The Proofreading – Level 4 Diploma Course provides an introduction to the skills that are required for being a freelance proofreader. Whether you are intending to do proofreading for a living or you simply wish to improve your knowledge, this course will give valuable practical experience through its assignments and will lead to a valuable accredited certification.
There are eight units within the Proofreading Diploma course, and each covers instructional material as well as assignments. Each unit will explore a different aspect of proofreading to provide the learner with a real insight into this topic. The Proofreading Diploma course materials also include Appendix I, a glossary of grammatical terms; Appendix II, a list of standard symbols used in proofreading; and a Bibliography listing helpful references, including relevant websites.
On successful completion of this course, students will receive an accredited Level 4 Certificate Award.
The Proofreading Course Includes The Following Units:
Unit 1 – Introduction
The following topics are covered: Why the proofreader is needed; Proofreading versus copy-editing; Proofreading symbols; Electronic proofreading; Reference works; Exercise 1.1 Checking understanding of key points in chapter; and Exercise 1.2 Correcting errors involving grammatical words.
Unit 2 – Grammar review I: Nouns and pronouns
The following topics are covered: Nouns and noun phrases; Genitive case marking of nouns; Common versus proper nouns; Capitalisation rules: Practical issues; Compound nouns; Pronouns; Central pronouns; Other pronouns; Case study I: Lack of a gender neutral pronoun; Case study II: Coordinated subject/object pronouns; Exercise 2.1 Identifying subject and object noun phrases; Exercise 2.2 Genitive case marking; Exercise 2.3 Capitalising proper nouns; Exercise 2.4 First versus later mentions of a proper noun; Exercise 2.5 Identifying central pronouns; and Exercise 2.6 Evaluating coordinated pronouns.
Unit 3 – Grammar review II: Verbs, adjectives, adverbs & prepositions
The following topics are covered: Verbs; The verb in the basic sentence; Non-actional versus actional verbs; Direct versus indirect objects; Subject-verb agreement; Other grammatical properties of the verb; Verb phrases; More complex verb phrases; The modal auxiliary verb; Adjectives; Adverbs; Prepositions; Exercise 3.1 Identifying verbs and their objects; Exercise 3.2 The grammatical properties of the finite verb; Exercise 3.3 Distinguishing auxiliary and main verbs; Exercise 3.4 Distinguishing adjectives and adverbs; and Exercise 3.5 Identifying prepositions.
Unit 4 – Grammar review III: Clauses and Sentences
The following topics are covered: Dependent versus independent clauses; Restrictive versus non-restrictive relative clauses; Exercise 4.1 Distinguishing conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs and relative pronouns; and Exercise 4.2 Identifying clause types.
Unit 5 – Punctuation
The following topics are covered: Apostrophe; The greengrocer’s apostrophe; Its versus it’s and your versus you’re; Comma; Use of the comma in lists; Use of the comma in coordinate sentences; Use of the comma with dependent clauses; Use of the comma with parenthetic material; Use of the comma in apposition; Use of the comma in dates; Use of the comma to separate the same word when it appears in succession; Semicolon; Colon; Punctuation of quoted material; Exercise 5.1 Use of it’s versus its and your versus you’re; Exercise 5.2 Use of the comma; Exercise 5.3 Using the apostrophe, comma, semicolon and colon; Exercise 5.4 Punctuating clauses and sentences; and Exercise 5.5 General exercise in proofreading.
Unit 6 – Common problems at the word level
The following topics are covered: Use of Latin abbreviations; Other foreign terms; Who, whom, that, which; Fewer versus less; Homophones; British versus American vocabulary; Exercise 6.1 Latin abbreviations; Exercise 6.2 Choice of the relative pronoun; and Exercise 6.3 Fewer versus less.
Unit 7 – Common problems at the phrase or clause level
The following topics are covered: Split infinitives; Stranding a preposition; Beginning a sentence with a conjunction; Sentence adverbs; Misuse of dash and ellipsis; British versus American grammar; Exercise 7.1 Prepositional pied-piping in a relative clause; Exercise 7.2 Replacing the sentence adverb; and Exercise 7.3 Use of dash and ellipsis.
Unit 8 – Working to or preparing a style sheet
The following topics are covered: Exercise 8.1 Working to a style sheet, and Exercise 8.2 Preparing a style sheet.
To find out more about this Proofreading Course visit course provider website.
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