Proofreading Numbers, Capitalization, and Abbreviations
Proofreading Numbers, Capitalization, and Abbreviations
We're going to take care of number errors first, mainly because numbers tend to stand out from the rest of the text in a document. Many documents only include a few numbers. On the off chance that you are proofreading a scientific document or other document containing mathematical formulas or many sets of numbers, you'll want to pay strict attention anyway. The next few slides will cover just how to deal with numbers at the proofreading stage.
A proofreader needs to be concerned with consistency in terms of measurements and abbreviations of measurements. (This slide crosses over with our topic later in this lesson: proofreading abbreviations.) Whether it's distance or weight, volume or mass, or anything in between, you'll need to make sure that measurements are recorded the exact same way every single time they appear in a document. And you'll need to make sure that any concerns the editor raised with respect to the measurements that appear in the document have been addressed and corrected, where needed.
Another very important issue with units of measurement is the correctness of the unit used. A microgram is VERY different from a gram. A liter is not the equivalent of a gallon, and a tablespoon is not a teaspoon.
An incorrect unit on a recipe may result in a spoiled dinner; an incorrect unit on pharmaceutical packaging could result in something far worse. Take care when dealing with units, and when in doubt, query.
Dates, addresses, and phone numbers must be consistently formatted and must include all the necessary information. Now you may be asking, "How can someone possibly get these things wrong?" Well, it might be easier than you think.
Dates: Remember that dates are formatted differently depending on whether a document is written in British (or Canadian or Australian) or American English. Commonwealth English lists dates in the day, month, year format, whereas American English lists dates in the month, day, year format. Look at these examples.
Commonwealth English: May 1, 1980 would be written as 01/05/1980
American English: May 1, 1980 would be written as 05/01/1980
Do you see where confusion could potentially arise? If a date is formatted for the wrong audience, you might end up seriously misinforming a lot of readers.
Addresses: Thanks to international mail, addresses are formatted in a fairly standard way all over the world. However, this doesn't mean that it's not possible for a final proof to be missing vital information. Addresses around the globe may look the same, but one country will often require more or less information than another. If it looks as though an address is incomplete (especially if you are editing advertising copy), submit a query to the editor or author and verify the information.
Phone Numbers: The same can be said for phone numbers as has been said for addresses. Phone numbers are fairly consistently formatted throughout the world, but different countries require different codes at the country, state, regional, provincial, and local levels. Again, the best thing to do is to verify errant information.
If the document you are proofreading has a lot of numbers in it, you'll want to double-check all usages. Editors are very thorough, and they typically are keen enough to identify most mistakes. But numbers can sometimes present a serious problem. After reading a sentence several times, the human eye will often correct inconsistencies before the brain can register a mistake. If a number should be spelled out, an editor might not notice the problem after a second or third read. As a proofreader, it's not a bad idea to make numbers one of the first things that you examine.
Here are some general rules that you can apply to the proofreading of numbers.
Spell out numbers smaller than 10.
When applying rule #1, be consistent. If there are multiple numbers in a sentence or in a paragraph, it is better to write the digits rather than spelling all the numbers out. Look at the following example. Instead of: There were 15 mice and two hamsters. Write: There were 15 mice and 2 hamsters.
Always write out numbers that begin a sentence. If possible, avoid beginning a sentence with a number altogether.
Always write out decimals as numerals.
Always spell out simple fractions, but write complex fractions as numerals. When a sentence contains one of each, use numerals. Look at the following example. Simple fraction: Only one-fifth of the population cares about who is running for mayor. Complex fraction: Only 6271/6272 of the population cares about who is running for mayor. Both: It seems as though 1/5 of the mice and 6271/6272 of the bacteria don't care who is running for mayor.
When writing out decades, spell them out or write them as numerals, but be consistent. Look at the following example. Instead of: The eighties had some great music, but I prefer music from the '90s. Write: The '80s had some great music, but I prefer music from the '90s. Or: The 1980s had some great music, but I prefer music from the 1990s. Or: The eighties had some great music, but I prefer music from the nineties.
When spelled out, compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine should be hyphenated.
At the proofreading stage, you'll be looking for more nuanced problems with capitalization. While there may be some very simple mistakes that the editor and author have missed, chances are they've remembered to capitalize the first words of sentences and all the proper nouns. What you need to be on the lookout for are unique words and consistent capitalization.
If the document you are proofreading uses industry-specific jargon or common nouns used as proper nouns (for the specific purposes of the document), you'll need to make sure that everything is consistent. This is where the style sheet the editor made up (hopefully) will come in handy. All the unique terms in the document should be listed on this sheet. If they are not, take the time to do so yourself. You may end up saving the author and editor quite a bit of time and the publisher quite a bit of money.
Many writers use all caps in their writing when they want to emphasize a word or indicate that someone is yelling. All caps should never be used, unless one is writing a screenplay or indicating yelling in a book manuscript. An exclamation mark can indicate yelling just as, or even more, effectively than writing in all caps. The only instance that all caps can be used in a document is for an acronym or an initialism. If the writer does use an acronym or initialism in their document, make sure that when they write out the full version of the phrase that each word isn't capitalized.
Incorrect: They were completely and totally in LOVE.
Correct: They were completely and totally in love.
Incorrect: "I HATE YOUR STINKING GUTS!"
Correct: She yelled at him, "I hate your stinking guts!"
Incorrect: We need to leave As Soon As Possible (ASAP).
Correct: We need to leave as soon as possible (ASAP).
It would obviously be problematic if an author were to use kg (kilograms) when the author really meant km (kilometers). Using the correct abbreviation is as necessary as anything else. But just because you've got all the correct measurements in place doesn't mean they've been abbreviated correctly. Here are some things to remember when writing abbreviations, but remember that style guides sometimes dictate other requirements for abbreviations. These are meant as general guidelines.
In American English, periods are typically included with abbreviations. The abbreviations for United States and United Nations can either include periods or not, as long as you are consistent (this is becoming quite the theme). In British English, words that are truncated (such as Prof. for Professor) include a period. Words that act as contractions (such as Dr for Doctor) do not include a period.
In terms of units of measurement, English units (liquid measurements, dry measurements, and measurements of distance) generally include periods (with the exception of miles per hour, written as mph). Metric abbreviations do not include periods.
If you are not providing a specific date, write out the month. If you are providing a specific date, abbreviation is sometimes appropriate, though it depends on the style guide. In formal documents, it is almost always more appropriate to write out the month in full. For example: Written out: I'm going to Cuba in December 2012. Abbreviated: I'm going to Cuba on Dec. 13, 2012.
Always write out days of the week.
Typically, when the name of a state stands alone, don't abbreviate. If a city name is included with the name of the state, abbreviation is sometimes appropriate, though it depends on the style guide. As with the rule about writing out months in full, it is almost always more appropriate to write the state out in full in a formal document. If abbreviation is acceptable for the document you are working on, use the two letter abbreviation for the state name.
Now we get to the nuts and bolts of proofreading. Editing tends to be focused on words, and even the best editors will tell you that sometimes they have to double-check numbers and simple things like capitalization and abbreviations simply because their efforts are focused on the content of the document. This lesson covered some of the best places to look for errors related to these kinds of problems.
Last Updated: 09/09/2022