Proofreading Guide

Circle all be verbs.

Circle the prepositions that end sentences.
Check the verb tenses to ensure that none of the verbs shift.
Ensure that there arent any shifts from a statement to a question or vice versa.
Underline all pronouns. Check the pronouns antecedent to ensure that it exists. Ensure
that the pronoun and antecedent align in singularity and plurality.
6. Double check that there arent any fragments or run-ons. Ensure the existence of sentence
variety.
7. Check the application of capitalization rules.
8. Test the homophones their/there/theyre, youre/your, two/to/too
9. Cross out any inflated phrases, meaningless phrases (ie. due to the fact that), and clichs.
Check for offensive and sexist language.
10. Ensure that all apostrophes are used correctly. Remember apostrophes show only
possession or omission.
11. Look for dependent and transitional words (ie. When, therefore, secondly). Ensure that
commas are used after the dependent phrase or word. Do the inversion test.
12. Look for multiple adjectives describing a noun. Use the And Test to determine whether
or not commas are needed between the adjectives.
13. Look for extra information not needed for understanding the sentence. Use commas,
dashes, or parenthesis to offset this extra information.
14. Highlight all of the FANBOYS. If the FANBOY is between two complete sentences,
make sure that a comma is before the FANBOY. If the FANBOY is not between two
complete sentences, ensure that a comma is not used before the FANBOY.
15. Look for colons. Make sure that a complete sentence is before the colon. After the colon
should be either another complete sentence or a list.
16. Look for semicolons. Make sure that the semicolon is between two complete sentences or
is used to separate items in a list already containing commas.
17. Check hyphen usage. Hyphens are used when two or more words are used together as an
adjective before a noun; between fractions and numbers; prefixes all-, ex-, self-; the
suffix elect; and between double or triple letters.
18. Are all quotation marks used in pairs? Make sure that any shorter works like short stories,
poems, and songs are surrounded by quotation marks. Make sure that all direct quotations
are placed inside quotation marks as well.
19. Check for parallelism in all items in a series, in items with conjunctions, in items with
correlative conjunctions. Make sure that all function words (by, to, that, because) are
repeated to clarify parallels.
20. Look for limiting modifiers (only, even, almost, just, nearly) and place in front of the
verb only if its the word being modified. Make sure that modifying words and phrases
are placed adjacent to the words being further described. Check for split infinitives,
dangling modifiers, and squinting modifiers.
21. MLA
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