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Proofreading resumes and reports

When people want an editor to review their resume or report to  ensure it is well-presented and to correct any errors in punctuation, grammar or spelling, they usually say they need their document ‘proofread’.

Although most editors refer to that task as ‘copy editing’, for the purposes of this article I’ll be referring to it as ‘proofreading’.

Is your resume or report ready for proofreading?

If your report or resume contains a number of poorly written passages, or incorrect information, the document will need to be either self-edited by the writer, or edited by an editor, to correct those major errors.

If your document is reasonably well-written and you are sure all the information is correct, it is ready to be proofread to correct the outstanding spelling, punctuation and occasional grammatical mistakes.

The task of proofreading your resume or report

The proofreader will correct the document to ensure that:

  • the style, fonts and formatting are consistent and appropriate
  • the spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct
  • if the document includes images, photos or captions, those are all well-designed and of good quality
  • all other items are correct; e.g. table of contents, page numbering, footnotes, tables and references.

Most people proofread resumes or reports electronically and if a professional editor proofreads your document they will probably use Track Changes so you can see their corrections.

For more information about this topic, go to: 

Proofread by Dee Sansom, On Time Typing, Editing and Proofreading

Image: Licence purchased from Adobe Stock October 2023.


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