Marks for Editing and Proofreading

Marks for Editing and Proofreading

From an early age we are taught the rudiments of spelling, punctuation and grammar. As we progress through school, the more detailed and subtle aspects of English are made known to use. In higher education, the student should develop a thorough and very detailed understanding of the technicalities of the English language.

Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar is important in not just English-based subjects, but the majority of other subjects as well. For example, in the UK, accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar accounts for a small percentage (currently 5%) of the mark in non-English subjects that required essay writing, such as the humanities. Higher percentages may be introduced for the English-based languages in the future.

The UK Examinations regulation body includes this because they want to communicate to all teachers and students the importance of accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. A small proportion of marks for editing and proofreading helps students see that editing and proofreading should be taken seriously, as well should learning how to spell as correctly as possible and understand punctuation and grammar as much as possible. But the proportions are not so high that they take focus away from the actual subject.

If we take a look at a mark scheme from an examination body, it becomes easier to see what is expected of the student. For “high performance”, the student is able to spell, punctuate and use the rules of grammar with high and consistent levels of accuracy, with control over the meaning that these things entail. This goes beyond merely basic spelling and into more advanced vocabulary and specialist terminology.

For “medium performance”, the student does make some mistakes, but these mistakes do not get in the way of the student’s intended meaning, and the student does introduce a small range of specialist terminology. For “low performance”, there are lots of errors with the spelling, punctuation and grammar, and the errors do hinder the assessor’s ability to extract meaning from the work.

All students, academics and professionals should take seriously the pursuit of improving their skill with spelling, punctuation and grammar. It is first important to understand the specific marking specification of your school to see how the marks weigh, and then put the effort in to improve personal ability. For all completed essays and assignments, it is important to properly edit and proofread the work for inconsistencies and errors.

Proofreading and editing services are a popular choice for students (as well as professionals) who want a way to ensure that their work is of the highest possible accuracy, but do not have the time or the ability to do it themselves. With an editing service, the work is changed automatically for you, and with a proofreading service the work will be given back to you with instructions (proofreading marks) that tell you what to do. Proofreading marks not only highlight mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar, they also help you dramatically improve the style and formatting of the work.