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Step 1
Ask for style guidelines, as you need to know how the publisher or writer wants you to handle such things as capitalization. For example, you may be asked to use "The Chicago Manual of Style" or the "AP Stylebook" as your guide.
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Step 2
Find out whether the publisher or writer has any in-house guidelines for you to follow. For example, he may want you to leave periods off of all the abbreviations or always capitalize the word math, regardless of what the stylebook has to say on the matter.
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Step 3
Pay particular attention to the way you are asked to handle numbers. Though it may seem likely that you will use numerals for all numbers mentioned in the textbook, the writer or publisher may want you to make sure numbers are used for all the math problems while spelling out the numbers in instructions and word problems.
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Step 4
Read through the textbook, keeping a keen eye out for spelling, grammar and punctuation issues. For example, you'll want to catch errors involving such things as noun and verb agreement, misspelling of mathematical terms and double punctuation. Use proofreader marks to identify and correct any errors you find.
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Step 5
Keep an eye out for quotation marks and their placement in relation to commas, periods, question marks and exclamation points. People often make mistakes with punctuation and quotation marks.
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Step 6
Look for words that have been duplicated or omitted, marking the extra words for deletion or adding the missing words. For example, you might see something like this: add two two plus four. Likewise, you may find sentences like this: multiply number "missing number here" by number six.
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Step 7
Check any charts, graphs and figures to make sure they are labeled correctly. This includes any abbreviations that have been used.
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Step 8
Double-check the math-problem examples and solutions for clarity, form and correct answers.
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Step 9
Make sure all the page titles and page numbers are correct and in the right places.
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Step 10
Review the math textbook one or two additional times to make sure you have not overlooked anything.
