Proof-reading and Editing: MDCAT English notes
Proof-reading and Editing MDCAT notes: a checklist for spotting errors, articles a, an and the, word order, idioms, the No error option and examples.
What proof-reading questions test
In error-spotting and editing items you are given a sentence (sometimes split into parts) and must find the faulty part, choose the corrected version, or name the type of error. The error is usually one of a small set: articles, agreement, tense, preposition, word order, punctuation, or spelling. Sometimes the sentence is already correct, and "No error" is the answer.
A proof-reading checklist
- Subject and verb: do they agree in number? Is the tense consistent?
- Articles: is a/an/the missing, extra or wrong?
- Prepositions and idioms: is the fixed pairing right (speak to, accused of)?
- Word order: are adjectives before nouns, adverbs near their verbs, subject before verb in indirect questions?
- Pronouns: correct case and agreement?
- Punctuation and capitals: comma splices, missing apostrophes, lower-case proper nouns.
- Spelling: check every word in each option, not only the one you expect.
Articles
| Article | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | Singular countable noun mentioned for the first time, beginning with a consonant sound | a cup, a university, a one-rupee coin |
| an | Same, but beginning with a vowel sound | an island, an article, an hour, an MBBS student |
| the | Something specific or already mentioned, unique things, a species in general, musical instruments, some country names | the world, the sun, the paper (a particular one), the piano, the Netherlands |
| no article | Home (after verbs of motion or distance), meals, most proper names, general plurals/uncountables | go home, far from home, have lunch, Pakistan |
The sound, not the spelling, decides a or an: a European, an honest man.
Word order
- Adjective before the noun: "a delicious meal", not "a meal delicious".
- Indirect questions use statement order: "I know how it is", not "how is it".
- Keep parallel verbs together: "The chef quickly prepared and served a delicious meal."
- Adverbs of frequency before the main verb: "He always arrives late."
Worked examples
- "She is ___ honest girl and ___ best student in ___ class." Answer: an, the, the.
- Spot the error: "Neither of the answers are correct." Error: are, should be is.
- Spot the error: "He gave me an useful advice." Errors: an useful should be useful with no article, because advice is uncountable ("He gave me useful advice" or "a useful piece of advice").
- Edit: "I asked him where did he live." Correct: I asked him where he lived.
- "After the match, the players shook hands." No error.
Common MDCAT traps
- Choosing "a" for words like hour or "an" for university: listen to the first sound.
- Forgetting that "No error" is a genuine option; do not force a mistake.
- Options that fix one error but introduce a new spelling mistake.
- Instruments take "the" (play the piano); sports take none (play cricket).
Quick revision
- Check agreement, tense, article, preposition, order, punctuation, spelling.
- A/an depends on sound.
- "The" for unique things: the world, the sun.
- No article before "home" after a preposition of distance.
- Indirect questions: subject before verb.