Proofreading

Proofreading is the final polish, performed after the manuscript has been copy-edited, accepted for publication, and the pages have been laid out. The editor no longer restructures sentences or reconsiders word choice. Instead, they perform a close, line-by-line read to catch whatever slipped through earlier stages: an inconsistently used name, a broken reference link, an inconsistent capitalization, a stray comma, a figure label that does not match what is shown in the figure itself.

Proofreading assumes the content is settled; it protects against the small, embarrassing errors that undermine an otherwise polished publication.