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.
Last updated 30 January 1999