How does the proofreading test work?
A short passage has 8 mistakes in it: misspelled words, real words in the wrong place (their for there, its for it's), a word written twice, or "a" where "an" belongs. Tap each word that's wrong; tap it again to unmark it. Press Done when you think you have them all.
The passages were written for this site, and every game puts the mistakes in new places, so playing again is a new test. There are 4 passages.
How is your Proofreading Test result calculated?
Your result is how many of the 8 mistakes you found, with any words you marked that were fine and your time. A doubled word counts once, whichever copy you tap. The result screen shows each mistake you missed with the word it should have been.
Why are typos so hard to spot?
Because skilled readers don't read letter by letter. In a 1976 study, Alice Healy asked people to find every letter t in a passage, and they missed it more often in the word "the" than in rarer words: familiar words are taken in as whole units. The same happens with mistakes. Your eye sees the word it expects, especially in short, common words.
How do you proofread better?
- Read twice. Once for sense, then slowly, word by word.
- Watch the small words. "the the", "a" and "an", its and it's are the easiest to miss.
- Check sound-alikes. Spell-checkers miss them: their, there and they're are all real words.
For reading at your natural pace, try the Reading Speed Test; for searching a page for a target, the Letter Cancellation Test.
What can affect your Proofreading Test result?
Mostly how slowly you're willing to read. The clock runs, but there's no limit, so finding all 8 mistakes is about patience more than speed. On a phone the passage takes several screens; scrolling breaks your place, so finish a line before you scroll. Every game puts the mistakes in different words, so you can't learn where they are.
How do you prepare for a proofreading test?
- Read for mistakes, not for meaning. Once you know what a sentence says, your eye stops checking its words.
- Go line by line. Follow the line with a finger or the pointer, and say the words in your head.
- Learn the usual suspects. their, there and they're; its and it's; then and than; lose and loose; a doubled small word; "a" before a vowel sound.
- Check names and numbers separately. Spelling rules don't help with them, so read them character by character.