Proofreading systematically

Proofreading is all about being methodical, systematic and organised. There's no way your eye can look for twenty different things at once, which is why a proofreader breaks down the proofreading into stages. Here's an example of a proofreading list for the proofs of a novel:

1. Check all page numbers.
2. Check all running heads.
3. Check chapter breaks and heads.
4. Check prelims.
5. Check endlims.
6. Scan whole book looking for inconsistency in alignment, spacing and font size.
7. Carry out first proofread (read whole text) looking closely at each word.
8. Make any global changes discovered through the first proofread - e.g. changing all instances of proof-reading to proofreading (removing hyphens).
9. Carry out final proofread to catch any mistakes left.

As you can see, proofreading is a lengthy, involved process and to maximise efficiency and accuracy, a proofreader must have a logical approach.