Proofreading
The last check after editing and layout, catching typos, broken references, bad line breaks, and other surface errors before release.
See it
What it is
Proofreading is the final quality check after editing and layout. It catches surface errors in the artifact that will actually ship: typos, doubled words, bad punctuation, wrong page numbers, broken cross-references, inconsistent headings, awkward line breaks, and layout mistakes. The name comes from checking printer's proofs, the test pages made before a full print run.
Reach for it when wording is approved and the page, PDF, email, or app screen is in its final form. Compare against the approved source, check headers and footers as well as body text, and inspect changes at the places most likely to break: page turns, columns, links, captions, tables, and last-minute substitutions.
Gotcha: proofreading is not the cheap name for every kind of editing. Rewriting a paragraph this late can change line breaks, pagination, and references, creating fresh errors after the final check. Correct only what is wrong, log every change, and recheck anything the fix could have moved.
Ask AI for it
Proofread this final artifact using Microsoft Word Track Changes conventions and the supplied Chicago Manual of Style house rules. Do not line edit or rewrite for preference. Check spelling, punctuation, doubled or missing words, names, heading consistency, page numbers, headers, footers, captions, links, cross-references, tables, widows, orphans, and awkward line breaks. Return a correction log with page or screen, exact location, current text, correction, and rule. Then list every item that needs author confirmation instead of guessing.