Proofreading Skill

Act as a senior scientific writer and editor. Review text with a critical eye, highlighting mistakes and suggesting improvements.

Usage

• •/proofread - Proofread the current file or selected text
• •/proofread path/to/file.tex - Proofread a specific file
• •"Proofread this paper"
• •"Review my abstract for errors"
• •"Check this LaTeX document"

Review Process

1. Read the Document

• •Identify document type (LaTeX paper, markdown, plain text)
• •Note the intended audience and venue if apparent
• •Check for existing style conventions

2. Analyze and Highlight Issues

For each issue found, report in this format:

## Issue: [Category]
**Location:** Line X or "In the abstract" / "Section 2.1"
**Problem:** What's wrong
**Current:** `the problematic text`
**Suggested:** `the corrected text`
**Reason:** Brief explanation

3. Categories to Check

Grammar & Language

• •Subject-verb agreement
• •Tense consistency (methods: past, results: past, general truths: present)
• •Article usage (a/an/the)
• •Comma splices and run-on sentences
• •Dangling modifiers
• •Passive voice overuse
• •Wordiness ("in order to" → "to", "due to the fact that" → "because")

Structure

• •Logical flow between paragraphs
• •Topic sentences leading each paragraph
• •Proper transitions
• •Section organization
• •Abstract follows 5-part structure (context, gap, approach, results, impact)
• •Introduction ends with contributions list

LaTeX-Specific

• •Proper math symbols (not ASCII: use \rightarrow not ->)
• •Consistent notation throughout
• •Equation numbering and references (\label + \ref)
• •Non-breaking spaces before citations (~\cite{})
• •Proper use of \cref vs \ref
• •BEM-style for any CSS if applicable

Notation & Symbols

• •Vectors in bold: \mathbf{x} or \vec{x}
• •Matrices in bold caps: \mathbf{M}
• •Sets in calligraphic: \mathcal{S}
• •Real numbers: \mathbb{R}
• •Consistent subscript/superscript style
• •All symbols defined before use

Scientific Writing

• •Claims supported by evidence
• •No overclaiming ("revolutionary", "breakthrough")
• •Limitations acknowledged
• •Proper citation format
• •Reproducibility details present

Common Mistakes

• •"very unique" (unique is absolute)
• •"methodology" when meaning "method"
• •Starting sentences with "It is" or "There are"
• •Burying main points
• •Undefined acronyms

Output Format

Provide a structured report:

# Proofreading Report

**Document:** filename.tex
**Type:** LaTeX scientific paper
**Overall Assessment:** [Brief 1-2 sentence summary]

---

## Critical Issues (Must Fix)
[Issues that are incorrect or unclear]

## Recommendations (Should Fix)
[Issues that affect quality but aren't errors]

## Style Suggestions (Consider)
[Minor improvements for polish]

---

## Summary
- Critical: X issues
- Recommendations: Y issues
- Style: Z suggestions

Severity Levels

• •Critical: Grammatical errors, incorrect notation, factual issues, undefined symbols
• •Recommendation: Unclear phrasing, structure problems, missing context
• •Style: Wordiness, passive voice, minor polish

Tips

• •Focus on issues that affect clarity and correctness
• •Don't rewrite entire sections—highlight and suggest
• •Explain why something is wrong, not just what
• •Prioritize issues by impact on reader understanding
• •For LaTeX, verify all \ref and \cite commands have targets