This set covers the five skills in document editing and proofing: controlled replacement, consistent styles, proofreading versus redesign, accurate references and checking against a task. All texts and numbers are invented for practice.
Work through the questions in order, since they run from easier to harder. Write your answer before opening the explanation, and log any slip in the mistake log and retest queue.
Questions
1. Whole-word matching. The text is: Sam met Samuel and Samantha. Sam left. You search for Sam. How many matches are there with no options, and how many with whole word on? What does the text read after replacing the whole-word matches with Samira?
Show answer
With no options the letters Sam appear in Sam, Sam(uel), Sam(antha) and Sam, so 4 matches. With whole word on, only the two standalone names match, so 2 matches.
After replacing those two: Samira met Samuel and Samantha. Samira left. Check: 2 changes made, and Samuel and Samantha are unchanged.
2. Spot the hidden matches. The text is: The report on the airport and the port was sent to the porter. You search for port with no options. How many matches are there, and how many are whole words?
Show answer
Count the letters port inside words: report, airport, port, porter. That is 4 matches. Only the standalone word port is a whole word, so 1 whole-word match.
Replacing all 4 would corrupt report, airport and porter.
3. Match case. The text is: Rose planted a rose near the Rose Garden. The name Rose must become Rosa, but the flower must stay. How do you do this, and what is the result?
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Search for Rose with match case on. With it off there are 3 matches. With it on there are 2: the first word and the one before Garden.
Replace those 2: Rosa planted a rose near the Rosa Garden. The flower rose is unchanged.
4. Many matches, one wanted. The text is: Lab 1 is open. Lab 1A is closed. Lab 10 is full. The task says to change only Lab 1 to Lab 2. How many matches does Lab 1 have with no options, and how many with whole word on?
Show answer
No options: Lab 1, the start of Lab 1A, and the start of Lab 10. That is 3 matches. With whole word on, only the standalone Lab 1 matches: 1.
Result after replacing: Lab 2 is open. Lab 1A is closed. Lab 10 is full. Check the count: 1 intended, 1 made.
5. Sort the edits. The task says “Proofread only; keep the layout”. Label each edit as proofreading (P) or redesign (R): (a) change “teh” to “the”; (b) change line spacing from single to 1.5; (c) change a date so it matches the supplied note; (d) change the heading colour.
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(a) P, a spelling fix. (b) R, line spacing is layout. (c) P, the content is corrected against the source. (d) R, colour is design.
Only (a) and (c) should be made: 2 edits, and 2 are left alone.
6. Style count. A report has 8 headings. 5 use the heading style and 3 were formatted by hand. You change the heading style colour to dark blue. How many headings change colour, and what must you do for the other 3?
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5 change colour. For the other 3, apply the heading style and clear any direct formatting. Then all 8 of 8 follow the style, and a future colour change will reach all of them.
7. Empty paragraphs. A document has 5 sections. A student has put 3 empty paragraphs between each pair of neighbouring sections. How many empty paragraphs are there, and what is the better way to create the gaps?
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There are 4 gaps between 5 sections, so 4 × 3 = 12 empty paragraphs.
Delete them and set space before or after in the paragraph style. Every gap is then the same and moves correctly when the text is edited.
8. Typed reference. A report has 4 tables. A paragraph says “see Table 3”, typed by hand. A new table is inserted as Table 2. What is wrong, and what should the paragraph now say?
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The old Table 3 is now Table 4, because the new table pushed it down one place. The typed “see Table 3” now names the wrong table.
Use a cross-reference to the caption, update references, and the paragraph will read “see Table 4”. The report now has 5 tables.
9. Checklist result. A task has 10 requirements. The first check gives: 1 yes, 2 yes, 3 no, 4 yes, 5 yes, 6 no, 7 yes, 8 yes, 9 no, 10 yes. How many are met, and what do you do after fixing 3, 6 and 9?
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Count the yes answers: items 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 = 7 of 10 met. The 3 failures are items 3, 6 and 9.
After fixing them, re-test all 10, because a fix can affect an item that was already met.
10. Page count changed. The task says the notice must fit on one page. After proofreading, it is now on two pages. List a sensible order of actions.
Show answer
- Open the saved file and confirm that the notice does spill onto page two.
- Find the cause: a longer corrected word, an extra empty paragraph, or hand-made spacing.
- Remove that cause without redesigning anything the task did not ask you to change.
- Re-test the whole checklist, not just the page count.
If you got these wrong
| Where you slipped | Revisit |
|---|---|
| Questions 1 to 4: match counts or options | Use find-and-replace without unintended changes |
| Questions 6 and 7: styles and spacing | Correct inconsistent styles |
| Question 5: sorting edits | Distinguish proofreading from redesign |
| Question 8: reference numbers | Insert a permitted reference accurately |
| Questions 9 and 10: final checking | Compare final output with an original task checklist |
The ICT practical task and evidence checker lets you try the checklist method on a task of your own. Return to the module overview if you want the study order again.
If a pattern keeps repeating across your attempts, that is a good use of a session in online one-to-one ICT tuition, where a teacher can look at your actual working.