Grammarly Certified Advanced Grammar and Language Specialist Editing and Proofreading Techniques 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary difference between editing and proofreading?
- Editing focuses on grammar; proofreading focuses on content
- Editing addresses content, structure, and style; proofreading catches surface-level errors (Correct answer)
- Editing is always done by a different person than the author; proofreading is self-review
- Editing and proofreading are the same process performed at different stages
Correct answer: Editing addresses content, structure, and style; proofreading catches surface-level errors
Editing addresses big-picture issues like content, structure, and style, while proofreading is the final step to catch surface-level errors such as typos and punctuation mistakes.
Question 2: Which technique is most effective for identifying awkward phrasing during proofreading?
- Scanning quickly for spelling errors only
- Reading the text backwards word by word
- Reading the text aloud (Correct answer)
- Checking only the first and last sentences of each paragraph
Correct answer: Reading the text aloud
Reading aloud forces you to process every word and reveals awkward phrasing, missing words, and unnatural sentence flow that the eye tends to skip when reading silently.
Question 3: When editing for coherence, what should you primarily evaluate?
- Whether each sentence contains a subject and a predicate
- Whether ideas flow logically and connect consistently to the main argument (Correct answer)
- Whether all proper nouns are capitalized correctly
- Whether the font and formatting are consistent throughout
Correct answer: Whether ideas flow logically and connect consistently to the main argument
Coherence editing focuses on ensuring ideas flow logically, transitions connect properly, and the text consistently supports its central argument or purpose.
Question 4: What is a 'style sheet' used for in professional editing?
- Formatting the document's visual appearance and layout
- Tracking consistent spelling, usage, and style decisions throughout a document (Correct answer)
- Listing all grammatical rules the author must follow
- Recording the publisher's house style for punctuation only
Correct answer: Tracking consistent spelling, usage, and style decisions throughout a document
A style sheet is a working document editors maintain to track decisions about spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, and usage so choices remain consistent throughout the manuscript.
Question 5: In typography and proofreading, what is a 'widow'?
- A single short word or line left alone at the end of a paragraph or column (Correct answer)
- An orphaned sentence stranded at the beginning of a new section
- A paragraph that contains only one sentence
- A hyphenated word split incorrectly across two lines
Correct answer: A single short word or line left alone at the end of a paragraph or column
A 'widow' is a single short line or word isolated at the end of a paragraph or column, which is considered visually undesirable in typeset text.
Question 6: What should an editor do when uncertain about a factual claim made in a text?
- Leave it as written since the author bears sole responsibility for facts
- Delete the claim to prevent potential misinformation from being published
- Flag it with a query for the author to verify (Correct answer)
- Replace it with a commonly known and verifiable fact
Correct answer: Flag it with a query for the author to verify
Editors should flag uncertain factual claims with a query to the author, who is ultimately responsible for accuracy, rather than making unilateral deletions or substitutions.
Question 7: What is 'substantive editing' also referred to as?
- Line editing
- Developmental editing (Correct answer)
- Copy editing
- Technical editing
Correct answer: Developmental editing
Substantive or developmental editing addresses high-level issues of structure, organization, content gaps, and overall argument before any line-level editing begins.
Grammarly Certified Advanced Grammar and Language Specialist Editing and Proofreading Techniques 1
What is the primary difference between editing and proofreading?