Five more common mistakes to look for when proofreading

1.    Getting letters the wrong way round, especially i and e.


Remember the spelling rule 'i before e except after c'.

2.    Leaving out apostrophes. Apostrophes are punctuation marks which are either used to show belonging or to show where letters have been left out. Apostrophes are important because they often make meaning clearer.

Can't = can not
don't = do not (shows missing letters)

The boy's books are missing = books belonging to one boy
The boys' books are missing = books belonging to several boys

3.    Using one word when you should use two.

E.g. Alot should be written as a lot
alright should be written as all right

4.    Mistakes with subject-verb agreement. This means using a singular verb with a plural subject, or vice versa:

5.    Using "should of". This is another common mistake, in sentences such as: