Proofreading & Editing Proofreading Assessment 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses 'who' correctly?
- Who did you speak with?
- The manager who I met was helpful.
- She is the candidate who we selected.
- The employee who submitted the report was praised. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The employee who submitted the report was praised.
'Who' is a subject pronoun and is correct when it functions as the subject of the clause ('who submitted the report').
Question 2: What error appears in: 'Each of the students must submit their own essay.'
- No error — singular 'they' is widely accepted (Correct answer)
- Subject-verb agreement error
- Misplaced modifier
- Incorrect possessive
Correct answer: No error — singular 'they' is widely accepted
Using 'their' as a gender-neutral singular pronoun with 'each' is broadly accepted in modern usage by most major style guides.
Question 3: Which sentence correctly distinguishes 'fewer' and 'less'?
- There are less people here today.
- He has fewer money than she does.
- Use fewer for countable nouns and less for uncountable ones. (Correct answer)
- Less errors were found in the second draft.
Correct answer: Use fewer for countable nouns and less for uncountable ones.
'Fewer' is for countable nouns (fewer apples) and 'less' is for uncountable/mass nouns (less sugar).
Question 4: Identify the error: 'The principle reason for the delay was weather.'
- No error
- 'Principle' should be 'principal' (Correct answer)
- Missing comma after 'reason'
- Incorrect verb tense
Correct answer: 'Principle' should be 'principal'
'Principal' means 'main' or 'most important' when used as an adjective; 'principle' is a noun meaning a rule or belief.
Question 5: Which proofreading mark indicates that a new paragraph should begin?
- A caret (^)
- A hash/pound symbol (#) or the paragraph symbol (¶) (Correct answer)
- A circle around the text
- Three underlines
Correct answer: A hash/pound symbol (#) or the paragraph symbol (¶)
The paragraph symbol (¶) or hash (#) marks the point where a new paragraph should start.
Question 6: Which sentence is an example of passive voice?
- The editor reviewed all submissions carefully.
- The report was submitted by the intern. (Correct answer)
- She corrected every mistake in the document.
- He delivered the package on time.
Correct answer: The report was submitted by the intern.
Passive voice inverts subject and object so that the action is done 'to' the subject, as in 'was submitted by the intern.'
Question 7: Which is the correct form: 'It's' or 'Its' in the sentence: '___ time to review ___ content.'
- It's ... it's
- Its ... its
- It's ... its (Correct answer)
- Its ... it's
Correct answer: It's ... its
'It's' is a contraction of 'it is' (subject + verb), while 'its' is the possessive pronoun; the sentence needs both.
Proofreading & Editing Proofreading Assessment 4
Which sentence uses 'who' correctly?