This one little request, seemingly innocuous, has opened more editorial cans of worms than any other. In common usage, it means “hey, could ya give this a check for boneheaded mistakes?” Unfortunately, to the average reader, “mistake” could mean anything from “I think this semicolon is a typo because who even uses semicolons anyway” to “This whole document is a waste of time and should be scrapped.” Writers and editors both need to watch out for this question, as it usually shows that the speaker isn’t sure of what they want done to the document.

Proofreading is a specific stage in the publishing process. A manuscript is typeset – prepared for how it will look on the printed page – and then the pages, in their final laid-out form (the proofs) are checked for any little errors. At the proofreading stage, mistakes should be small thanks to numerous previous editing passes, usually single character typos or the occasional one-word fix or layout adjustment. So yes, if your colleague asks for a quick proofread of a finished document, it may mean a check for little typos or typesetting irregularities.

What may happen, however, is that this “proofread” reveals serious problems. Awkward sentences. Redundant or meandering paragraphs. Tone-deaf jokes. Misused words. Vague descriptions that bleed into flowery language that then abruptly shifts into plain legalese. If you start stumbling over anything bigger than a misspelling, raise a red flag right away and check with your colleague. Ask:

Do you want me to do any rewriting? Is there time and budget to do so?
Should I fix the tone of this piece or leave the voice as is?
Do you really want me to only check for typos or should I flag problems in grammar, word choice, and clarity?

In essence, you need to ask whether the other stages of editing – structural, stylistic, and copy editing – can be done to the document. A big trap for editors or readers with a keen eye is to try to fix every problem they see, but there may not be time or budget for that, or indeed, there could be real constraints on the document that prevent other fixes. The boss may have written a paragraph and ordered it untouched, some text may need to match a specific (legal) document’s wording, or, even if it offends your sensibilities, the style may just be that company’s corporate language.

As in many other parts of life, get consent first. You’ll save everyone a lot of grief.