When proofreading and text or essay editing it can be extremely helpful for proofreaders to be aware of the most common errors they are likely to come across. This knowledge not only ensures that they are on the lookout for these frequent problems and therefore more likely to spot them, but can also speed up the proofreading process by helping them to jump straight to the problem areas of a text, whether they are carrying out professional proofreading or essay and thesis proofreading.

We have compiled a list of some of the most common errors in grammar reported by proofreaders and editing services to help you perfect the accuracy and speed of your proofreading.

Sentence starters

One of the most common of all grammatical mistakes picked up by proofreading services is the incorrect use of words such as and, but and because to begin sentences.

A simple way to spot this is to remember that each of these words is a conjunction, or joining word, which should be used to join two related clauses, and therefore is not appropriate for use at the beginning of a new sentence.

Capital letters

Some of the trickiest mistakes for a proofreader to spot are those which transgress the most basic laws of grammar, as we take them so much for granted in our own writing that we do not expect to see them appear.

A major proofreading example is capital letters. When carrying out textual analysis, proofreaders often spot a failure to start new sentences with a capital letter, or capital letters missing from proper nouns. Editors should keep a close eye on proper nouns, such as names, places, days of the week and months, to catch this common mistake when proofreading.

Verb agreements

A very common slip often to be found when proofreading or copy editing work from somebody whose first language is not English, verb agreements are another grammar hotspot that should be at the top of a proofreading checklist.

Remember that the verb must always agree with the person who is doing it – writers often make this mistake in long or complex sentences, where the subject and verb are separated at different ends of the sentence allowing the writer to forget their association.

For a speedy check, simply remove all other parts of the sentence and check whether the simple verb phrase works on its own.

For example:

“The girl, whose long hair cascades down her back as she saunters delicately down the road in the sunshine, often take a meandering route to school.”

Simplify the sentence to the verb phrase, and the error becomes clear:

“The girl take a meandering route”

Should read:

“The girl takes”.

We hope the knowledge of these common grammatical problem areas to focus on for editors and proofreaders alike will prove useful in your toolkit for quick, accurate editing.