Checking your content

Edit your content before publishing, including proofreading, spelling, grammar and common mistakes.

Editing

You should edit content to be clearer, simpler and easier to scan. This can include:

To spot mistakes in your writing you can:

spellcheck, but do not rely on it (it will not tell you if you’ve used a word in the wrong context)
change the font to make it unfamiliar
print it out so you're reading it in a different context
read it aloud
read it backwards
ask someone else to read it

Below are some common mistakes made by content editors.

Write using British English, not American English.

Examples:

Make sure your spellcheck is set to British English. Refer to the Oxford English Dictionary if you’re ever unsure.

These are words that are pronounced and spelt similarly but have different meanings.

Make sure you’re using the correct versions of the following:

This is when you use additional words that are unnecessary.

Examples of tautologies are:

Apostrophes are used to indicate the possession or omission of words.

Below are the correct uses of apostrophes:

Do not use an apostrophe when writing the plural of something, for example, there are 20 worker's.

It’s easy to use the wrong version of the words below. Ensure you’re using the correct instance of the following: