading makes such a difference !

In conclusion , let us offer you our best hopes for the improvement of your writing . Don’t be discouraged , keep at it , and remember Proper Publishing House will always be honest with you . because

Sincerely and optimistically ,

Sarah Jane Smythe

Chief Editor

Free Online Proofreader

Perfect your writing with ProWritingAid's proofreading tool. Try it now for polished, error-free text.

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Our writing tool goes beyond proofreading

In addition to basic proofreading, ProWritingAid has over 25 tailored reports to help improve your writing.

Readability

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Sentence structure

Overused words

Transition use

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Homonym confusion

Sentence length variety

Business jargon

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It’s just like having a real-life writing coach

Some reports provide quick grammar suggestions. Others go in depth and help you improve the strength and readability of your text.

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Our proofreading tool works wherever you do

We seamlessly integrate across all the apps you use, whether they’re on the desktop or online.

Proofreader FAQs

1. does prowritingaid autocorrect.

ProWritingAid provides recommendations so you can identify and correct writing errors. You have complete control over whether to accept or ignore these suggestions.

2. Can I proofread emails and social media posts?

Yes. As a matter of fact, ProWritingAid's browser extensions work across almost all websites and online apps, including Gmail, LinkedIn, and Google Docs.

3. How can ProWritingAid help?

ProWritingAid helps with a variety of writing tasks. It corrects grammar, spelling, and punctuation, while also enhancing vocabulary variety and more.

4. Is ProWritingAid free?

A free account allows you to edit up to 500 words at a time. If you want to edit larger documents, upgrading is necessary. You can find more information on our pricing page .

5. Can ProWritingAid paraphrase?

Yes! You can rewrite sentences with a single click using Rephrase. See multiple options to reword any sentence.

6. Does ProWritingAid have a plagiarism checker?

Yes! ProWritingAid’s plagiarism checker will check your work against over a billion webpages, published works, and academic papers, so you can be sure of its originality. Find out more about pricing for plagiarism checks here .

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In the test for the best grammar checker , Scribbr found 19 out of 20 errors.

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Enhance your writing with Scribbr’s free Grammar Checker. We can help you to avoid mistakes with:

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The Scribbr Grammar Checker fixes grammatical errors like:

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Spelling may seem straightforward, but basic spell-checks often don’t recognize many specialist terms you might use in your writing, incorrectly marking them as mistakes.

Scribbr has a large dictionary of recognized words, so you can feel confident every word is 100% correct.

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Our Grammar Checker takes away all your punctuation worries. Avoid common mistakes with:

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Avoid word choice errors

Should you use “affect” or “effect” ? Is it “then” or “than” ? Did you mean “there,” “their,” or “they’re” ?

Never worry about embarrassing word choice errors again. Our grammar checker will spot and correct any errors with commonly confused words .

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Would you like to upload your entire document and check all your documents for 100+ language issues? Then Scribbr’s AI-powered proofreading is perfect for you.

With AI-powered proofreading, you can correct your text in no time:

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There are important differences between the versions of English used in different parts of the world, including UK and US English . Our grammar checker supports a variety of major English dialects:

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Frequently asked questions

The Scribbr Grammar Checker is a tailor-made AI-powered tool that can correct basic language, grammar, style, and spelling errors. We run it so that our editors are free to focus on what they do best: making sure that your paper is free of more nuanced mistakes and providing you with helpful feedback and writing tips.

The Scribbr Grammar Checker is a pro at correcting basic mistakes – and a human editor will still be carefully reviewing your full text – so you can rest assured that your paper is in very good hands!

When you receive back a document that has been reviewed by the Scribbr Grammar Checker, you’ll see two sets of tracked changes in it: one set from the grammar checker and one set from your editor. That way, you can easily tell who made what changes in your paper.

Not sure how tracked changes work in Word or how to review your edited file? Read our handy guide to learn more.

We tested ten of the most popular free grammar checkers to see how many errors they could fix in our sample text and deducted points for any new errors introduced. We also evaluated the tools’ usability.

When compared all the other grammar checkers we tested for this comparison and Scribbr performed exceptionally well. It was successful in detecting and correcting 19 of the 20 errors. See the full review here .

If our grammar checker flags an error that is not actually an error, you have several options:

1. Ignore the error: Most grammar checkers allow users to skip or ignore suggestions they do not agree with or find irrelevant. If you are confident that the flagged “error” is not an issue, you can bypass the suggestion and move on to the next one.

2. Review the context: Take a moment to thoroughly review the context surrounding the flagged error. Sometimes, the initial correct usage might still create confusion or ambiguity within the specific context, and reconsidering the phrasing could improve overall clarity.

Yes, this grammar checker covers the following mistakes:

1. Grammar: Correction of grammatical errors such as subject-verb agreement, tense usage, and sentence structure

2. Spelling: identification and correction of spelling errors, including typos and commonly confused words.

3. Punctuation: Detection and rectification of punctuation errors, including incorrect use of commas, periods, colons, and other punctuation.

4. Word choice errors: Catch words that sound similar but aren’t, like their vs. they’re and your vs. you’re.

Yes. There’s no sign up or payment required to use the grammar checker.

Yes. The grammar checker fixes any text, no matter what the medium is.

The Scribbr grammar checker finds more errors than many other tools and is particularly user-friendly:

Winner: In our test comparison, the Scribbr grammar checker found 19 out of 20 errors, putting it in first place.
No registration required: You don’t need an account to use the grammar checker.
No limits: There is no character or word limit.
Ad-free: There is no advertising on Scribbr to distract from the tool.

For more details, feel free to read our test of the best English grammar checkers.

Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading

About CIEP training courses
Art of Querying
Copyediting 1: Introduction
Copyediting 2: Headway
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Copyright for Editorial Professionals
Editing Digital Content
Editorial Project Management
Efficient Editing: Strategies and Tactics
Getting to Grips with Grammar and Punctuation
Health Editing
Introduction to Fiction Editing
Medical Editing
Non-Fiction Developmental Editing
Plain English for Editors
Proofreading 1: Introduction
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Anyone can be a proofreader, can't they? How hard can it be? All they do is find typos, don't they?

See for yourself!

If you're thinking of training to become a proofreader, or if you're just curious, here's a chance to see whether you would enjoy some of the things that editors and proofreaders do.

It's based on straightforward text that contains a number of very common errors. See if you can spot all twenty errors, then check the answer sheet. If you haven't found everything, that doesn't mean that you won't be a good proofreader: it takes training and experience to do it well, and the CIEP can help.

Take the test (118KB PDF) See the answers (130KB PDF)

Take our quizzes just for fun!

Challenge yourself to take our language quizzes. They're just for fun but you'll test your knowledge of grammar and current usage, and we'll explain what we think are the right answers. There's a new one every two months, so check back here when you want to tackle the next one.

Quiz 1 : Punctuation
Quiz 2 : Language use
Quiz 3 : Spellings, phrases and punctuation
Quiz 4 : More punctuation, dashes and hyphens
Quiz 5 : Spooky Halloween-themed language dilemmas
Quiz 6 : Fa-la-la-la, it's a festive one
Quiz 7 : Pluralisation, superfluities and easily confused words
Quiz 8 : Numbers, names, italics and accents
Quiz 9 : Getting into summer with subjunctives, pronouns and more
Quiz 10 : All about publishing terminology
Quiz 11 : Parenthesis, capitalisation and ampersands, with a sprinkling of dogs, bats and stars
Quiz 12 : Santa, Charles Dickens and cheese. It must be another festive edition!
Quiz 13 : To-ing and fro-ing with titles, numbers and italics
Quiz 14 : Verbs, references, Star Wars and Pringles
Quiz 15 : Adverbs, possessives and word definitions, with crisps and cosy crime
Quiz 16 : Internal dialogue, interjections, and interruptions by leopards in this fiction-themed edition
Quiz 17 : Another quiz for Halloween (or should that be Hallowe'en?)
Quiz 18 : From reindeer to superheroes, apostrophes to false ranges
Quiz 19 : Slashes, flares and portmanteaus
Quiz 20 : Aluminium, cheese footballs and a not-so-silent ‘h’
Quiz 21 : Are things going downhill or uphill? Plus school holidays, Pulitzer Prizes and the complicated letter C
Quiz 22 : Sleepy cats and suncream, word endings and Westward Ho!
Quiz 23 : From football excitement to citing right

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The free AI proofreader

Improve your writing with our free online proofreading tool. Harness the power of artificial intelligence to fix grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and enhance your writing style. Ideal for students, professionals, and anyone looking to polish their text.

Free online proofreading and essay editor

A reliable proofreading tool and essay editor for any writer or student, a complete environment.

Typely is more than just a proofreading tool. It's a complete writing environment.

Thousands of checks

More than a thousand checks are being performed and we've only scratched the surface.

Inspired by the greatest writers

Gain access to humanity’s collective understanding about the craft of writing.

A proofreading tool that does not bark at every tree

Typely is precise. Existing tools for proofreading raise so many false alarms that their advice cannot be trusted. Instead, the writer must carefully consider whether to accept or reject each change.

We aim for a tool so precise that it becomes possible to unquestioningly adopt its recommendations and still come out ahead — with stronger, tighter prose. Better to be quiet and authoritative than loud and unreliable.

Relax, focus, write your next masterpiece...

Writing presumes more than simply laying out words on a paper. Typely helps you get in the mood and keeps you focused, immersed and ready to write your story.

Whether you need a distraction-free environment, some chill relaxing sounds or a pomodoro timer to manage your time we got you covered.

Got questions? We have answers.

No. Typely is completely free and we plan on keeping it that way. We are considering some advanced features however that might be available under a premium plan.

The only limit we have applied thus far is on the number of characters you can submit and that is being set at a maximum of 50,000.

In theory yes but that will require a lot of work and professionals dedicated for this job. We are considering a way of letting the community participate somehow.

Typely does not do grammar checking because it's hard and almost impossible to get right. The aim for Typely is to be precise and reliable.

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16 Best Online Proofreading Quizzes To Test Your Skills In 2024 (Exercises With Answers)

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Grammatical errors can significantly impact the credibility of any written work.

To catch any of these errors, developing solid proofreading skills is crucial.

What better way to do so than through a proofreading quiz with answers?

Online proofreading quizzes can be a fun and effective way to test your knowledge and identify areas for improvement.

Whether you’re a writer or looking to venture into proofreading as a beginner or expert proofreader, they are a significant step.

Regular proofreading exercises online will allow you to develop the attention to detail necessary to become a successful proofreader.

Based on my research, I’ll discuss online proofreading practices, quizzes and test examples, and proofreading tips to elevate your skills.

16 Online Proofreading Tests with Answers

1) dollarberg quick online proofreading quiz.

One of the best ways to improve your proofreading skills is by taking a proofreading quiz.

Such quizzes enlighten you on what to look out for.

You can do these quizzes online and know your score.

Here is a proofreading quiz (and answers) to help you improve your skills.

2) Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading

Formerly known as the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), this organization is a great way to build your foundation as a proofreader.

It offers proofreaders and editors a community, support, and training to promote excellence in English proofreading.

Their proofreading test is a PDF document with an excerpt to go through. The self-assessing test examines the common errors people make in English.

You need to identify 20 errors in the one-page document ranging from spelling, punctuation, and word use.

There is an accompanying PDF with answers that you can use to gauge your skills.

Aside from the above, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading also has other language quizzes.

3) Using English for Academic Purposes (UEfAP)

UEfAP is an excellent resource for individuals seeking to understand English.

Even though the emphasis is on academic purposes, there are plenty of tests that can help elevate your proofreading skills.

Andrew Gillett created the site in early 2000, and it remains relevant.

Proofreading quizzes on UEfAP test on spelling, punctuation, word order, and the use of the different parts of speech.

The tests vary in form. In some sections, you will find multiple choices; in others, you’ll need to edit the text.

You get immediate feedback, and the score is cumulative as you progress with the test.

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4) Purdue OWL Exercises

Purdue OWL is an online writing lab that offers a variety of resources for its global audience.

They offer online referencing materials, writing advice, help, and services.

A section on their site that is relevant to proofreaders is the OWL exercises .

This contains exercises geared towards improving your understanding of the English language.

You’ll get grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and many more exercises to practice.

You may need to print or work on the exercises on a Word or Google document. There are no multiple choices or editable sections.

The answers are linked at the bottom of every quiz for reference.

5) New York Times

The New York Times is a New York newspaper with a global audience with print and digital subscribers.

They have a short quiz to test their prowess in reading published writing.

There are 5 excerpts taken from articles in different industries with punctuation, grammar, spelling, or factual errors.

They have specified the number of mistakes to find in each question.

When done, the answers are provided in a PDF linked at the end of the article.

6) ProofreadNow.com

This is a company that offers proofreading services to writers, publishers, advertisers, marketers, and editors.

Having been in the industry since 1999, they understand the proofreading and editing landscape.

Their basic proofreading quiz is a great way to gauge your skills. It is perfect for individuals with a keen eye to identify mistakes.

The test has 10 questions with multiple choices. Upon completion, select done to get the results.

When you ace all the 10 questions, you’re steps ahead to becoming an excellent proofreader.

7) Om Proofreading

Om Proofreading is a resource for proofreaders founded by Lindsay Babcock.

The Om proofreading test is an engaging multiple-choice quiz. You get to test yourself with 20 questions based on American English.

The test focuses on homophones. These are words with the same sound but different spelling.

They can be a great challenge for most, and a test is a great way to identify any weaknesses.

8) Earn Smart Online Class

Earn Smart online class is a blog that provides resources to proofreaders at all levels.

It offers excellent resources and tips on how to become a proofreader.

The quiz on their blog is a favorite that covers the basic grammar errors in content.

The Earn smart online class test focuses on using possessive pronouns, split infinitives, and more.

You can take the quiz and get the answers online or download the PDFs.

9) Portland Proof

Portland Proof is a proofreading service that caters to authors with different needs.

They describe themselves as an affordable service that proofreads novels, books, academic papers, resumes, and other online content.

The quiz on Portland Proof is called Proof It . It is in a game format where contestants are ranked weekly based on the highest score.

The quiz has ten sentences appearing one at a time. Each sentence has a mistake; you need to identify and click it on the space.

Just so you know, you will get an immediate response if you are correct. If you don't get it right, a message is highlighted to prompt you to try again.

You'll need to correct the mistake to move forward to the next sentence.

10) EditingTests.com

Editing Tests is a service that offers proofreading, editing, and writing testing. It is a subsidiary of EditFast that offers proofreading and editing services.

Unlike most of the quizzes on the list, Editing Tests is a paid service that is more comprehensive.

You must register and create an account to access the various tests on the platform.

The costs are $50 per candidate. This grants an editing package with 3 parts to it.

Parts 1 and 2 are the tests, and part 3 is a professional assessment based on the test results.

The assessment is delivered 24 hours after completing the required tests.

The assessment gives you a clear picture of your skill level as a proofreader.

11) AuthorityPub

Authority Pub is a blog with resources for professionals in the publishing industry.

The proofreading test on the site is in the form of a letter.

It is an intriguing yet challenging test that requires you to find errors missed when editing.

The test takes a keen interest in punctuation, spelling, and the use of homophones.

A corrected sample of the letter is also provided with the mistakes in the original highlighted.

12) GrammarBook.com

The GrammarBook platform is based on The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.

It has hundreds of pages detailing grammar, punctuation, and other rules relating to English.

You can get access to free or paid proofreading quizzes.

With free access , you can get 4 tests and 52 different quizzes. They are all multiple choice, but the quizzes are shorter than the 4 tests.

The paid versions have a monthly subscription with several levels depending on your needs.

13 Grammar Lion

This is a tutoring platform by Ellen Feld, an instructor who is also an editor and coach.

The Grammar Lion test helps you to gauge your skills and experience the platform’s teaching style.

Before you start the test, you must create an account on the platform.

Taking the test also requires you to be keen as you select. You cannot go back to a question once you have moved on.

The score is revealed once you tackle all the questions.

14) Edit Republic

Edit Republic is a platform that offers tools, coaching, courses, and a community for proofreaders and editors.

They offer a wealth of information through free and paid courses and masterclasses.

Their general quiz is a great option to test your proofreading skills.

It is a straightforward test with 10 multiple-choice questions.

Once you’re done, you must provide an email where the results will be sent.

15) Business Writing Blog

As the name suggests, this blog provides insights on all you need to know about business writing.

They also offer paid courses to elevate skills in writing and proofreading.

The Business Writing Blog quiz to test your skills comes in 3 parts.

You'll need to read through a note of thanks, an email, and an announcement to identify their errors.

Hints about the number of errors in each text are provided to make work easier for you.

You will also get the corrected versions at the bottom of the article, with the mistakes highlighted.

16) Sporcle

Sporcle is a website that provides trivia and pub quizzes. You can make and play quizzes on different topics.

You can also earn badges when you participate in competing challenges.

The Sporcle proofreading quiz has 25 questions that are timed. Ideally, you should complete the quiz in under eight minutes.

You are needed to find and select errors in each of the sentences. Your right or wrong score is displayed as you progress.

The website also lets you track the remaining questions and time.

Why proofreading matters

The goal of proofreading is to ensure that whatever you write comes across the way you intended and is accurate and readable.

You want to ensure that whoever gets to read your content enjoys, understands, and gets meaning and value from it.

You achieve this by ensuring that your written content is free of spelling, typographical, and punctuation, among other grammatical mistakes.

The way you write determines how the intended audience views and judges you. If you write clearly, the reader will understand you well.

You can think that since you have researched your concept well, the intended audience will love your document.

Your concept might be the best, but the intended reader will be turned off if there are typos. They will find it hard to go through it and might finally discredit it.

And even when you think you have perfect grammatical skills, you will likely make mistakes. This is why proofreading matters a lot.

Get hired as a proofreader

Besides proofreading your documents, you can also get hired as a proofreader.

Proofreading has become very relevant for businesses today.

Business owners need more time or capacity to review their marketing copies, business proposals, publications, and newsletters.

They are looking for people with these skills to do this kind of work for them. So, if you become a proofreading expert, you can land good deals.

Even better, you can do proofreading virtually for companies. And you can do it anywhere.

You’ll need a computer or phone, an internet connection, and digital writing assistance tools such as Grammarly .

Other skills that you need as a proofreader include:

Spelling, grammar, and language knowledge
A keen eye for noticing even the most minor errors
Ability to adapt to different styles of writing
Mental focus
Professionalism
Passion for reading and writing
Familiarity with digital editing and proofreading tools

Proofread Anywhere

Is an online proofreading exercise necessary .

As mentioned above, you need several skills to get hired as a proofreader and become successful in the industry.

One of the ways to improve most of the required skills is through online proofreading tests and quizzes.

A proofreading quiz can be an excellent tool to test your proofreading skills.

A quiz will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and give you a clear idea of where to focus your efforts to improve your skills.

Proofreading quizzes can also help you learn new concepts and rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling and provide you with valuable feedback to improve your skills.

In most cases, proofreading job opportunities have tests in their hiring process to test job applicants' skills.

Proofreading exercises online can help build your confidence when applying for proofreading jobs.

The more you practice, the more comfortable they become with the process and your ability to handle the job.

The Benefits of Online Proofreading Quizzes and Tests

Online proofreading quizzes and tests offer several benefits.

Here are some of the advantages of taking these tests:

1) Improve Your Proofreading Skills

By taking online proofreading tests, you can identify common errors in different types of writing.

You’ll quickly notice grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure errors.

This will help you to improve as a proofreading expert and make you more valuable to your writing clients.

2) Build Your Confidence

You gain more confidence in your abilities as you identify and correct your mistakes and learn new proofreading styles.

This helps you tackle client work more confidently and apply for more proofreading roles you usually wouldn’t when starting.

3) Save Time and Money

Online proofreading skills tests are often free or available at a low cost.

This is a more affordable and convenient way to improve your skills than hiring a professional proofreader or taking a course.

4) Accessible Anytime and Anywhere

Online practice proofreading tests can be accessed from anywhere and at any time.

You can practice your proofreading skills whenever you have some free time, regardless of your location.

They also allow you to focus on a given area when you need to, without limits or restrictions.

5) Learn at Your Own Pace

Apart from proofreading online tests available anywhere and anytime; you take them at your own pace.

You can take as much time as you need to complete the proofreading exercises online and review the answers.

This is helpful for those new to proofreading or those who want to take their time to understand the material thoroughly.

What to look out for when proofreading.

To perfect your skill as a proofreader and provide error-free content, you must know what exactly to look out for when going through a document.

1) Look at the general appearance of the content

Before making corrections at the sentence level, look at the general appearance and the structure of the whole write-up. Make the necessary changes to the structure and organization of the paper.

This helps to determine if the length of the paragraphs is appropriate for the kind of content. Long paragraphs would be allowed in a research paper, a publication, or an academic paper.

However, content that requires engagement or conversations with the audience should not have long paragraphs. They would quickly get bored with reading long blocks of information.

2) Take note of punctuation

You should also be keen on punctuation marks. Often writers need to find hyphens, colons, dashes, and semicolons. Sometimes, commas are used wrong or need to be included.

When this happens, the intended message might not be brought out.

Your goal as a proofreader is to ensure proper punctuation is used throughout the document.

There are tons of information online that can help you with how different punctuation marks are used.

3) Spelling mistakes and typos

Spelling mistakes in written documents are common. An author can misspell some wrongs when writing long or even short papers.

When proofreading, pay attention to spelling. If you need clarification on a word, check it online or in a dictionary and make the appropriate corrections.

4) Look for unnecessary, missing, and wrong words

As you proofread, you might notice that some words need to be revised, added, or have been used wrongly.

Remove, correct, and add omitted words to make the write-up clear, concise, and readable.

5) Sentence structures

A document with proper and consistent sentence structure separates good and mediocre writing.

When proofreading, ensure that sentences maintain the grammatical pattern. If this structure keeps changing, the readers will need clarification.

Also, look at the tense used and the consistency of the headlines.

6) Examine the references

Scholarly and professional papers require a list of references. As you proofread, ensure that citations have been done correctly. Please do this to avoid your paper being discredited.

If you are a beginner, your proofreading skills might need to be more effective. As such, invest in learning these skills. You will become a perfect and reliable proofreader with time.

Proofreading tips

Proofreading can seem daunting, mainly because you are expected to produce error-free work as a proofreader.

In case errors are identified after the submission of the work, you are the one to be blamed.

However, this doesn’t have to be complicated. You are good to go as long as you can identify the mistakes and correct them.

Below are some tips to help you produce high-quality, error-free content.

1. Read slowly and loudly

This might sound awkward and unnecessary, but reading the content word for word is very important, loud, and slow.

While doing this, you will quickly notice poor grammar and spelling mistakes. You will also tell if the punctuation marks have been used appropriately and correctly.

When reading out loud, you will understand the content the way your audience will; you know how a reader will feel when going through the document.

If, for instance, the sentences are too long and you are gasping for breath, you will know that they need to be shortened.

You will also know if the intended message comes out clearly.

2. Read one word at a time

Practice reading one word at a time. Usually, when you read terms normally, you are likely to skip some words.

You may fail to notice some mistakes because you are taking in a lot of words at a go.

Reading each word at a time might slow the proofreading process, but it will enable you to identify and rectify all errors.

3. Alter the appearance of the document

Sometimes changing the write-up's color, font, and size can help you view the document from a different angle.

It enables you to gain a different perspective of the document, and you are, therefore, able to know where to make changes.

After proofreading, return the document to the recommended font, size, and color.

4. Take note of every punctuation marks

When punctuation marks are misused, a sentence or text can lose meaning. As you read through, highlight each punctuation mark that you come across.

Determine whether they have been used appropriately and whether or not they make sense. If a punctuation mark does not serve the purpose, you can omit it or alter the sentence structure.

5. Identify the frequent errors

Different authors write in different ways and are prone to particular mistakes.

As you go through a document, you will notice frequent errors such as overuse of phrases, repetition of words, and misspelling of a particular word.

To make the work easier, use the search feature in your word processor to identify those words and make the required changes. You could omit them or use their synonyms.

When proofreading, you must give much attention and mental focus to whatever you do.

Avoid distractions as much as possible. Get a quiet environment, and maybe turn off the notifications from your phone.

It is also wise to take breaks, especially if you need more time to concentrate on this work.

7. Use a grammar check

There are digital writing assistance tools, such as Grammarly, that can make your proofreading task easier.

Once you are done proofreading, run the document through such a platform. You might notice some inconsistencies or errors that need correction.

Proofreading resources that better your skills

Along with the tips outlined above, there are other resources that you can use to perfect your proofreading skills. You can find these resources online.

There are proofreading exercises with answers that will enlighten you on punctuation, adverbs, propositions, nouns, sentence styles, spelling, and so much more.

Luckily, you can find these platforms online for free. So, take advantage and practice until you make your proofreading skills perfect.

Here are links to online platforms that offer proofreading tests and quizzes:

Proofread quiz
Purdue OWL Exercises
SfEP: Self-Test in Proofreading
Skills Practice: Find the Mistakes
UEfAP Exercises

You can also network with professionals to learn what they do. Having people who understand what you do makes the learning process easy.

Content is very important, but you run everything down the drain due to spelling mistakes, poor sentence structures, and wrong wording, among other grammatical errors.

Thorough proofreading is vital for producing and delivering professional and quality documents. It can help you to successfully communicate your intended message to your readers.

Effective proofreading enables you to create outstanding essays, winning marketing copies, and CVs that will hire you. It also maintains the reputation of your business.

Whenever you write or are given a proofreading job, don’t rush to submit it. Take your time to review the document and make the necessary corrections.

If you apply the tips outlined above, you will improve your proofreading skills. You will be in a position to produce clear, readable, and interesting content.

Tell me the mistakes you have found in this article!

While publishing this article, it has not been proofread or edited.

Since you are a proofreader or aspiring to be one, I’ll appreciate it if you could identify any mistakes in the article.

Once you’re done reading, you can share your findings in the comments section.

This way, you’ll sharpen your proofreading skills while learning how to make money on Amazon as a beginner proofreader.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Don't forget to share this post!

About the author

Joseph Nyambura

I started this website to help bloggers by sharing everything I’ve learned in the past decade working as a professional digital marketer, web designer & developer. I help passionate bloggers like YOU start and supercharge their own glossy blogging journey and enjoy the flexibility to work from home. I will help you master content creation, making money, and build an audience blogging online.

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COMMENTS

Free Proofreading Quiz
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This is a great website to use if you want to challenge yourself and your proofreading skills. 4. Om Proofreading. The Om Proofreading test is a multiple-choice proofreading quiz that focuses on spelling mistakes. Most of the words are homophones, which are words that sound the same but are spelled differently.
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