Proofreading: what AI still misses
Become the reader nothing gets past. AI hands back proofed copy with fresh mistakes buried inside. Only a human can catch them all.
Date: 10:00, 23 September 2026
Location: Online
Cost: £195.00 + VAT
Trainer: Martin Lloyd
A machine can't be the last careful human read. It takes a person to catch the name spelled wrong, the figure that's out, the wrong phrasing that slipped through. Miss them, and your reader finds them first. Your brand pays for it.
AI spots the obvious - the double word, the missing letter. It hands your copy back with new mistakes folded in: a line that reads perfectly but means the wrong thing. A careful 'may' becomes a flat 'does'. Plausible, clean, but wrong.
AI can tell you what sounds right. It can't tell you what's right. That judgement is what the day trains.
Your trainer is Martin Lloyd, who spent ten years as the BBC's writing standards editor. Nothing the BBC Academy published went out until he had checked it against his standards. In a single day, he trains you to give your own copy that same read.
What you'll learn
- The advanced grammar pitfalls that trip even the strongest writers
- How to spot the half-sentence and phrasing no person would write
- Holding house style and a publication's tone across the whole piece
- Where a comma, semicolon or full stop changes the meaning
- The ability to identify the wrong word spelled right, sitting in a sentence that reads fine
Who is it for?
- Proofreaders, journalists, editors and sub-editors
- PRs, comms and marketing staff who edit their copy
- Anyone proofing a story before it goes live, or a writer's copy before it goes up the line
- Writers who want to catch their own mistakes before an editor does
- No proofreading experience needed
You can book people on to the next session, or run it bespoke for your own staff, on Zoom or in person. A session can be arranged quickly.
A day on Zoom, 10am to 3:30pm, with an hour for lunch and regular breaks.
About Martin Lloyd
Martin Lloyd is a JournalismUK and NCTJ trainer. He spent ten years as writing standards editor at the BBC Academy - training news journalists, TV and radio producers, and senior managers. He mentored a team of 15 digital content producers, and produced writing guides for BBC staff.
Martin has since trained staff at the likes of Fortune, the UK Government, ITV, Forbes, Global, NICE, Yahoo News and the International Olympic Committee.
He has also mentored editors at the Financial Times and the Guardian.
Earlier in his career, Martin edited copy and designed pages for newspapers and magazines including Metro, Broadcast, New Statesman and Campaign.
Prefer self-directed learning, or want a live sub-editing course?
Martin also runs:
Sub-editing masterclass - a comprehensive online course: any time, at your own pace
Sub-editing skills: live Zoom course - a live day on taking a tangled draft and making its point land
To book a bespoke session for your team, contact Ophelia at ophelia@journalism.co.uk or call 07516252910.
