'Proofreading' tutor notes

The 'proofreading' topic area aims to help learners revise and remember useful tips to help with proofreading work.

How does this tie in with the curriculums?

• England
  Ww/L1.1 - spell correctly words used most often in work, studies and daily life.
  Wt/L1.6 - Proofread and revise writing for accuracy and meaning.
  Rs/L1.1 - Use implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge (e.g. of different sentence forms, types of word, verb tense, word order) along with own knowledge and experience to predict meaning , try out plausible meanings, and to read and check for sense.
  
• Wales
  As England.
• Northern Ireland
  As England.
• Scotland
  See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Proofreading quiz
The learner can choose their level. Level A is the easiest, level C the hardest.
We have now put in place a system that will allow the student to print out a certificate if they score 50% or more in the quiz. This will appear as a link on the results page - click on the link and the certificate will appear in a new window. A learner can write their name in once the certificate is printed.

Proofreading factsheets
Four factsheets provide an introduction to proofreading, explaining what it is and when to do it, common mistakes when proofreading and useful tips to remember.

Proofreading worksheets
There are eight printable worksheets presenting a variety of proofreading scenarios, such as writing a formal letter, a menu or a job application. Two of the worksheets contain quiz questions to further test a learner's proofreading knowledge.

Technical help:

If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course, Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching.
Get WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:

With Skillswise
Don't forget to visit Lesson plans and Teaching inspirations for more ideas for teaching proofreading.

With the web
Here's a few suggestions of other places on the web where you might find useful resources that you can adapt for teaching proofreading.

• CBBC Newsround
  The CBBC Newsround site has lots of lesson plans and worksheets based around extracts from the news which, although ostensibly aimed at children, could easily be adapted for use as proofreading exercises for adult learners.
• Plain English Campaign
  The Plain English campaign has lots of useful guides on how and when to use words accurately, and even includes a handy sheet of tips about proofreading.
• Proofreading tips
  This is an American essay with some useful tips on proofreading which comes from PageWise, a resource for essays and articles on a wide variety of topics.

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