Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles
15-4
Proofreading Your Typeset Article
Once a manuscript is accepted, it is sent to the publisher to be produced into a published article. This is called the production process or stage. During this stage, the manuscript is copyedited, the figures are prepared for publication, and the text is formatted according to the style of the journal. The production process may take several weeks or several months. Almost all journals will send you a typeset proof of your article before it is published. The purpose of your seeing the proof is so that you can catch any errors that have been introduced during the copyediting and preparation of your article. Try as much as possible to mark your corrections using standard proofreaders’ marks (these marks and how to use them are shown in Words Into Print ). Using standard proofreaders’ marks will ensure that your corrections are understood. Following are “do’s” and 1 “don’t” for proofreading.
Do
▪ Make sure all your figures are present, nothing essential was cut off or no important details were lost when the figures were reduced to fit the journal, and the figures are oriented correctly (the top is up). Make sure that all parts of multipart figures are there.
▪ Make sure the right legends are with the right figures.
▪ Make sure all your tables are present and all the material in the tables aligns correctly.
▪
Double-check any drug dosages.
▪ Make sure no errors have been introduced during copyediting.
▪ Make sure any special characters (such as Greek letters or mathematical symbols) have not been lost or changed during software conversion.
▪
Respond to the copyeditor’s questions.
▪ Read the proof through from the title through the last reference:
▪ Does it say what the accepted manuscript said?
▪ Are all the numbers and values correct?
▪
Is any material missing?
▪ Are there misspellings or other typographical errors?
Don’t
▪ Rewrite your manuscript or change your manuscript substantially in any way.
If you believe that a substantial change to a proof is necessary for some reason, get the editor’s consent befo re making it. Depending on the change, the editor may believe the article should be withdrawn and then resubmitted.
If you find a serious problem on the proof, contact the managing editor or production editor immediately.
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