Knowadays (Proofreading Academy) Review 2024: Is it the Best Proofreading Course?

Proofreading is an essential skill for anyone who wants to excel in their profession, whether it be writing, editing, or publishing.

However, proofreading can be a difficult skill to master, especially if you’re self-taught or have never received formal training.

That’s where Knowadays (formerly known as Proofreading Academy) comes in.

In this Knowadays review, I’ll take a detailed look at the online proofreading course offered by Knowadays, and help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.

What is Knowadays?

Knowadays (formerly known as Proofreading Academy) is an online learning platform that offers a comprehensive proofreading course. The company’s mission is to help people improve their proofreading skills, regardless of their experience level or profession.

The site offers two courses: Becoming a Proofreader & Becoming an Editor.

Becoming a Proofreader is designed for anyone who wants to improve their proofreading skills, from writers and editors to business professionals and students.

The course itself is an online program that covers a wide range of topics related to proofreading. The curriculum includes lessons on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and style. The course also covers the use of proofreading tools, such as track changes and style guides. The course is divided into multiple lessons, and each lesson includes a video tutorial and a quiz.

Knowadays Course Content and Structure

The Knowadays Becoming a Proofreader curriculum includes lessons on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and style. It also covers the use of proofreading tools, such as track changes and style guides. Each lesson includes a video tutorial, a quiz, and a workbook that can be used for practice and review.

Becoming a Proofreader is designed to be self-paced, so you can work through the lessons at your own pace, and should take around 40 hours to complete. This includes time spent watching the video tutorials, taking the quizzes, and working through the workbook.

Note: In 2022, the Proofreading Academy rebranded to Knowadays and the course was renamed to Becoming a Proofreader. Recently, it was cut from 15 modules to 13.

Module 1: An Introduction To Becoming A Proofreader

As the title suggests, Module 1 offers a look at what you can expect from Knowaday’s Becoming A Proofreader course before diving into the details of what it means to be a proofreader.

Includes 1 lesson. Less than 30 minutes of content.

What will you learn?

• How to navigate the course
• Your learning objectives
• How you will be assessed
• The variety of course elements

Module 2: Proofreading And Editing

Module 2 will teach you about the relationship between editing and proofreading, ethical issues you might encounter while proofreading, and the different client types you might work with once you start your career as a professional proofreader.

Includes 3 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 1-2 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• The differences between proofreading and editing
• The typical tasks involved in proofreading and editing
• Where proofreading fits into the editing process
• What skills proofreaders and editors need
• What modern on-screen proofreading involves
• Some common client and document types
• An introduction to the ethical issues involved in proofreading and editing

Module 3: The Basics Of Microsoft Word

Module 3 takes you on a tour through all the tools in Microsoft Word you’ll need to get started with proofreading. This module covers tracking changes, changing the proofing language, setting your user name in Microsoft Word, and more.

Includes 5 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 2-3 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• The main differences between different editions of Word for Windows and Word for Mac
• Knowadays’ suggested workflow for proofreading
• How to change the user name and proofing language
• How to use the Track Changes and Compare features
• Using comments
• FAQs from proofreaders and answers

Module 4: Common Spelling Mistakes

Module 4 goes over the differences between British, US, and Australian spelling, and clears up the rules about irregular plurals, letter order, silent letters, and more.

Includes 3 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 2-3 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• Homophones
• Spelling differences between UK, US, and AUS English
• Spotting common typos
• Spelling differences between compound, hyphenated, and open compound words
• FAQs from proofreaders and answers

Module 5: Common Grammar Mistakes

Module 5 dives deep into prepositions, parenthetical clauses, and parallelism. It also covers fragments and faulty agreement, as well as dangling and misplaced modifiers.

Includes 5 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 2-3 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• Faulty agreement
• Plural verbs and collective nouns
• Compound subjects
• Faulty parallelism
• Fragments
• Dangling and misplaced modifiers
• Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses
• Adverbs and adjectives
• Determiners and prepositions
• Regional grammar differences
• Grammar myths

Module 6: Common Punctuation Mistakes

Module 6 of Becoming a Proofreader goes into the nitty-gritty about question marks, exclamation points, and everybody’s favorite topic: commas.

Includes 7 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 2-3 hours of content. 

What will you learn?

• Terminal punctuation
• Double vs. single spaces
• Punctuation in restrictive and non-restrictive clauses
• Commas and conjunctions
• Punctuating quotations
• Colons and semicolons
• Apostrophes
• Punctuating dialogue
• Hyphens and dashes
• Ellipses, parentheses, and lists

Module 7: Other Common Errors

Module 7 takes you on a guided tour through Latin terms, abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms, number use, and capitalization. Find out where most people trip up and separate your ‘i.e.’s from your ‘e.g.’s for good!

Includes 4 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 2-3 hours of content. 

What will you learn?

• Latin terms
• Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms
• Number use
• Capitalization
• Diacritics
• URLs
• Commonly misused terms
• Idioms

Module 8: Proofreading In Practice: Style

Module 8 goes over the difference between a style guide, a style sheet, and a referencing style. This module also covers written tone, technical jargon, and how to avoid offensive language.

Includes 5 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 3-4 hours of content. 

What will you learn?

• What ‘style’ means in proofreading
• Style guides
• Tone and voice
• Vocabulary: academic, technical, regional, and biased language
• Sentence structure and length
• Repetition and redundancy
• Paragraph coherence and organization
• Working with native, dyslexic, and English as a Second Language (ESL) customers

Module 9: Academic Proofreading

Module 9 takes you back to school with an in-depth look at proofreading academic documents, ranging from undergraduate essays to journal articles and Ph.D. theses. Learn how to work with LaTeX, how to make sure quotes are used properly, when the active and passive voices are appropriate in academic writing, and much more.

Includes 7 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 3-5 hours of content. 

What will you learn?

• The proofreader’s role in academic work
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Commenting
• Terminology
• Quotations
• Grammatical person use
• Active and passive voices
• Proofreading undergraduate, postgraduate, and journal work
• Working with LaTeX
• FAQs from proofreaders and answers

Module 10: Academic Proofreading: Referencing And Citations

Module 10 is the ultimate guide to academic referencing, which is especially critical if you want to become an academic proofreader.

Includes 7 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 3-5 hours of content. 

What will you learn?

• Citation styles
• Source types
• Reference lists and bibliographies
• How to work with Harvard, APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, IEEE, OSCOLA, Bluebook, ALWD, and AGLC referencing styles
• Species citation
• Classics citation
• Secondary citations
• Citation order
• What to do (and not do) about missing and incorrect information

Module 11: Creative Writing And The Publishing Industry

Module 11 covers everything you need to know to work with authors and publishers. This module looks at both fiction and non-fiction, as well as non-standard English, authorial voice, and proofreading dialogue.

Includes 6 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 3-4 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• The publishing process, including where editing and proofreading fit in it
• Key terminology and ethical issues related to proofreading creative writing
• What to expect when working with an author or a publisher
• Why different types of creative writing may require different approaches
• How to make a style sheet for fiction and non-fiction writing
• The importance of authorial voice and style in creative writing
• How to edit non-standard English and passages of dialogue
• Whether and when to edit or critique content in creative writing
• Proofreading and formatting scripts and screenplays
• The typesetting process and techniques for proofreading typeset texts
• How to use Adobe Acrobat Reader to proofread a PDF

Module 12: Proofreading Business Writing

Module 12 teaches you how to proofread for different business clients. 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.

Includes 8 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 3-5 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• The different types of business documents you might encounter as a proofreader
• What to expect when working with business clients, including working with briefs, style guides, and company or brand voices
• How to create a style sheet for business writing
• The importance of knowing the intended audience, style, and level of formality for different types of business writing
• The role of grammatical point of view in business writing
• How to edit vocabulary issues related to jargon and buzzwords
• Editing for skim reading, accessibility, and SEO
• How to approach stylistic issues in formal business documents, commercial copy, and other professional documents such as CVs and cover letters
• How to use the tools in Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Google Docs to proofread documents
• Tips for proofreading in publishing packages such as Adobe Illustrator or InDesign

Module 13: Finding Work And The Final Assignment

The final module of the course will 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.

Includes 6 lessons and an end-of-module quiz. 3-4 hours of content.

What will you learn?

• Information on how to find work as a freelance proofreader
• Top revision areas
• Mock assignment
• Assessment of students to see if they are ready for professional work
• Detailed feedback
• Extra one-on-one tutoring, if needed

Pros and Cons

Pros

Becoming a Proofreader is taught by experienced instructors who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of proofreading. The curriculum is comprehensive and covers a wide range of topics, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their proofreading skills.

One of the biggest advantages of the course is the flexibility of the online format. You can work through the lessons at your own pace, and you can access the course from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection.

Cons

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to the course. The cost of the course can be a significant investment, and the time commitment required can be a challenge for some people.

Additionally, the course is entirely self-taught, so if you prefer a more hands-on or interactive learning experience, this course may not be the best fit for you.

If you want to work as an academic or literary proofreader, you may also want to know that Knowadays’ course does not teach proofreading symbols.

How much does Knowadays cost?

Knowadays’ Becoming a Proofreader course costs $399 with flexible payment options available through Klarna. As of January 2023, you make use of Klarna’s “get it now, pay it later” offer, pay the course in 4 installments or finance it according to Klarna’s terms.

In addition, you can save 15% when you purchase the Proofreader & Editor Course Bundle, which offers both of Knowadays’ courses together.

Additionally, Knowadays also offers a limited free trial if you want to check out the course before purchasing.

What is Knowadays return policy?

Knowadays offers a 14-day money-back guarantee, which means you can try the course and if you’re not satisfied, you can request a refund within 14 days of purchase. This is a great option for those who are unsure about the course and want to try it before committing to the full cost.

“Knowadays maintains a fair and simple refund policy. All course and bundle offer purchases will be refunded in full if requested within 14 days of the purchase date.”  

“No refunds will be given if more than 14 days have passed since the purchase. To request a refund please email us at refunds@knowadays.com. We will assess all refund requests in a timely manner.”

What do Students Say About Knowadays?

So far, hundreds of students have taken the Knowadays Becoming A Proofreader course and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

Knowadays has a star rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot, based on 393 reviews at the time of writing.

Below is a selection of some of Knowadays’ student reviews:

Conclusion

Knowadays’ online proofreading course is a comprehensive and valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their proofreading skills. The course is flexible, self-paced, and taught by experienced instructors.

The curriculum covers a wide range of topics related to proofreading, including grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and style.

While the cost of the course and the time commitment required may be a drawback for some, the testimonials from past students speak to the effectiveness of the course in improving proofreading skills.

In summary, Knowadays offers a comprehensive online proofreading course that can help you to improve your proofreading skills for an affordable price and a built-in job guarantee.

If you’re looking for a flexible and self-paced course that covers a wide range of topics related to proofreading, this course is worth considering.

Additional Resources

If you’re interested in learning more about proofreading, there are several additional resources available. Websites such as Grammarly and Hemingway can help you to improve your grammar and style.

The Chicago Manual of Style and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association are both widely used style guides that can help you to edit for consistency and accuracy.