Proofreading when there's no style guide

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, it’s good to know if their university courses are delivered in British or American English. When I’m dealing with students via email, I don’t always know where they are in the world.

Which reference system does the author want to use?

Journals and university departments often specify which reference system they want authors to use. It might be Harvard, APA or, if I’m dealing with a science or technology subject, a numeric system, such as Vancouver or IEEE.

If the author and I can agree on the reference system at the start, I can ensure consistency throughout the document. Consistency is vital, whether the author is submitting their work to a journal or to an academic supervisor.

Figures and tables

If all the figures and tables have been created by a single author, the formatting will probably be fairly consistent. However, if more than one person has been involved in creating the figures and tables, the author has been working on gathering data over a long period of time, or if different software has been used, the figures and tables can look very different across the document.

Before I start work, I will check with the author: first, do they want me to proofread the figures and/or tables as well as the body of the text; and second, do they want me to fix the formatting and, if they do, what format would they prefer?  For example, do they want vertical lines to divide the columns but not have horizontal lines dividing every row?

Leading zeros

If an author is reporting statistical results, then leading zeros are likely to feature. A leading zero is a ‘0’ before the decimal point for a number that is less than one (e.g., 0.50 = 50%). Whether or not to include leading zeros is a style choice that needs to be implemented consistently.

In APA style, leading zeros are not used if a number can never be greater than one. This would include p values (e.g., p = .015). However, because a standard deviation can be greater than one, you would use a leading zero (e.g., SD = 0.8).

If a journal specifies APA style for statistical reporting, then I know what I need to do. If a journal hasn’t specified, and many don’t, I then look at previously published articles to see how statistical results have been presented by that journal in the past.

A lot of journal articles include a leading zero for all results, regardless of whether the statistic can be greater than one. That is a lot easier for authors (and proofreaders!) and, to my eyes, a lot clearer anyway.

If I’m proofreading a research paper, I don’t have a style guide to follow, and the leading zeros have been used inconsistently, I need to ask the author what they want me to do. I can then make sure that zeros are used consistently.

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I should also state that I am absolutely not a statistician. So, if I'm not sure about whether a leading zero should be included, I will add a comment for the author to check it. I will never make a change if I am not sure of my ground.

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Personal pronouns

If an author is going to submit a paper to a journal, the document will probably go through a blind review process. Thus, it’s important to avoid using ‘I’, ‘we’ or ‘our’ if authors want to cite their own work in the paper because that will prevent the reviewer(s) identifying the author(s) during the review process. Using ‘my results’ or ‘our findings’ is probably fine when referring to the current study, although some journals specify that they want authors to refer to ‘the results’ or ‘the findings’ instead.

If the author is a student who is writing a dissertation or PhD, it’s worth asking the student to check whether their supervisor prefers the use of ‘I’ or ‘the researcher’/’the author’ in the document. Some supervisors encourage research students to refer to themselves as ‘I’ in their written work; other supervisors really dislike this and want a more formal and objective use of language. If I know which the supervisor prefers, I can make sure this approach is used consistently.     

Knowing the answers to these questions early in the process helps me establish a consistent approach to the proofreading. It also ensures that authors feel engaged in the proofreading from the start.