Proofreading

In the Proofreading test, students have to single out the errors in a passage and make corrections for them.

1. General Advice

(a) Spend about 10 minutes on proofreading.

(c) Use the symbols as stated in the instructions. (Read the instruction carefully!)

(d) Proper nouns ( 專有名詞 ) are usually correct.

(e) If the sentence is of several lines, read it carefully before deciding the mistakes.

2. Items which most frequently appear

(a) Tense: Check whether the tense and the verb form is correct or not.

     e.g. He broken ( --> broke) his leg last week.

(b) Voice: Check whether active / passive voice should be used.

     e.g. He was worked ( --> worked) very hard.

(c) Article: Check whether the appropriate article (a, an, the) is used or not.

(d) Adjective and adverb: They are usually mixed up to confuse students.

     e.g. He runs very quick ( --> quicklyy).

(e) Verb: Check whether there is a proper verb, especially verb-to-be and auxiliary verb. Notice the argument between the noun and the verb.

     e.g. They is ( --> were) punished last week.

(f) Number: Check whether it is singular or plural.

     e.g. The policeman ( --> policemen) surrounded the robber.

(g) Preposition: Usually, only simple use of preposition is involved.

                          Some simple rules:

                          [Time] at => a specific time (two o’clock, noon, ……)

                                      on => a day (Monday, Sunday, ……)

                                      in => a period (the morning, a week, ……)

                          [Place] at => a specific spot (the center, room 101, ……)

                                      on => a surface (the floor, the wall, ……)

                                      in => inside a space or area (the building, the district, ……)

                          [Movement] from (starting point) => to (finishing point)

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