Kick-Start Your New Career as a Professional Proofreader
Right now, there are over 100K open jobs that require proofreading skills. Become a proofreading expert, gain experience with our work guarantee, and unlock these opportunities!
✔ CPD accredited
✔ Beginner friendly
✔ Guaranteed work with Proofed
✔ Takes 4–6 weeks at 5 hours a week
✔ 100% self-paced learning with lifetime course access
✔ 24/7 expert tutor support
✔ Private alumni group
- CPD accredited
- Beginner friendly
- Guaranteed work with Proofed
- Takes 4–6 weeks at 5 hours a week
- 100% self-paced learning with lifetime course access
- 24/7 expert tutor support
- Private alumni group
Learn New Skills, Build Your Confidence, and Discover New Job Opportunities
Ready to Upskill and Build a New Career in Proofreading?
Chances are you love reading and writing and often find yourself spotting errors – we’ll help you put that habit to good use! You’ll learn how to proofread all kinds of documents, in various formats, and how to work according to client style guides.
- Learn an in-demand, unique set of skills, and be ready to work in as little as one month.
- After passing your final exam (with a score of at least 80%), onboard immediately with our partner, Proofed, and receive your first project as part of our guaranteed work offer.
- Gain insights into working with different clients and the tools you’re likely to encounter day-to-day.
- Get certified to showcase your knowledge to potential clients.
Who is this proofreading course for?
It’s for you if you aspire to…
Kick-start a career in something you’ve always enjoyed
- Earn more, or boost your existing income
- Leave behind an unfulfilling job
- Start a career in something that truly interests you
Gain more flexibility and work from anywhere
- Work from home or while traveling, switching on and off whenever you want to
- Work for yourself around your family’s schedule
- Organize your work around your life, not the other way around
Work on rewarding projects where your expertise is needed and appreciated
- Stay active in your retirement
- Earn extra income to put toward trips and new experiences
- Get a sense of accomplishment while helping others
Introducing Our Becoming A Proofreader Course
13 modules, over 66 lessons, 4–6 weeks of learning, and dozens of practice-based exercises.
You’ll learn unique skills that are essential for a successful freelance proofreading career. Plus, you’ll have the chance to try out simulated client scenarios that will prepare you to tackle the real thing.
Comprehensive content
Learn about common mistakes, working to style guides, differences between US and UK English, useful shortcuts, tracking tools, and the nuances of proofreading different types of writing, including creative, business, and academic.
Interactive by design
It’s more than just words on a screen! With a mix of videos, quizzes, practical try-it-yourself exercises, and case studies, we’ll help you stay engaged every step of the way.
Built by proofreading experts
You’ll learn from materials carefully crafted by academics and proofreading experts, whose knowledge of grammar and punctuation served as launchpads for their own careers.
1:1 interaction with tutors
One of the best things about this course is our friendly, knowledgeable tutor team. They are always available for one-to-one assistance and genuinely want to see you succeed. After receiving your final assessment results, you’ll have a call with a tutor who will give you detailed, tailored feedback.
Self-paced learning
There’s no pressure and no ticking clocks. With total control over your education, you can complete the course in under one month or in six months if life is busy. When you’re finished, you can come back to it anytime.
Leads to actual work
With Knowadays, there’s no need to worry about what comes next. When you pass your final assessment with a score of at least 80%, you’ll have the option to onboard with Proofed and start a paid trial working on real client documents.
Our Work Guarantee – Everything You Need to Know
Is it real? Where’s the catch? Will I really get a job after this? Hesitant learners often come to us with these questions. But we’re here to assure you that yes, it is 100% true. Here’s how it works:
Pass your final exam and onboard with Proofed
If you achieve a score of at least 80% on your final exam, you’ll be offered the chance to onboard with our partner Proofed within five working days.
Did you know? You can make multiple attempts at the final exam (and we make sure you receive all the guidance you need to pass it).
Showcase your skills
Start your trial with Proofed! You’ll be paid to proofread up to 20 documents from real clients. A friendly Proofed team member will review your work and provide valuable feedback.
Did you know? Over 80% of our learners pass through their trial period.
Unlock exciting new opportunities
If you successfully complete the trial, you’ll get access to more Proofed clients and be able to earn up to $20–$30K as a part-time proofreader. As you gain more practice and experience – and positive feedback – you’ll soon be able to tackle greater volumes of work and more challenging assignments.
Did you know? So far, we have created more than 3,000 job opportunities for our graduates.
Dive into Varied Work
Our graduates have proofread for a huge variety of clients across many different industries, with endless different subjects and specialisms to explore. With articles and essays in the world of academia, blogs and web copy to meet business needs, and romantic fiction and autobiographies from creative writers, you can find your niche or enjoy variety in your work!
As a working mom, it gave me the confidence to start a career later in life and the feeling that I could do it.
“Out of all the different courses out there that I took, this one gave me the fundamentals that prepared me to work in the proofreading industry.”
Now I can work around my family schedule and organize work around life, not the other way around.
“After taking the course, a pool of options opened up to me. Proofreading is a nice add-on and a security blanket that brings me the extra income and flexibility I need.”
I used to do a job anyone could do. Now I have something unique to offer which led to increased self-esteem.
“I thought I might pass the test and then receive some email explaining why I was wrong for thinking I’d get to work for Proofed. Those worries were groundless though; I’ve worked for Proofed for ten months now.”
Working with Proofed, I get to read student work and help people at the start of their careers, which feels quite satisfying.
“It’s a flexible, informative and well-thought-out course. Gives you insights into what’s expected of you in this job. I’m happy to have found a new way to make money to supplement my retirement. Now I can travel and eat out with my wife feeling like I deserve it”.
Becoming A Proofreader Course Curriculum
Here is a sneak peek of what you will learn in each module
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Know what to expect from our Becoming A Proofreader course and get situated before delving into the details of what it means to be a proofreader.
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Module 2: Proofreading And Editing
Find out why editing and proofreading have traditionally been treated as separate tasks in print publishing, as well as how they often merge in digital work. Get to grips with the ethical issues you might encounter while proofreading. And meet the different client types you might work with once you start your career as a professional proofreader! -
Module 3: The Basics Of Microsoft Word
If you’re a bit rusty on computing, this module will oil you up! Take a tour through all the tools in Microsoft Word you’ll need to get started with proofreading. If you are a technophobe, worry no more! Our back-to-basics course covers tracking changes, changing the proofing language, setting your user name in Microsoft Word, and more. -
Module 4: Common Spelling Mistakes
Finally, you can nail the difference between ‘there’, ‘they’re’, and ‘their’, and much more. Get to grips with British, US, and Australian spelling, clear up the rules about irregular plurals, and impress friends with your knowledge of closed, open, and hyphenated compounds! -
Module 5: Common Grammar Mistakes
Perfect your prepositions, parenthetical clauses, and parallelism! Fix fragments and faulty agreement! And free yourself from dangling and misplaced modifiers forevermore! Grind down the grammatical gremlins of UK, US, and Australian English, and bust some well-worn myths as you boldly go where no non-proofreader has gone before! -
Module 6: Common Punctuation Mistakes
Queries about question marks? Extremely excited about exclamation points?!! Do you, put, too, many commas, in your sentences? We’ll iron all that out. If you’re the type who goes shopping with a paintbrush to correct grocer’s apostrophes, you’ll be right at home here. -
Module 7: Other Common Errors
Take our guided tour through everything else you need to know about the nitty-gritty of language, including Latin terms, abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms, number use, and capitalisation. Find out where most people trip up and separate your ‘i.e.’s from your ‘e.g.’s for good! -
Module 8: Proofreading In Practice: Style
What’s the difference between a style guide, a style sheet, and a referencing style? Worry no more, we’ve got you covered in our style module. We’ll also talk you through written tone, technical jargon, avoiding offensive language, and how to turn clunky confusion into elegant flow. -
Module 9: Academic Proofreading
We’ll take you back to school with an in-depth look at proofreading academic documents, ranging from undergraduate essays to journal articles and PhD theses. We’ll show you how to work with LaTeX (no, it’s nothing kinky), how to make sure quotes are used properly, when the active and passive voices are appropriate in academic writing, and much more. -
Does Harvard hurt your head? Does APA make your eyes ache? Are you shy about Chicago? And what does ALWD even mean? We’ll soothe all your referencing woes with our extended guide to some of the major citation styles, as well as some not-so-well-known ones.
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Module 11: Creative Writing And The Publishing Industry
Learn how to work with authors and publishers as we guide you through how to proofread creative writing. This module looks at both fiction and non-fiction, as well as non-standard English, authorial voice, and proofreading dialogue. After completing the lessons, you will be primed to proofread a range of different writing styles and document types common in the publishing world, including book manuscripts, screenplays, and PDF page proofs. -
Module 12: Proofreading Business Writing
Here, we teach you how to proofread for different business clients. We take you through working with brand voices and understanding how grammatical point of view works in different types of business writing. After completing this module, you will know how to proofread many document types and formats common to business writing, including formal reports, website copy, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and Google Docs. -
Module 13: Finding Work And The Final Assignment
Drum roll, please! It’s time to show off what you have learned! In this final part of the course, you'll learn about how to find work as a freelance proofreader. We'll guide you through top revision areas and provide you with a practice mock assignment. Then you’ll take two proofreading tests on which you’ll receive detailed tutor feedback. If you score 80% or above, you will be offered the opportunity to undertake a trial as a freelance proofreader with Proofed.
Why Is the Knowadays Course Better than the Competition?
See how we compare.
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| 13 module course designed by experts |
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| Full-time tutor support |
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| 24/7 customer support |
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| Final assignment graded by a real tutor |
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| Guaranteed work offer |
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| Price | $499 | $499 |
Meet Our Friendly Tutors
They were once where you are now, and they’re here to give you the confidence that you can do it too.
Hear from Our Graduates
They took a leap of faith and transformed their careers – gaining flexibility, extra income, and, often, a sense of purpose by helping others with their writing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Proofreading Course
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Do I need to have a degree or any other qualifications to take this course?
No qualifications or previous experience are needed – we teach you everything you need to know to work as a professional proofreader.
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What equipment will I need?
You’ll need a laptop or desktop computer, a full version of Microsoft Word, and an internet connection to complete the course successfully.
You can use Microsoft Word 2016, 2019, 2021, or 365, but not free or partial versions of the program (for example Microsoft Office Online or Open Office). As smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks don’t support the full version of Microsoft Word, you wouldn’t be able to complete the course, or professional proofreading assignments, using them. Clients will require you to have the right professional tools for the job and Becoming A Proofreader ensures you can use these tools with confidence.
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How soon can I start work as a proofreader after getting my distinction?
If you score 80% or higher (distinction) in your Becoming A Proofreader final assessment, you’ll have the opportunity to work with our partner company, Proofed, on a trial basis. Within around two weeks of receiving your results, we’ll send you the information you need to start your trial period. After that, you’ll be guided through your first assignments on your way to becoming a professional proofreader. You should note that Proofed is a US company, so payments to its freelance team must comply with US tax law. That means you can only work with Proofed if your country of residence has what’s known as a ‘dual-tax treaty’ with the US. You can check the Internal Revenue Service’s list of countries to find out if you qualify. For more details about the trial period with Proofed, visit our Guaranteed Work page.
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How much work will I get?
As you get started, the Proofed team will support you with your initial assignments. These will be short documents that let you test your skills and build your confidence. Over time – as you gain experience, build speed, and receive positive feedback – the volume of work can increase. You can build up to working on longer and more complex documents, and you can get regular work with some of Proofed’s business clients.
There’s no fixed amount of work you’ll receive – that will depend on your availability and interests, as well as on your skill level and the opportunities Proofed has at any given time. Head over to our Guaranteed Work page for more details on working with Proofed.
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Who can I work for?
As a successful Knowadays Learner of Becoming A Proofreader, you’ll be set to take on professional proofreading assignments. That might mean working independently as a freelancer and building a portfolio of clients. Or you could be permanently employed by one business. With your Knowadays qualification, you have the flexibility to choose which approach suits you.
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Is there a time limit on how long I have to complete the course?
When you sign up for a Knowadays course, you gain access for life. Users who are inactive for more than 90 days may have access to their account suspended. If this happens, just get in touch and we’ll reactivate your account immediately. Where course content is updated after purchase, you’ll receive these updates free of charge.
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Does it matter where I’m based?
As long as you have a PC, Mac, or laptop with the latest version of Microsoft Word and an internet connection, you can take the course and proofread anywhere. If you pass your course with a distinction of 80% or over and want to pursue our guaranteed work offer with Proofed, where you’re based will matter. You’ll need to reside in a country that has a dual-tax treaty with the US and is on the Internal Revenue Service’s list. This is important, as Proofed is US-based and must comply with US tax laws when working with freelancers.
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Will I need to buy extra resources to do the course?
Aside from a laptop or desktop computer, access to an internet connection, and Microsoft Word 2016 or later, you won’t need to buy extra resources to complete the course. We provide all course materials, including real-world sample documents for you to download and practice proofreading.
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What language is the course in?
We offer our Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses in UK and US English. You will have the option to select your course language after purchase.
Don’t worry, Becoming A Proofreader still covers all the essential regional spelling, punctuation and grammar differences you need to proofread in American, British and Australian English. If you would like us to add the UK version of the course to your account, let us know by emailing us at hello@knowadays.com.
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Questions?
We’ve got answers! Email us at hello@knowadays.com or click here to make an appointment to have a chat. Our friendly team is always happy to help!
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- No sign up
- No payment info
- No hidden costs
Try Two Lessons For Free
Enter your email below and get instant access to two lessons from the full course.