Proofreading & Editing Copy Editing

Question 1

What is the primary goal of copy editing?

Accepted Answer

Correcting errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style

Answer

Copy editing focuses on correcting surface-level errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and consistency while preserving the author's voice.

Question 2

Which is NOT typically a copy editor's responsibility?

Accepted Answer

Rewriting entire sections for better narrative flow

Answer

Rewriting entire sections is the domain of developmental or substantive editors — copy editors work at the sentence level without restructuring content.

Question 3

What does 'querying the author' mean in copy editing?

Accepted Answer

Leaving a note or question for the author to address an unclear point

Answer

A query is a note the copy editor leaves for the author to clarify ambiguous content, potential errors, or points needing confirmation.

Question 4

Which sentence has a subject-verb agreement error?

Accepted Answer

The team of editors were reviewing the manuscript.

Answer

The subject is 'team' (singular), so the verb should be 'was' — collective nouns take singular verbs in American English.

Question 5

What is a homophone error in proofreading?

Accepted Answer

Confusing words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings

Answer

Homophone errors occur when a writer uses a word that sounds like the intended word but is spelled differently and has a different meaning (e.g., 'their/there/they're').

Proofreading & Editing Practice Test

Proofreading & Editing Practice Test

Proofreading & Editing Copy Editing