How to Study for a Proofreading Exam

Be one of the rare people that aren't handcuffed to the computer when it comes to proofreading. Preparing for your exam starts before you start your course. The key to doing well on this exam is to make proper proofreading techniques second nature. Do that by studying smarter, not harder.

Instructions

1. Start studying for the proofreading exam before the course begins. Obtain your text before the course and start studying them. Then go back and study the first two chapters before the first day of class. Complete all the exercises of the first two chapters before the first class.

2. Take notes starting the first day of your proofreading course. Take notes every class and study every notes you take until the night before the exam. Continue on a regimen where you study the chapters for the upcoming class--also doing all those chapter's exercises.

3. Do the handouts they way you'd do an exam if the teacher hands you some exercises. In many proofreading classes, the instructor makes students proofread exercise documents in class.

4. Form a proofreading study group. Find a time and place to get together to proofread each other's work and to quiz each other on the material. Emphasize to them that they shouldn't take your corrections seriously, and ask them to be brutal with you. Everybody in your study group should proofread each other's work as if that was an exam.

5. Go back and study sections of the book covered by learning objectives you're not comfortable yet. Get plenty of rest the night before the exam, and arrive early the day of the exam. Don't eat plenty of food before taking the exam, as you'll get sleepy. You want to be alert.

Resources

• Pen and Page website offers proofreading instruction.
• Visit the Capital Community College grammar and writing web page.
• Harcourt School Publishers website offers proofreading exercises.