Question

proofreading symbols
correction\tsymbol\texample
delete (remove).\t“stop that now!” he be shouted.
insert.\t^
this is the new millenium.
transpose (switch).\t
i only received one postcard.
capitalize.\t≡
we spent our vacation in the northwest.
make lowercase.\t/
isn’t spring early this year?
start a new paragraph.\t¶
jess replied, “of course, i do!”
add space.\t#
please take this to the postoffice.
close up space.\t
parent hood is a big responsibility.

exercise 9 proofreading a passage
find and correct every error in the following passage. use
the proofreading symbols.

‘how did the bull dozer get it’s name? the frist form of
this word appeared in america in 1875. ‘the word, or
compound term, used than was bull dose. ‘this term refered
to a flogging, the “dose, or amount of the flogging that was
supposed to be strong enough for a bull. ‘by 1875, the form
of term this had changed to bulldoze; by then, it had the
same meaning, more or less as steamroll. ‘it wasn’t until
1890 that the name was applied to the machine on tank
treads that has a large steel blade for moving earth and for
clearing growth and rubbish. ‘that name, of course, has not
changed since 1890. ‘today, the the verb bulldoze means
both “to oprate a bulldozer” and “to come on strong.

publishing suggestions
written words
magazine of student writing
school or local newspaper
local or national poetry,
story, or essay contest
class anthology
writing portfolio
letters
spoken words
speech
audio recording
oral interpretation
radio broadcast
reader’s theater
interview
debate
digital
e-mail
e-book
web site
blog
podcast
video recording

Answer:

To solve the proofreading of the passage, we analyze each sentence for errors (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, word usage) and apply the proofreading symbols:

Sentence 1: “How did the bull dozer get it’s name?”

• “bull dozer”: Close up space (symbol $\overbrace{}$) → bulldozer.
• “it’s”: Incorrect apostrophe (should be its for possession). Delete the apostrophe (symbol $\cancel{’}$) → its.
• Question mark: The original has a stray mark; ensure it’s a proper “?”.

Sentence 2: “The frist form of this word appeared in america in 1875.”

• “frist”: Misspelling. Insert “e” (symbol $\hat{}$) → first.
• “america”: Proper noun, capitalize (symbol $\equiv$) → America.

Sentence 3: “The word, or compound term, used than was bull dose.”

• “used than”: Misphrasing. Replace “than” with “then” (insert “e” via $\hat{}$) → used then.
• “bull dose”: Close up space (symbol $\overbrace{}$) → bulldose.

Sentence 4: “This term refered to a flogging, the “dose, or amount ofthe flogging that was supposed to be strong enough for a bull.”

• “refered”: Misspelling. Insert “r” (symbol $\hat{}$) → referred.
• “ofthe”: Close up space (symbol $\overbrace{}$) → of the.
• Quotation marks: The inner “dose” should use single quotes or adjust; here, fix spacing and punctuation.

Sentence 5: “By 1875, the form of term this had changed to bulldoze; by then, it had the same meaning, more or less as steamroll.”

• “form of term this”: Miswording. Transpose (symbol $\square\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\square$) → this term’s form.
• “steamroll”: Missing “-” or noun form? Adjust to steamroller (insert “er” via $\hat{}$) or keep as steamroll (contextual).

Sentence 6: “it wasn’t until 1890 that the name was applied to themachine on tank treads that has a Large steel blade for moving Earth and for clearing growth and rubbish.”

• “it”: Capitalize (symbol $\equiv$) → It.
• “themachine”: Close up space (symbol $\overbrace{}$) → the machine.
• “has”: Tense error (past). Replace with “had” (insert “d” via $\hat{}$) → had.
• “Large”: Unnecessary capitalization. Make lowercase (symbol $\diagup$) → large.
• “Earth”: Proper noun (optional, but context: “earth” as soil, lowercase) → earth.

Sentence 7: “That name, of course, has not changed since 1890.”

• No errors (punctuation and spelling correct).

Sentence 8: “Today, the the verb bulldoze means both “to oprate a bulldozer” and “to come on strong.”

• “the the”: Delete one “the” (symbol $\cancel{the}$).
• “oprate”: Misspelling. Insert “e” (symbol $\hat{}$) → operate.
• Quotation marks: The final quote is open; add closing “” → “to come on strong.”

Final Proofread Passage (with corrections):

“How did the bulldozer get its name? The first form of this word appeared in America in 1875. The word, or compound term, used then was bulldose. This term referred to a flogging, the “dose, or amount of the flogging that was supposed to be strong enough for a bull. By 1875, this term’s form had changed to bulldoze; by then, it had the same meaning, more or less as steamroll. It wasn’t until 1890 that the name was applied to the machine on tank treads that had a large steel blade for moving earth and for clearing growth and rubbish. That name, of course, has not changed since 1890. Today, the verb bulldoze means both “to operate a bulldozer” and “to come on strong.”

(Note: Symbols are applied as per the proofreading key: delete $\cancel{}$, insert $\hat{}$, transpose $\square\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\square$, capitalize $\equiv$, lowercase $\diagup$, close space $\overbrace{}$, etc.)