It sounds right is not a test: proofreading
The Short Answer
A proofreading question gives a sentence containing one deliberate error and asks your child to find it. The errors are planted from a small number of families — agreement, tense, punctuation pairs, apostrophes, homophones and non-Standard English — so the efficient method is to check for each family in turn rather than to read and hope something stands out.
What is a proofreading question?
Your child is given a sentence containing one error and asked to find it — sometimes by choosing which of four underlined sections is wrong, sometimes by correcting it outright.
The important thing to understand is that the error was placed. It is not a typing slip. It comes from a small family of mistakes the paper returns to, and knowing the families turns a search into a checklist.
The six families
| Family | What to check |
|---|---|
| Agreement | Does the verb match the subject, not the nearest noun? |
| Tense | Do the verbs match each other? |
| Punctuation pairs | Is anything opened and not closed? |
| Apostrophes | Right job, right position? |
| Homophones | Is each one the meaning wanted? |
| Non-Standard English | Should of, could of, we was, more better |
Running that list is quick. Reading the sentence four times and hoping takes longer and finds less.
The diagram shows the agreement check on one sentence, Each of the boys were given a locker. The subject is each, which is singular, so the verb has to be was; of the boys does not change that. The same sentence is in the practice set below.
Why reading aloud is not enough
It is a genuinely useful tool, and it cannot find every kind of error.
Reading aloud catches tense slips and missing punctuation, because both disrupt the rhythm.
It misses errors that sound correct — and several of the six families can sound correct. Should of sounds just like should've, the everyday short form of should have; only the full should have, said slowly, sounds different. There and their are identical. The box of apples were left by the gate can sound more natural than the version that is right.
Can you show me a worked example?
Where do pupils lose marks?
Declaring a sentence correct because it sounded fine.
Finding one error and stopping, when the question asked which section contains the error and they have picked the first thing they noticed rather than the actual mistake.
Skipping the families that sound right, which are the easiest ones to miss.
Try it yourself
Each sentence contains one error. Name the family it belongs to as well as the correction.
- My brother, who lives in Leeds is visiting on Friday.
- The team have lost there nerve.
- She opened the door, walked into the hall and sees the light on.
- Each of the boys were given a locker.
- We should of left earlier.
- Punctuation — a pair opened and not closed. There should be a comma after Leeds. Extra information needs a fence at both ends.
- Homophone. 'There' should be 'their' — the nerve belongs to the team. 'The team have' is not the error: in British English a team can be treated as its members, so 'have' is acceptable. Note the sentence reads perfectly well aloud, which is why sound cannot find this one.
- Tense. 'Sees' should be 'saw'; the other two verbs are past. This is the family reading aloud catches best.
- Agreement. 'Were' should be 'was' — each is singular however many boys there are. Crossing out 'of the boys' makes it obvious.
- Non-Standard English. 'Should of' should be 'should have'. Said quickly, the short form 'should've' sounds just like 'should of', which is how the mistake gets into writing. Say the full 'should have' slowly and the difference can be heard.
How much practice does this type need at home?
This is the one type where making the questions is better practice than answering them. Ask your child to write a sentence with a deliberate error in it for you to find — and to tell you afterwards which family it came from.
To plant an error convincingly they have to know what a correct sentence looks like and where the paper usually hides things. That is the whole skill, approached from the side where it is more fun.
Free: an English workbook
Questions across the English question types, with the method printed at the top and full answers at the back. One workbook for the whole strand, not a sheet per question type.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is reading it aloud not enough?
Because plenty of errors sound completely normal. 'Should of' sounds just like 'should've', the everyday short form of 'should have'. 'There' and 'their' are identical. 'The box of apples were' can sound more natural than the correct version. Reading aloud is genuinely useful for tense slips and missing punctuation, and no help with the errors that sound right — which is why we teach a checklist as well as a listening test.
What are the families to check?
Six cover most of what we meet. Agreement — does the verb match the subject? Tense — do the verbs match each other? Punctuation pairs — is anything opened and not closed? Apostrophes — right job, right position? Homophones — is each one the meaning wanted? And non-Standard English — should of, could of, would of, and the like. Running the list is quicker and more reliable than reading the sentence four times.
What if my child cannot see anything wrong?
Then recheck agreement and homophones first, because those families can produce a sentence that reads perfectly correctly. If both are clear, run the rest of the list. A child who has read a sentence three times and found nothing is not reading badly — they are reading for sense, and the error is not a sense error.
Does this overlap with the other question types?
Entirely, and deliberately. A proofreading question is a punctuation question, an apostrophe question, an agreement question and a homophone question in one, with the added difficulty that your child is not told which. That makes it a good way to revise: if they can proofread reliably, the individual types are already secure.
Sources
- GL Assessment — 11+ familiarisation materials and question type descriptions Published 2025.
- Clever Clogs Academy — our own Year 4 and Year 5 lesson records, Winslow Published September 2025 to July 2026.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to GL Assessment or Buckinghamshire Council. Test arrangements change; always check the council's own pages for the current year's dates.
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