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Writing lesson · Editing and revising

Proofread Your Writing: Capitals, End Marks, Spelling

Learn a short proofreading routine: read aloud, check capitals and end marks, fix spelling and little words, then proofread your own paragraph.

Grades 3–5 · 23 practice questions · Original material
Learning objectiveUse a short proofreading checklist (read aloud, capitals, end marks, spelling, little words) to find and fix mistakes in a paragraph, and tell proofreading apart from revising.

The idea

Proofreading is the last step before you share your writing. You are no longer changing your ideas. You are fixing small mistakes that make a reader stop and wonder.

Revising and proofreading are different jobs. When you revise, you change ideas, order and word choice. When you proofread, you fix capitals, end marks, spelling and little words. Do the first job first, because you may delete a sentence you just fixed.

A good proofreader checks one thing at a time. Read the piece aloud slowly and point to each word. Next scan for capitals at the start of every sentence and on names of people, places and days. Then check that every sentence has the right end mark. After that, check spelling, including the Canadian spellings colour, favourite and neighbour. Last, check little words that sound alike, such as their, there and they’re.

Take a short break before you proofread. Your eyes will notice more mistakes after a rest. Reading from the last sentence to the first can also help, because you read each sentence on its own.

A spell checker helps, but it cannot catch every mistake. It will not notice that “there dog” should be “dog” with “their”, so read the words yourself too.

See the difference

A first attempt

last saturday me and my cousin went to the park we played soccer it was fun my cousin kicked the ball in there net

A clearer version

Last Saturday, my cousin and I went to the park. We played soccer, and it was fun. My cousin kicked the ball into their net.

Why this works: The strong version adds capitals to Last, Saturday and the first word of each sentence, uses I correctly, ends each sentence with a period, separates the run-on and fixes the little word their. The ideas did not change. Only the mistakes did.

Worked examples

Example 1 · Read aloud

Read aloud: “we went to the the store.” What do you notice?

  1. Point to each word as you read.
  2. You say the twice, which a quick silent read can hide.
  3. Cross out the extra the.

The word the is repeated. Fix: We went to the store.

Example 2 · Capitals

Fix the capitals: “my friend ravi lives in oshawa.”

  1. Start the sentence with a capital: My.
  2. Names of people take capitals: Ravi.
  3. Names of places take capitals: Oshawa. Add the final period.

My friend Ravi lives in Oshawa.

Example 3 · End marks

Choose end marks: Can we go swimming Yes we can

  1. The first sentence asks something, so use a question mark.
  2. The second sentence tells something, so use a period.
  3. Begin each sentence with a capital.

Can we go swimming? Yes, we can.

Example 4 · Run-on

Fix: “It was late we ran home.”

  1. Find the two complete ideas: It was late. We ran home.
  2. Separate them with a period and a capital, or join them with a comma and so.
  3. Choose one.

It was late. We ran home. (or: It was late, so we ran home.)

Example 5 · Little words

Choose their, there or they’re: “___ going to bring ___ skates to the rink over ___.”

  1. They’re means they are, which fits going to bring.
  2. Their shows ownership, which fits skates.
  3. There tells a place, which fits over there.

They’re going to bring their skates to the rink over there.

Example 6 · Proofreading or revising?

Is replacing “big” with “enormous” proofreading or revising?

  1. Proofreading fixes mistakes without changing the meaning.
  2. Replacing big with enormous changes word choice and how strong the sentence feels.
  3. That is a revising job.

Revising.

Common mistakes

Proofreading before the ideas are finished.

Why this fails: You may fix sentences you later delete. Revise first, then proofread.

Reading silently and fast.

Why this fails: Your brain fills in missing and repeated words. Reading aloud and pointing slows your eyes down.

Checking everything at once.

Why this fails: Looking for capitals, end marks, spelling and little words all together makes you miss things. Take one pass for each.

Trusting the spell checker for every word.

Why this fails: A spell checker accepts a real word in the wrong place, such as there for their. You still need to read.

Adding capitals to common nouns.

Why this fails: Cousin, park and soccer are common nouns, so they stay small unless the cousin is used as a name (Cousin Amir) or the park has a name (Rouge Park).

Using American spelling in a Canadian classroom.

Why this fails: In Canada we write colour, favourite and neighbour, with the u.

Foundation

Foundation practice

Spot capitals, end marks and the proofreading steps.

Capital letters

1. Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?

  1. on Saturday, my cousin Amir and I visited Lake Ontario.
  2. On saturday, my cousin amir and I visited Lake Ontario.
  3. On Saturday, my Cousin Amir and i visited lake Ontario.
  4. On Saturday, my cousin Amir and I visited Lake Ontario.
End marks

2. Which end mark belongs at the end of this sentence? “Where did you leave your boots”

  1. ?
  2. .
  3. !
  4. ,
Run-on sentence

3. Which choice fixes this run-on: “We walked to school it was snowing hard.”

  1. We walked to school, it was snowing hard.
  2. We walked to school it was snowing, hard.
  3. We walked to school. It was snowing hard.
  4. We walked to school. it was snowing hard.
Spelling

4. Which word is spelled correctly (Canadian spelling)?

  1. neighbor
  2. nieghbour
  3. neighbour
  4. nayboor
Little words

5. Choose the correct word: “The dogs ___ in the yard.”

  1. are
  2. is
  3. am
  4. be
Apostrophe

6. Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?

  1. The dogs’ bowl is empty, because there is one dog.
  2. The dog’s bowl are empty.
  3. The dogs bowl’s is empty.
  4. The dog’s bowl is empty.
Proofreading step

7. What is a good way to catch missing words in your writing?

  1. Read it silently as fast as you can.
  2. Read it aloud slowly and point to each word.
  3. Change every word to a bigger word.
  4. Count how many sentences you wrote.
One thing at a time

8. Why do writers proofread for one kind of mistake at a time?

  1. It makes the writing longer.
  2. It is easier to notice a mistake when you know exactly what to look for.
  3. Teachers can only mark one kind of mistake.
  4. Spelling mistakes cannot be found in the first read.

Practice

Practice practice

Fix mistakes in sentences.

Find the errors

9. How many mistakes are in this sentence? “last friday my brother and i went to the library”

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 6
  4. 4
Best correction

10. Which is the best correction? “me and sam builds a snowfort”

  1. Sam and I built a snow fort.
  2. Me and Sam builds a snow fort.
  3. Sam and me built a snow fort
  4. Sam and I builded a snow fort.
Homophones

11. Choose the correct word: “The team forgot ___ water bottles.”

  1. there
  2. they’re
  3. their
  4. thare
Commas in a list

12. Which sentence puts commas in a list correctly?

  1. I packed, mittens, a toque, a scarf and boots.
  2. I packed mittens a toque a scarf and boots.
  3. I packed mittens, a toque, a scarf and boots.
  4. I packed mittens, a toque, a scarf, and, boots.
Quotation marks

13. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

  1. “Let’s go outside,” said Maya.
  2. “Let’s go outside”, said Maya.
  3. Let’s go outside, said Maya.
  4. “Let’s go outside, said Maya.”
Plural spelling

14. Which word is a correct plural?

  1. babys
  2. babyes
  3. babis
  4. babies
Check the meaning

15. Which proofreading fix also changes the meaning?

  1. Adding a capital to the start of a sentence.
  2. Changing was to wasn’t.
  3. Fixing a spelling mistake in pencil.
  4. Adding a period at the end.
Priority

16. You have only two minutes to proofread. Which two checks help most?

  1. Make the title bigger and change the font.
  2. Capitals and end marks at the start and end of every sentence.
  3. Add three new adjectives to every sentence.
  4. Count your words twice.

Challenge

Challenge practice

Choose the best correction and the best order of checks.

Spot the correct paragraph

17. Which paragraph is correctly proofread?

  1. We went to Rouge Park on sunday. It was cold, so we wore our toques.
  2. We went to rouge park on Sunday. It was cold so we wore our toques.
  3. we went to Rouge Park on Sunday. It was cold, so we wore our toques.
  4. We went to Rouge Park on Sunday. It was cold, so we wore our toques.
Fix the sentence

18. Which is the best fix? “The cat sleep on the couch all day and it dont move.”

  1. The cat sleeps on the couch all day, and it doesn’t move.
  2. The cat sleep on the couch all day, and it don’t move.
  3. The cat sleeps on the couch all day and it doesnt move.
  4. The cats sleep on the couch all day, and it doesn’t move.
Editor’s eye

19. A student wrote: “My favorite colour is blue.” Which word is not Canadian spelling?

  1. colour
  2. blue
  3. favorite
  4. is
What to do first

20. After you finish writing, what should you do before you proofread?

  1. Hand it in right away.
  2. Look up every word in a dictionary.
  3. Read it once for meaning and make any big changes.
  4. Count the commas.
Good habit

21. Which tool can help you check spelling but still needs your own eyes?

  1. A spell checker.
  2. A thesaurus.
  3. A calculator.
  4. A ruler.
Whole check

22. Which list of checks is in the best order for proofreading?

  1. spelling, meaning, end marks, capitals
  2. title size, font, colour, margins
  3. word count, commas, spelling, handwriting
  4. meaning, capitals, end marks, spelling
Transfer

23. Which sentence needs NO proofreading change?

  1. on Tuesday our class visited the Ajax library.
  2. On Tuesday, our class visited the Ajax library.
  3. On Tuesday, our class visited the ajax library.
  4. On Tuesday, our class visited the Ajax library

Your turn to write

Write a paragraph of 5 or 6 sentences about something you did last weekend. Then proofread it in four passes: capitals, end marks, spelling and little words. Circle each fix in pencil.

Helpful sentence starters

  • Last weekend, I ...
  • My favourite part was ...
  • Then my family and I ...
  • I will remember ... because ...

Write in a notebook or a document. The model and checklist are available without signing in.

Check and improve

  • Every sentence begins with a capital letter.
  • Names of people, places and days have capitals.
  • Every sentence has the right end mark.
  • I checked spelling, including Canadian spellings.
  • I checked their, there and they’re.
  • I read the paragraph aloud and pointed to each word.

This checklist is for parent-and-child self-review. No automatic writing score is assigned.

Answer key

  1. 1. On Saturday, my cousin Amir and I visited Lake Ontario.
    Capitals go at the start of a sentence, on days of the week, on names of people and on names of places. The other versions miss one or more of these, or add capitals to common words like cousin.
  2. 2. ?
    The sentence asks a question, so it ends with a question mark. A period ends a statement, an exclamation mark shows strong feeling and a comma does not end a sentence.
  3. 3. We walked to school. It was snowing hard.
    A run-on joins two complete sentences without proper punctuation. A period and a new capital letter separates them. A comma alone still joins them wrongly, and the last choice forgets the capital I.
  4. 4. neighbour
    Canadian English keeps the u in neighbour, colour and favourite. Neighbor is the American spelling. Nieghbour swaps the i and e, which breaks the ei pattern in neighbour.
  5. 5. are
    Dogs is plural, so it takes are. Is goes with one thing, am goes with I and be does not match the subject here.
  6. 6. The dog’s bowl is empty.
    An apostrophe plus s shows that the bowl belongs to one dog. The second choice puts the apostrophe after the s, which is for more than one dog, and the others place the apostrophe in the wrong spot or break the verb.
  7. 7. Read it aloud slowly and point to each word.
    Reading aloud while pointing makes your eyes slow down, so you notice a word that is missing. Speed reading hides errors, and changing words or counting sentences does not check mistakes.
  8. 8. It is easier to notice a mistake when you know exactly what to look for.
    Looking for one type at a time, such as capitals, then end marks, then spelling, helps your brain focus. The other reasons are not true.
  9. 9. 4
    The sentence needs a capital L on Last, a capital F on Friday, a capital I for the pronoun and a period at the end. That is 4 changes. Counting fewer misses a capital or the missing period.
  10. 10. Sam and I built a snow fort.
    Sam and I is the correct subject and built is the past tense of build. Snow fort is written as two words in this lesson. Me and Sam builds has three errors, the second choice has no period and builded is not a word.
  11. 11. their
    Their shows that the water bottles belong to the team. There means a place and they’re means they are. Thare is not a word.
  12. 12. I packed mittens, a toque, a scarf and boots.
    Commas separate the items in a list, with and before the last item. The other choices add commas in the wrong places or leave them out.
  13. 13. “Let’s go outside,” said Maya.
    The spoken words go inside quotation marks and the comma comes before the closing quotation mark. The tag said Maya stays outside. The others leave out the quotation marks or put the tag inside them.
  14. 14. babies
    Words ending in consonant + y change y to i and add es. Babys keeps the y, babyes keeps the y and adds es, and babis forgets the e.
  15. 15. Changing was to wasn’t.
    Was and wasn’t mean opposite things, so that change is a revision, not proofreading. Capitals, spelling and end marks do not change what the writer means.
  16. 16. Capitals and end marks at the start and end of every sentence.
    Capitals and end marks make every sentence clear for the reader and are quick to scan. Changing fonts, adding adjectives and counting words do not help the reader understand.
  17. 17. We went to Rouge Park on Sunday. It was cold, so we wore our toques.
    Only the first paragraph capitalizes Rouge Park, Sunday and the first word. The second has a missing capital on days, the third forgets Rouge Park and the comma, and the last starts with a small letter.
  18. 18. The cat sleeps on the couch all day, and it doesn’t move.
    Singular cat takes sleeps and doesn’t. The other choices leave a verb mistake, drop the apostrophe or change cat to cats while keeping it.
  19. 19. favorite
    Canadian English spells favourite and colour with ou. Favorite is the American spelling. The other words are correct.
  20. 20. Read it once for meaning and make any big changes.
    Fix the ideas first. Proofreading comes after revising so you don’t correct sentences you may delete. The other choices are not helpful steps.
  21. 21. A spell checker.
    A spell checker finds many misspelled words but cannot tell there from their, so you must check word choice yourself. A thesaurus finds similar words and a calculator and ruler do other jobs.
  22. 22. meaning, capitals, end marks, spelling
    First read for meaning, then check one feature at a time. The other lists mix in design choices or put spelling before meaning is clear.
  23. 23. On Tuesday, our class visited the Ajax library.
    The correct sentence has a capital at the start, a comma after the opening phrase, a capital on Ajax and a period. The others miss the capital, the capital on Ajax or the period.

Related practice

Combine short sentences with and, but, so, becauseWrite a strong paragraphWriting dialogueContractions and apostrophesHomophones: there, their, they’re