Proofreading Exercises Answer Key
Proofreading Exercise 1 Key:
In Greek mythology, Zeus, an Olympian god, was known as the immortal ruler of both gods and men. Zeus was the
son of the titans Cronus and Rhea and presided over h is five brothers and sisters, who ruled various aspects of the
heavenly and earthly worlds. He was married to h is sister Hera, with whom he had three children: Ares—the god
of war, Hephaistos—the god of metalworking, and Hebe —the goddess of youth. Hera was often the jealous wife
and unhappy with Zeus' many affairs with other goddess es, nymphs, and mortal women. As a result of these
affairs, many ancient Greek heroes and rulers were produ ced, such as Perseus, Hercules, and even the famous
Helen of Troy. As a god, Zeus ruled over the most important asp ects of nature and human society, and he
controlled the laws and fates of men as well as the sky and weather. He is often called by the epithets "The
Thunderer" or "Gatherer of Clouds" in the Homeric po ems, and his control of such natural forces was represented
by his weapons and armor: Zeus was able to fight w ith both thunder and lightning, and the shaking of his aegis (his
shield) could create terrible storms.
(See page 2 for the answer key to Proofreading Exercise 2 .)
Commented [.1]: Commas always follow an introductory
word or phrase. An introductory word or phrase is not
essential to the meaning of the sentence, and the sentence
can work without it.
Commented [.2]: Numbers under 10 are usually written
out in full as opposed to using the numeric symbol (e.g.,
eight versus 8). The way in which numbers under 10 are
written should always be consistent within a document.
Commented [.3]: Commas are used to separate non-
restrictive (i.e., non-essential) information that can be
removed from a sentence without changing its meaning. A
non-restrictive clause often begins with which, who, such
as, or including.
Commented [.4]: Always remember to check for number
agreement between nouns and descriptors and nouns and
verbs!
Commented [.5]: Don't forget to double-check words or
terms that may be unfamiliar to make sure that they are
spelled correctly.
Commented [.6]: Check for extra spaces between
sentences.
Commented [.7]: Know when commas are required. In
this case, a comma isn't necessary because the coordinating
conjunction and is separating a dependent clause (which
doesn't make sense on its own) from the preceding
independent clause (i.e., Hera was a jealous wife).
Commented [.8]: Look for extra s's on possessive plural
nouns or words already ending with an s.
Commented [.9]: Ensure that serial comma use is
consistent throughout the document. Whether or not serial
commas should be included is often dictated by the style
guide being used. If no style guide is in use, default to the
style of English in which the document is written: American
English usually employs the serial comma, while British
English often omits it.
Commented [.10]: Make sure words that need to be
capitalized are capitalized, including the names of people
and places.
Commented [.11]: Make sure the correct form of a word
is used, particularly when the word is a homophone.
Commented [.12]: Check every sentence for comma
splices (i.e., two independent clauses separated by only a
comma).
