Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Confessions of a Proof Reader


The exam author had intended to ask students to discuss

"the purification and privatisation
of public space
through urban regeneration".

Unfortunately, the exam paper was missing a crucial l.

I'm feeling frail - be kind to me.
Posted by alice c at 00:01

24 comments:

  1. blackbirdMay 08, 2013

    I haven't made a typo but surely I've mentioned the time I purchased a plane ticket for the wrong day?
    A $7000 plane ticket?

    ReplyDelete
  2. QuinnMay 08, 2013

    LOL!

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  3. katheMay 08, 2013

    Sorry, but this is hilarious! We have a phrase in my family that describes a sensation due to humor, tenderness, cuteness etc. "You make my elbows hurt!" This qualifies.

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  4. ChristyMay 08, 2013

    this is hilarious! I am happy it didn't happen to me, however. =)

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  5. Jam SandwichMay 08, 2013

    the answers must make interesting reading!

    ReplyDelete
  6. PaolaMay 08, 2013

    Oh but that opens an array of possibilities, idea, projects and whatnot to discuss ...

    (that was me working my magic because of the peony mwahahahahhahaha)

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  7. UnknownMay 08, 2013

    with a bit of luck all those reading it will have over-read it in the same manner that the proof reader did - ok probably not but it was worth a try - I'm afraid this one is bound to sit there in everyone's memory for some time to come

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  8. JeeMay 08, 2013

    Oops! Had you made lots of copies? I'm a hopeless proof reader, especially on the screen - as many of my posts and comments testify. Mind you, we were blessed with a very unweildy system where papers were read in department and in the exam section of the registry so if an error got through that lot (about six different readers) it was mean't to be in my opinion..

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  9. walter and meMay 08, 2013

    I'm helpless. You've brightened my morning!

    ReplyDelete
  10. AmaranthineMay 08, 2013

    Whoops, but you have given me a good giggle.

    Many years ago during our first ever sex education lesson, we were all asked to read a paragraph from the text book. Unfortunately (for him) one of the boys read "the genitals are surrounded by public hair". As you can imagine there was great hilarity amongst the teenagers but the teacher replied with great aplomb "One would hope not."

    Indeed!

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  11. AnonymousMay 08, 2013

    It could happen to anyone!


    Funny though...

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  12. silverpebbleMay 08, 2013

    You win the internet today Mrs M

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  13. MrMMay 08, 2013

    I wonder if this has ever happened in an Ancient History on the First, Second and Third Punic Wars ??

    Delenda est Carthago to quote Cato

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  14. UnknownMay 08, 2013

    Noooooooooo. Alice.

    You didn't.

    I bet the answers will be interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  15. LucilleMay 08, 2013

    I once left a stray h in 'the three little pigs were very scared', all the way to publication. I was scarred for life by that and still wnce at the memory.

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  16. LucilleMay 08, 2013

    Wince. Oh Lordy !

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  17. dottycookieMay 08, 2013

    Tiny Small came home from school one day with a photocopy made by her reception teacher of the whiteboard on which she had written three sentences in her four year old hand. "I can jump. I can run. I can count." She had left a critical "o" out of one of these sentences.

    I still can't look that teacher in the eye.

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  18. AnonymousMay 08, 2013

    Thank you - that has made me laugh out loud for the first time today.

    ReplyDelete
  19. SuseMay 09, 2013

    Oh gosh. My old boss made the exact same typo soon after she hired me. She asked me to proofread the very importNt document that was about to be distributed to all the most important people at the university. I picked up the error (thank goodness) and we still laugh about it. She was ever so glad she hired me,

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  20. SheridanMay 09, 2013

    Hi Alice
    This is definitely a laugh out loud post. Boggles the mind. Did the question actually get answered? Priceless.

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  21. UnknownMay 09, 2013

    Oh I did enjoy that and I think you might enjoy this: my daughter's Year 5 class had their first SRE lesson yesterday and one little girl came out full of giggles and dying to share all she had learned, including the fact that boys have tentacles, yes, tentacles. I imagine they are located somewhere in their public area.

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  22. www.daisyley.co.ukMay 09, 2013

    Oh how funny Alice or should I say Ace Aice.

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  23. readersguideMay 17, 2013

    ha!

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  24. zephyrMay 20, 2013

    Nice one! Those students will remember that exam question for all time.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you! I love reading your comments and even though I don't always have time to reply I am really grateful to every one who joins in the conversation.

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