CPP Fact-Checking & Reference Verification 1 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary goal of fact-checking during proofreading?
- Improving sentence flow and readability
- Verifying the accuracy of factual claims, names, dates, and figures (Correct answer)
- Correcting grammar and punctuation errors
- Ensuring the document follows the client's preferred style guide
Correct answer: Verifying the accuracy of factual claims, names, dates, and figures
Fact-checking focuses specifically on verifying that factual contentâsuch as names, dates, statistics, and claimsâis accurate and can be supported by reliable sources.
Question 2: Which of the following is considered a primary source when fact-checking?
- An encyclopedia article summarizing a historical event
- A blog post citing original research
- The original published research study or official government record (Correct answer)
- A textbook chapter discussing a scientific concept
Correct answer: The original published research study or official government record
Primary sources are original, firsthand materials such as published studies, official records, or legal documents, as opposed to secondary sources that interpret or summarize them.
Question 3: A proofreader finds a quoted statistic in a document with no citation. What is the most appropriate first step?
- Delete the statistic since it cannot be verified
- Rewrite the sentence to remove the specific figure
- Flag the statistic as unverified and note that a citation or source is needed (Correct answer)
- Search online and replace the figure with whatever statistic appears most commonly
Correct answer: Flag the statistic as unverified and note that a citation or source is needed
A proofreader should flag uncited statistics for the author or editor to supply proper sourcing rather than removing or altering factual content unilaterally.
Question 4: When a proofreader suspects a historical date in a manuscript is incorrect, what is the best course of action?
- Correct the date immediately based on general knowledge
- Cross-reference the date against at least two reliable sources before querying the author (Correct answer)
- Ignore it unless the client specifically requested fact-checking
- Remove the date entirely to avoid potential errors
Correct answer: Cross-reference the date against at least two reliable sources before querying the author
Before querying or correcting, a proofreader should verify the suspected error against reliable sources to confirm the discrepancy and provide accurate information in the query.
Question 5: Which type of error is fact-checking primarily designed to catch?
- Typographical errors such as transposed letters
- Inconsistent hyphenation throughout a document
- Substantive inaccuracies such as incorrect names, figures, or factual claims (Correct answer)
- Passive voice construction and wordy phrasing
Correct answer: Substantive inaccuracies such as incorrect names, figures, or factual claims
Fact-checking targets substantive inaccuraciesâerrors in facts, data, names, and claimsârather than mechanical or stylistic errors.
Question 6: When fact-checking a document about a living public figure, which source is generally considered most reliable?
- The subject's personal social media profile
- An official organizational biography or verified institutional website (Correct answer)
- A Wikipedia article about the individual
- A recent news article from an unnamed reporter
Correct answer: An official organizational biography or verified institutional website
Official organizational biographies or verified institutional websites provide authoritative information about public figures and are subject to institutional oversight.
Question 7: What does 'source attribution' mean in the context of proofreading and fact-checking?
- Crediting the proofreader's contribution in the acknowledgments section
- Ensuring that all factual claims, quotes, and data are linked to identifiable, citable sources (Correct answer)
- Applying the correct citation format as specified by the style guide
- Checking that sources appear in alphabetical order in the bibliography
Correct answer: Ensuring that all factual claims, quotes, and data are linked to identifiable, citable sources
Source attribution means that every factual claim, statistic, or quotation in a document is traceable to an identifiable source, allowing readers and proofreaders to verify its accuracy.
CPP Fact-Checking & Reference Verification 1
What is the primary goal of fact-checking during proofreading?