Proofreading: Find and Fix Your Errors

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 8 › Checkpoint 8 English (Cambridge Lower Secondary 0861)

1. Why proofreading matters

Proofreading means checking your finished writing for errors and correcting them. Many students lose marks not because they do not know the rules, but because they write quickly and never check. A few minutes of careful checking can fix missing capitals, wrong verb forms and comma splices that would otherwise pull your grammar, punctuation and spelling marks down.

2. The last five minutes: one check at a time

Keep about five minutes at the end of your writing time to proofread. Read slowly, sentence by sentence, checking one thing at a time:

1. Sentences: every sentence complete, with no comma splices or run-ons.
2. Verbs: tense consistent, subject-verb agreement, correct past forms (saw, not seen).
3. Punctuation: capitals, full stops, apostrophes (its/it's), speech marks.
4. Spelling: homophones (their/there/they're, your/you're, where/were) and words you often get wrong.
5. Clarity: pronouns clear, modifiers in the right place, lists parallel.
6. Register: Standard English. Formal or informal to match the task.

3. The errors to hunt for

4. Homophones and confusing words

5. How Checkpoint asks about accuracy

Proofreading is not usually a separate reading question, but it decides how many marks you keep in your writing. The grammar and punctuation part of the writing mark rewards accurate sentences and varied punctuation, and spelling is rewarded separately. Careless errors in simple words are noticed first. In class tests and practice papers, you may also be given a short text with errors to find and correct, like the one below.

6. Practice text with errors

Text 1 (find and correct all fourteen errors):

last weekend me and my cousin visited the national museum, we was amazed by the mummies. Walking through the main hall, the golden mask caught our eyes. The guide told us that the mask has been found in 1922. There was hundreds of visitors, and everyone were taking photos. My cousin wanted to see the jewellery, buying a souvenir and to have lunch. We should of stayed longer, its the best trip I ever had.

1. Show the corrected text.

   Show answer

   Last weekend, my cousin and I visited the National Museum. We were amazed by the mummies. As we walked through the main hall, the golden mask caught our eyes. The guide told us that the mask had been found in 1922. There were hundreds of visitors, and everyone was taking photos. My cousin wanted to see the jewellery, buy a souvenir and have lunch. We should have stayed longer; it's the best trip I have ever had.

2. List the fourteen errors and what was wrong.

   Show answer

   1. last → Last (capital at the start). 2. me and my cousin → my cousin and I (Standard English subject). 3. national museum → National Museum (name of a place). 4. Comma splice after museum → full stop. 5. we was → we were (agreement). 6. Walking through the main hall, the golden mask... is a dangling modifier → As we walked through the main hall, .... 7. has been found → had been found (backshift in reported speech). 8. There was hundreds → There were hundreds (agreement). 9. everyone were → everyone was (agreement). 10. to see..., buying... and to have → to see..., buy... and have (parallelism). 11. should of → should have. 12. Comma splice after longer → semicolon (or full stop). 13. its → it's (it is). 14. I ever had → I have ever had (present perfect with ever).

Text 2 (find and correct the nine errors):

Our school have decided to ban mobile phones during lessons. Many students thinks this is unfair, but i agree with the decision. Phones distract students, they also make it harder to concentrate. Last year, my freind lose his phone in class and he cannot focus for the rest of the day. Teachers are not trying to punish us, there trying to help us learn.

1. Show the corrected Text 2.

   Show answer

   Our school has decided to ban mobile phones during lessons. Many students think this is unfair, but I agree with the decision. Phones distract students. They also make it harder to concentrate. Last year, my friend lost his phone in class and he could not focus for the rest of the day. Teachers are not trying to punish us. They're trying to help us learn.

2. List the nine errors in Text 2.

   Show answer

   1. have decided → has decided (school is singular). 2. students thinks → students think (plural subject). 3. i → I (capital). 4. Comma splice after students → full stop. 5. freind → friend (spelling). 6. lose → lost (past tense: Last year). 7. cannot → could not (keep the past tense). 8. Comma splice after punish us → full stop. 9. there → They're (homophone: they're = they are, with a capital because it now starts a new sentence).

7. Quick correction practice

1. Correct: Its to hot to play outside today.

   Show answer

   It's too hot to play outside today. (it's = it is, too = more than enough)

2. Correct: The childrens toys was all over the floor.

   Show answer

   The children's toys were all over the floor. (children is already plural, add 's. toys is plural, so use were.)

3. Correct: I was so tired, I fell asleep on the sofa.

   Show answer

   I was so tired that I fell asleep on the sofa. (or a full stop: I was so tired. I fell asleep on the sofa.)

4. Correct: We seen alot of birds at the lake yesterday.

   Show answer

   We saw a lot of birds at the lake yesterday.

5. Correct: My sister is taller then me but she don't play basketball.

   Show answer

   My sister is taller than me, but she doesn't play basketball.