Millions of students are required to write papers each year, and many of them go online to find a proofreader to review their work. Because the typical student has a very modest budget, they are often looking for a proofreader with the lowest rates. If you are just beginning your journey as a proofreader, learning how to proofread academic papers could be a good way to start building a history of satisfied clients.
Academic papers come with their own unique set of challenges, however. They differ from other types of writing in a number of ways. These differences include increased importance placed on even the smallest details, strict style and formatting requirements, the use of specialized terminology with which you may be unfamiliar, and one-off requirements as defined in a class syllabus.
Attention to detail
Proofreading is all about attention to detail. As a proofreader, you never want to let an error pass your inspection undetected. This is especially true when it comes to academic papers.
Teachers and professors tend to have a very critical eye. They are more likely than the average reader to spot errors other readers may miss, which means any slight misspelling or the smallest punctuation error will be seen. And more importantly, your client’s grade will be marked down for the mistake.
You do not want an upset client to come back to you because you missed an error you should have caught—especially if that error cost them a grade!
Academic writing style
Another key consideration about how to proofread academic papers is to consider the academic writing style.
While no writer (or proofreader) should strive to make boring content, the reality is research papers are not novels. Academic work is written to convey information clearly, directly, and in an orderly fashion. As such, the style and tone of a paper are going to be different from other types of writing.
An academic paper is driven by its thesis, which should be clearly stated at the beginning of the work. The entire flow or structure of the paper should support the thesis, and there should be no repetition, digression, or off-topic information.
Furthermore, because of its intent and audience, the writer should always use standard English. Slang, idioms, nonstandard spellings, and the like should be avoided. Also, it is always important to choose the most accurate word for the sentence. Slight differences in word choice may not make much of a difference in other forms of writing, but precision is key when it comes to scholarship.
As a proofreader, then, you need to keep an eye out for any extra or irrelevant information, nonstandard word usage, and inaccurate writing and offer suggestions to correct these mistakes.
Academic writing formatting and layout
Closely related to style are the format and layout conventions that need to be followed. Your client should provide you with this information (it should be in the class syllabus).
Which writing conventions you will follow will depend on both the professor’s preferences and the style guide being used. Many schools dictate that students write their papers using MLA, while a smaller number require Turabian formatting (which is almost identical to the requirements set forth in The Chicago Manual of Style).
Style guide specifics
There are a number of specific things to be on the lookout for when it comes to formatting and layout. These include:
- Front page and table of contents. Is a title page required, and if so, how should it be formatted? Are all names and dates correct? Should there be a second page with the table of contents or a table of figures?
- Margins and justification. What is the required space for margins (left/right and top/bottom)? Should the text be left-aligned or center-justified?
- Headers and footers. What information should be in the header and footer, and how should it be formatted? When and how are page numbers included?
- Line spacing and indentation. Is double-spacing required? Should new paragraphs be indented or not?
- Captions. How should image, table, and graph captions be formatted? Are the numbering, font, and alignment correct for all figures?
- Footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography. Does the paper require footnotes, endnotes, or in-line sourcing? Are all sources properly formatted in both the notes and the bibliography? (It is imperative to ensure these are exactly correct, regardless of whether it’s MLA or Turabian style.)
The client should be able to provide information to answer each of these questions, but it’s also important to have a working knowledge of MLA and Turabian formatting requirements. When it comes to academic papers, these details matter to a much greater degree than other kinds of content.
Specialized terminology
Academic disciplines tend to have their own specialized terminology. While it’s preferable to avoid this type of “insider” language in a business document, the opposite holds true in academic work, where it is more important to be precise than accessible.
This means as a proofreader you will need to hone your ability to learn new words and ideas quickly and use context to determine word meanings. For any words or concepts you have trouble understanding, Google is your friend. A very good tip is to search the phrase “explain [word or topic] for kids,” as websites aimed at teaching children generally explain topics in easy-to-understand and quick-to-digest ways.
Additionally, many specialized academic terms may not appear in a standard dictionary, making verifying their spellings more difficult. When this happens, you may need to search for the term on Google and see if there is a standard or common way to spell the word. (Take special note of capitalization and hyphenation.) If there are multiple spellings, try to choose the one that seems to be used most often and stick with it for the entire paper.
Know that as a proofreader, you do not have to have exhaustive or expert-level knowledge of the subject matter at hand, but you do need to acquire—however briefly—a basic understanding to ensure you catch all errors and inconsistencies and make thoughtful and beneficial suggestions.
Paper-specific requirements
There may be any number of other requirements that the specific paper you are proofreading has to follow. Again, the client should provide a list of any and all requirements they want you to check.
For example, most papers have a page- or word-count requirement. Teachers often also require papers to be written using a specific font and font size. Or, there may be certain sections required (e.g., an application section).
It is not necessarily the job of a proofreader to fix these types of mistakes (unless you’ve agreed to do so in a contract), but you will add value by alerting the client if you find an issue of this kind in a paper.
Summing it up: How to proofread academic papers
Academic papers differ from other types of writing in key ways. Not only is the intended audience (usually a teacher or professor) a more scrutinizing reader, but there are specialized terms and a significant amount of minutiae that must be correct for your client to be satisfied with your work.
Overall, then, proofreading an academic paper requires attention to detail, knowledge of academic writing style and conventions, and careful checking of grammar, spelling, and content accuracy.