Proofreading and Editing Flashcards
6 cards from real Writing and Editing practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Proofreading and Editing flashcards as text
What is the purpose of a style sheet in editing?
Answer: To record an author's specific word choices, spellings, and style decisions for consistency throughout a manuscript
An editor's style sheet documents decisions made during editing so they are applied consistently throughout the document.
What is a 'galley proof'?
Answer: A preliminary typeset version of a document used for final proofreading before printing
A galley proof is a typeset version that allows final checks for errors before the document goes to press.
When checking for consistency in a document, what should an editor look for?
Answer: Uniform treatment of capitalization, hyphenation, numbers, and terminology throughout
Consistency editing ensures that the same words, formats, and styles are used uniformly throughout the entire document.
What is 'blind copyediting'?
Answer: Editing a document without knowing who wrote it, to maintain editorial objectivity
Blind copyediting means the editor does not know the author's identity, which helps maintain impartiality.
Which type of error is most likely to be caught by a spell-checker but still be wrong?
Answer: A correctly spelled word used in the wrong context (e.g., 'their' vs. 'there')
Spell-checkers cannot detect correctly spelled words used incorrectly; only a human reader can catch context-dependent errors.
What is the role of the 'line editor' in the publishing process?
Answer: To edit sentence by sentence for clarity, flow, word choice, and style
A line editor works at the sentence and paragraph level to improve the prose without changing the author's voice.