Proofreading and Editing

You have planned your piece, written a powerful opening, built tension, crafted vivid descriptions, and reached a satisfying ending. But your work is not finished yet. The final 5-7 minutes of the SET Stage 2 exam should be spent proofreading and editing your writing. This is the stage where good writers become great writers. The examiners at Sutton Grammar, Wilson's, Wallington County Grammar, Nonsuch, and Wallington High award marks for accuracy — and careless errors can cost you dearly.

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Why Is Proofreading So Important?

In the SET Stage 2 exam, your writing is assessed on several criteria, including:

• Content and ideas — What you write about
• Structure and organisation — How you arrange your writing
• Vocabulary and style — The words and techniques you choose
• Spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPaG) — The accuracy of your writing

Even if your content is brilliant, repeated spelling or punctuation errors will pull your mark down. Proofreading is your safety net. It catches the mistakes that slipped in while you were concentrating on your ideas.

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The Five-Point Proofreading Checklist

When the clock shows five to seven minutes remaining, stop writing and start checking. Work through these five areas in order:

1. Spelling

Look for words you know you often misspell. Common problem words include:

Often misspelled	Correct spelling
definately	definitely
seperately	separately
occured	occurred
untill	until
wich	which
becuase	because
freind	friend
beautifull	beautiful
dissapear	disappear
goverment	government

Tip: If you are unsure how to spell a word, replace it with a word you can spell confidently. "Magnificent" is a wonderful word, but if you are going to spell it wrong, "stunning" or "remarkable" will serve you just as well.

2. Punctuation

Check for these common punctuation errors:

Error	Example	Correction
Missing full stops	"She ran across the field she was out of breath"	"She ran across the field. She was out of breath."
Missing commas after fronted adverbials	"Suddenly she heard a noise"	"Suddenly, she heard a noise."
Comma splice	"She opened the door, the room was dark"	"She opened the door. The room was dark."
Missing apostrophe in contractions	"didnt, cant, wouldnt"	"didn't, can't, wouldn't"
Missing apostrophe for possession	"the girls bag"	"the girl's bag"
Speech mark errors	She said I will go	"I will go," she said.

3. Grammar

Watch out for these common grammar errors:

Error	Example	Correction
Tense switching	"She walks to the door and opened it"	"She walked to the door and opened it"
Subject-verb agreement	"The group of children were running"	"The group of children was running"
Wrong word	"Their going to the park / Its a nice day"	"They're going to the park / It's a nice day"
Double negative	"She didn't have no money"	"She didn't have any money"

Tense consistency is the most common grammar error in the SET exam. Most stories are written in the past tense. If you start in the past tense, stay in the past tense throughout.

4. Word choice improvements

As you read through, look for opportunities to upgrade a weak word: