Proof-Reading Jobs

Person 1: Lead Specialist

Your job is to look at the lead of the story and decide if it is strong or weak.

As you read ask yourself:

  • Does the lead grab the reader’s attention and hook the reader into the story?
  • Does the introduction set the mood by describing the setting?
  • Does the introduction show the reader what kind of person the main character is?
  • Is there some background information missing that would help the reader understand the story better?
  • Does the introduction hint at the struggle/conflict the main character faces or explain why the experience was meaningful to the main character?
  • Background information: How did it all start?
  • Is the setting (time and place) described vividly (can you picture it)?
  • Are the characters described (can you picture them in your mind)?
  • Do you know what struggle the main character is going to face?

Person 2: Rising Action/Climax Specialist

Your job is to focus on the Rising Action and Climax of the story to make sure it is strong and has all the needed information so that the story makes sense and keeps the reader engaged.

As you read ask yourself:

  • What gets in the main character’s way so that he/she has trouble succeeding.
  • Does the story get more and more complicated for the main character?
  • Are Sensory Details (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) used?
  • Do we know what the main character thinks about what is happening?
  • Do we know how the main character feels about what is happening?
  • Dialogue!: Did the main character say anything to the other characters in the story?

Person 3: Falling Action/Resolution

Your job is to look at the end of the story, specifically, to make sure that the writer tied all the loose threads of the story together and gave the story meaning in the form of a theme.

As you read ask yourself:

  • Does the story leave you hanging because it doesn’t fill in all the information needed for a complete resolution?
  • What does the main character think about this experience?
  • How did the experience change the main character?
  • Does the story let the reader know the significance of the experience?
  • Does the reader know what the main character learned?

Person 4: Structure Specialist

Your job is to read for overall mistakes—especially spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, structural, and anything else you notice. You are the last line of defense a writer has against “dumb” mistakes!