Proofreading for Print Without Sounding Like a Textbook
The school magazine editor has asked you to proofread a short paragraph on saving water before it goes to press. The paragraph reads:
'Each of the students have to bring their own water bottle. Water is more precious than any thing else on the earth. We should not waste water because it is life. The school should also repair all leaking taps immediately. If we will not act now, our children will suffer.'
The editor says she wants standard written English but does not want the magazine to sound like a grammar textbook. She also says one of the 'errors' may be acceptable in conversation but not in print. You must decide which changes are necessary and which are optional.
1. Identify two errors that affect grammatical meaning and two that are matters of style or convention. Explain the difference between the two kinds.
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Grammatical meaning errors:
- 'Each ... have' should be 'has' - 'each' is singular, so the verb must agree.
- 'If we will not act' should be 'If we do not act' - a first conditional uses the present simple in the if-clause, not 'will'.
Style or convention:
- 'any thing' should be 'anything' - standard spelling.
- 'on the earth' is usually 'on earth' in this idiom.
The first two change sentence structure and are not optional in standard English. The second two are conventions of edited prose; they matter for polish but do not make the sentence ungrammatical.
2. Rewrite the paragraph in standard written English without making it sound stiff.
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Each student has to bring a water bottle. Water is more precious than anything else on earth. We should not waste water because it is life. The school should also repair all leaking taps immediately. If we do not act now, our children will suffer.
The changes are small: 'Each student has' removes the agreement problem and the awkward 'their'; 'anything' and 'on earth' are standard forms; 'If we do not act' fixes the conditional. The paragraph still sounds like a school magazine appeal, not a grammar exercise.
3. Which single change is the most debatable? Explain why you would still make it in a school magazine.
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'Each ... their' is the debatable one: many speakers use 'their' with 'each' to avoid gendered language, and it is accepted in informal usage. In a school magazine I would still edit it to 'Each student has to bring a water bottle' or 'All students have to bring their own water bottles' because 'each ... their' mixes singular and plural and can distract readers. The point is not to shame the writer but to keep the print version consistent and easy to read aloud.