Example Work Flow for Initial Edits in MS Word

1. Step one Scan the entire article and estimate the amount of time you might need. Messy references take the greatest amount of time. Top priority for every paper: correct number of pages (varies for each conference), blank pages; correct page size; embedded fonts; paper title in all caps; no refs in abstract; ref, figure, and table callouts in the body; DOIs if available. Determine whether the paper is likely a red dot (there should be very few), yellow dot (most papers), or green dot (there should be very few). Red dot issues: exceeded page limit; bad or missing references, tables, or figures or callouts; illegible tables or figures; missing captions; too many errors to fix in a timely manner.

Title, Author Lines, and Abstract

2. Step two Titles should be in all caps except for certain acronyms and units (e.g., MHz) and no hyphens: add a line break (shft+enter) where a breath would naturally fall when reading aloud. Check title and author lines, paying close attention to case, spacing, punctuation, superscript for daggers and asterisks, and no zip code. Use USA and add two-letter state abbreviations if they are missing.
3. There should never be references in an abstract.

Body

4. Step four Scan the paper for correct indentations. Check equation alignment and punctuation. Equations are centered, punctuation goes outside the equation, and numbering is right justified.
5. Check headings for case and alignment. Section headings are centered in all caps and subsection headings are left justified in title case; third-level headings are indented and run-in with body text with an em space.

Tables and Figures

6. Step six Check captions for punctuation. Table captions are in title case (except for sentences), figures are in sentence case.
7. Check table and figure alignment for centering.
8. Check table formatting for light fixes. For formatting table text, center along decimals and left align text where it makes sense. Table headings (or parameter rows) are bold. Check figure text that it is not less than 7 pt.
9. Check for callouts for every table, figure, and equation (e.g., [Eq. 1]). Add them if you can.

References

10. Step ten Check callouts for every reference. Check for spacing in reference callouts (e.g., [1, 2]).
11. Check reference list for alignment, formatting, and DOIs. Spend more time on DOIs if you must prioritize. Six or more authors gets “et al.,”. Break lines before an author’s initial to keep a name together.
12. Balance the columns lengths on the last page by adding a continuous break at the end of the last column (Alt+P+B+O).

Wrap Up

13. Step thirteen Search for closed number and unit spacing at the end of lines; add a nonbreaking space (ctrl+shft+space). The exceptions are degree, percent, minute, and second for plane angle (»°«, »'«, and »"«, respectively) and in equations or parts of equations in the body. Search also for first initial and last names broken by a line.
14. Use Spell Check.
15. Skim for any other obvious errors. Sentences should not begin with an abbreviated word or Fig. (e.g., use Equation or Figure instead).

Example Workflow for QA in Adobe PDF

1. Select a printed green-dot paper.
2. Skim the printed copy while going through the PDF.
3. Check that the doc loads images and equations correctly within <5 seconds.
4. Check for embedded fonts (ctrl+D) (Type 3 fonts are okay).
5. Check margins for cropping and text outside the boundary—especially in the right margin where copyright goes.
6. Check page count and for blank pages.
7. Check for title case in the title.
8. Check the abstract for no references.
9. Check that all references, tables, figures, and equations have callouts in the body.
10. Check for missing info in the references (e.g., journal name, paper number).

Paper is Okay

• Put your initials and check the QA box on the printed copy, give it a blue dot, and put it in the QA’d stack.

Paper is not Okay

• For easy fixes, give it back to the original editor and they will upload corrected files or you can make the corrections. If you make corrections, keep notes and enter them into the tracking system when you upload a new corrected source file and PDF.
• If fixes will involve the author, select QA Failed and assign a red dot. Enter notes as you normally would.