Sometimes I don't have a style guide to work from, for example, when authors haven’t decided which journal to submit their work to and they want to keep their options open. I can still do the proofreading, but these are some of the things I check with the author(s) early in the process. Would the author(s) prefer British or US spelling? Knowing this helps me to standardize the spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary throughout the document. If I’m working with a student

Other proofreaders will approach jobs differently but there are some things I know will save me time and confusion in the long run. I generally work on Word documents and there are five things I check before I even begin the proofreading: This sounds obvious, but can I open and save the document? If I can’t, I need to let the author know as soon as possible, especially if we’re in very different time zones and the time frame for the proofreading is short. Has the author sele