Proofreading Homophones in a Report
A trainee’s report contains: “The principle officer noted the suspect’s presents at the scene, and the affect of the crowd on the officers’ ability to maintain order was clear. The suspect was cited for loitering and released.” The sergeant circles words that may be misspelled or misused. The report will be attached to a probable cause declaration, so word meaning must be exact. The trainee used a spell-checker, which did not flag these words because they are valid English words.
1. Identify the misused words and give the correct forms.
Read the worked answer
- “principle” should be “principal” - “principal” means main or primary; “principle” means a rule or belief. 2. “presents” should be “presence” - “presence” means being present; “presents” means gifts or gives. 3. “affect” should be “effect” - “effect” is the noun meaning result or impact; “affect” is usually a verb meaning to influence. “Officers’” is correct as a plural possessive.
2. Explain why the spell-checker failed and how a writer should catch these errors.
Read the worked answer
The spell-checker only flags words that are not in its dictionary. “Principle,” “presents,” and “affect” are all valid words, so the checker does not know they are wrong for the sentence. A writer must proofread for meaning: read each sentence and ask whether the word’s definition fits the context. Reading aloud, checking homophones deliberately, and having a second reader review the report are practical safeguards.