Sample editing checklist

Front Matter

• Check the publication number.
• Check the document title.
• Check the company address.
• Check the front matter page numbering.
• Check the printing date.
• Check the trademark information.
• Check the copyright information.
• Check the company phone number and other contact information.

Format and Appearance

• Scan each page for obvious formatting errors.
• Check the typefaces and type sizes.

Table of Contents

• Cross-check all entries against actual entries in the document.
• Check the head levels for parallelism.
• Read each entry for spelling errors.
• Verify the page numbers.

Tables

• Read all table headings.
• Read all table footnotes.
• Check the table numbering.
• Check that numbers in tables are aligned correctly.
• Read nearby text that refers to the table.

Figures

• Scan each figure for obvious errors.
• Read all labels in figures.
• Read all figure titles.
• Check the figure numbering.
• Read nearby text that refers to the figure.

Content

• Read all chapter or section titles.
• Check that steps in all procedures are numbered in sequence.
• Check the page numbering.
• Check the fonts and type sizes.
• Verify cross-references.
• Check recent edits. Pay close attention to any material copied and amended.
• Check for duplicated or missing material.
• Read the headers on each page.
• Read the footers on each page.
• Read all of the body copy.

Index

• Read the text of each index entry.
• Check the indentations.
• Check the alphabetisation.
• Verify the index page numbers.

This checklist is very similar to one given in a paper by James B. Hansen titled "When you have to edit your own writing" in Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Conference, Society for Technical Communication, 1996, pp. 550-553, which was also published as "Editing your own writing" in Intercom, STC, February 1997, pp. 14-16.

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