Book Editing Proofreading and Quality Control 2

Question 1

What does a proofreader check in a book's table of contents?

Accepted Answer

That chapter titles and page numbers in the TOC exactly match those in the typeset manuscript

Answer

A proofreader verifies that all chapter titles and page numbers in the TOC are accurate and match what appears in the typeset interior of the book.

Question 2

What is a 'running head' and what does a proofreader check about it?

Accepted Answer

A header appearing at the top of typeset pages showing the book title, chapter title, or author name; proofreaders verify it is consistent and correct throughout

Answer

Running heads are the headers on typeset pages; proofreaders verify they accurately reflect the correct chapter or section title and are formatted consistently.

Question 3

What is the purpose of 'cold reading' in quality control?

Accepted Answer

Reading without prior knowledge of the text to catch errors fresh eyes might spot that a familiar reader overlooks

Answer

Cold reading means approaching the text without familiarity, which helps catch errors that editors who know the text well tend to overlook due to expectation bias.

Question 4

A proofreader finds the same sentence appearing twice in a row on page 47. What type of error is this?

Accepted Answer

A ditto or doubling error introduced during typesetting

Answer

A ditto or doubling error occurs when text is accidentally duplicated—often introduced during typesetting when copy-paste operations go wrong.

Question 5

What does checking 'folios' mean in proofreading?

Accepted Answer

Verifying that page numbers are sequential, correctly formatted, and that front matter uses the expected Roman numerals

Answer

Folios are page numbers; proofreaders verify they run sequentially, that front matter uses Roman numerals (i, ii, iii…) and main text uses Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…).

Book Editing Practice Test

Book Editing Practice Test

Book Editing Proofreading and Quality Control 2