A guide on how to proofread your own work.

1. A digital agency with a
difference.
Data is in our DNA.
CONTENT ACADEMY
THE ART OF SELF-PROOFING

2. WHAT WE WILL
DISCUSS
• The importance of proofing your
own work
• Techniques to use when self-
proofing
• A checklist of crucial things to bear
in mind
• The grammatical rules to stick by,
cut out and keep

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF
PROOFING YOUR OWN
WORK

4. WHY PROOF YOUR OWN WORK?
• It’s the final stage of the writing process.
• You can check that you’re happy with what you’ve written, it makes
sense and you’ve followed the brief.
• You’re only human and Microsoft Word isn’t!
• Editors have targets too!

5. WHY PROOF YOUR OWN WORK?
Because you don’t want to end up like these guys…

6. HOW TO PROOF YOUR
OWN WORK

7. HOW TO PROOF YOUR OWN WORK
• Read your copy aloud
Errors like repetition ‘clang’ much more loudly if you hear
the same piece of content a few times in your head already,
might show you more.
• Do it in stages
At the end of a task, you might have thousands of words to
read paragraphs as you write them to check for SPaG errors.
be picked up on broader reads.
• Take a break
Give your eyes and mind a chance to reset and refocus. If
at the end of the day, maybe save it for the morning when
clock.

8. HOW TO PROOF YOUR OWN WORK
• Ask for help
Ask the editors, ask your sub-team lead, ask the person sat
internet, ask your cat, ask the Style Guide, ask the Big Man
• Use online tools
Several tools can help you pick up things that are difficult
Grammarly can be plugged into Microsoft Word and
on readability.
• Take a shortcut
You might have made a typo more than once. If you spot
see if there are any more and catch ‘em all!

9. SELF-PROOFING
CHECKLIST

10. SELF-PROOFING CHECKLIST
• Typos, spelling and grammatical errors.
• Does your content have a clear purpose and structure? Are your titles and subtitles
clear and understandable? Does the content below relate to them?
• Have you followed the brief/answered all the questions?
• Have you met/stuck to the word count?
• Have you cross-checked the crib sheet?
• Does it satisfy the EAT Matrix criteria?
• Have you included links to sources of information? Do they match the region you’re
writing for? Are they relevant, the latest figures and from the original source?

11. SELF-PROOFING CHECKLIST
Link to sources of information using the comments function. Editors conducting research a
second time is a waste of resource.

12. TIPS TO CUT OUT
AND KEEP

13. TIPS TO CUT OUT AND KEEP – COMMON CATCHES
• Repeated phrases and words
Variants of the same word in close proximity
i.e. flexibility, flexible. “No matter” is often repeated
usually just cut it out!
• Over-mentioning the client
Here at Scott’s Sweatshirts, we promise to deliver the utmost
service. Just say we. Think about the journey the reader has
copy.
• Redundancies and wordiness
As you write things – especially explanations – check
adds any value to the user or a search engine. Are you
the reader could be reasonably expected to work out for

14. TIPS TO CUT OUT AND KEEP - CASING
Check your client's style guide or crib sheet, if there is one, or go back and look
at previous content. If there's no previous form, our house style is sentence
case. It just looks cleaner!
Be consistent. If you use title case for an H2, use it for all the H2s on the page.
Quick casing refresher
These words are all lower case: bank holiday, spring, summer, north, west,
summer, north, west, mum, dad, unless it's: "I'll have to ask Dad.“
Job titles are also lower case in a sentence: i.e. “said Kate Williams, managing
director of Scott’s Sweatshirts.”
Types of products should be lower case, i.e. drill bit, not Drill Bit. If they’re the
specific product name, i.e. Bobbins Customised Drill Bit, the client may prefer
these in upper case.
A CASE IN POINT
Title case
This is Where all the Important Words
of a Sentence are Capitalised
Proper case
This Is Where All The Words Of A
Sentence Are Capitalised
Sentence case
This is where only the first word and
proper nouns are capitalised

15. TIPS TO CUT OUT AND KEEP - HYPHENS
Hyphenate compound adjectives: when two or more words come before a noun
to modify it as a single idea, i.e. the singer’s award-winning album.
They can change meanings
Man eating chicken
Man-eating chicken
Fred is having extra marital sex (happy days, Fred)
Fred is having extra-marital sex (bad boy, Fred)
Adverbs are not hyphenated
The very handsome content editor checked the beautifully written blog.

16. TIPS TO CUT OUT AND KEEP - COMMAS
• In lists
Today I will edit content, discuss football and drink cups of tea.
• Splitting adjectives
Our durable, stylish, weather-proof kerbstones.
• Separate independent clauses with a conjunction
The postman had hundreds of parcels to deliver, but he sacked it off and went to the
• After an introductory element
When it comes to treats, we all know who will take the most.
• To 'house' a parenthetical element
The PowerPoint presentation, which bored them all to tears, seemed to go on forever.
• Dates, quotes and numbers
"I have lost my sunglasses," Matt declared on Sunday, August 25th, 2019. "I will have to
find one I like."

17. TIPS TO CUT OUT AND KEEP – FACT CHECKING
Not all facts are created equal. Quoting incorrect information makes us, and our
clients, look bad. There’s a lot of false information out there…
• Make sure your facts and stats are from reputable sources.
• Link to the original source wherever possible, not the second or third-hand
source. Be wary of linking to competitors.
• Are these the latest set of figures? The Office for National Statistics, for
example, releases stats on the same topics each year.
• And don’t forget to share your research with the editors!

18. TIPS TO CUT OUT AND KEEP – TENSE AND ACTIVE
VOICE
• Pick a tense and stick to it
We have helped millions of people find the right dog for them
and if you are wanting to find your forever friend, browse
through our fuzzy favourites today.
Picking the right tense can convince a reader to take further
• The active voice sets clear expectations and instructions for
the reader
Think: Are you advising, selling or informing?
“If there are any questions, you can ask at the end.”
Weak, non-committal.
“Ask me any questions you have at the end.”
Sets a clear subject and action.

19. ANY QUESTIONS?