About the course
No previous knowledge is required for this one-day introduction to proofreading. Through practical exercises using a variety of accessible texts, the course aims to teach students the basic proofreading skills and to help them feel comfortable with the methods of ensuring that a document is correct in both content and layout. The materials will be provided both on paper and digitally: students are welcome to bring their own laptops if they wish to do the exercises on screen. (Note: the course will use Adobe Reader XI.)

Discussion will include:

• The art of proofreading
• Proofreading and reading - what's the difference?
• Correcting paper proofs using the British Standard proofreading symbols
• Correcting PDFs on screen using Adobe Reader, and 'proof-editing' using MS Word
• Style sheets
• A methodical approach to checking for consistency
• Carrying over information or queries
• What can go wrong

Practical exercises on the day will cover:

• Accuracy - developing error-spotting techniques
• Marking errors and omissions, on paper and on screen
• Changing the appearance of the text
• Correcting problems with spacing and alignment
• Ensuring consistency in layout and sequencing
• Checking that the content makes sense!

Follow up
You will take away a folder of handouts and model answers to the exercises, for reference and as examples of good practice.

Who should attend
People who write material and/or check written documents and want to improve their proofreading skills. The course is suitable for those with no previous formal experience or who have responsibility for the presentation of documents and wish to develop their skills in a more formal way.

Tutor
Denise Cowle is a copy-editor and proofreader based in Glasgow. She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, and currently serves on their council as marketing director. Denise is also a tutor for the SfEP proofreading and copy-editing online courses.

Fees
£200+VAT/£175+VAT early booking (PS and SfEP members); £280+VAT/£260+VAT early booking (non-members). Non-member registered charities get an additional £20 discount - use the code CHARITY. For early booking discount, book by 17 MAY 2019.