Editorial Review Checklist: [article, post or publication title]
Copyedit and proofread record for one piece of editorial content
(article, blog post, newsletter, report or book chapter): review passes
and roles, house style, facts and sources, links, accessibility against
WCAG 2.2 (W3C Recommendation, 12 December 2024), legal and ethics
questions, final proofread, a query log and sign-off. House style comes
from your own style guide; The Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition,
2024) is named as an example fallback reference and is not reproduced.
Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example. The
legal section is a list of questions, not legal advice.
Document control
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Review ID | [ER-NNN] |
| Piece | [title, slug or file name] |
| Format and length | [feature, 1,800 words] |
| Author | [name] |
| Commissioning editor | [@owner] |
| Copyeditor | [@reviewer] |
| Proofreader | [@reviewer] |
| House style | [writing/style-guide version N.N] |
| Fallback reference | [Example: The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition] |
| Publication date and embargo | YYYY-MM-DD [time zone] |
| Status | [In edit / With author / Ready to publish / Published] |
Revision history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|
| Draft 1 | YYYY-MM-DD | Received from author | [@owner] |
| Draft 2 | YYYY-MM-DD | Author answered queries Q-001 to Q-00N | [author] |
| Final | YYYY-MM-DD | Proofread and approved | [@owner] |
1. Scope and passes
| Pass | Needed? | Reviewer | Due |
|---|
| Structural edit | [Yes / No] | [name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Copyedit (house style) | [Yes / No] | [name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Fact check | [Yes / No] | [name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Accessibility check | [Yes / No] | [name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Legal and ethics review | [Yes / No] | [name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Final proofread | [Yes / No] | [name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
2. Review order
Copyedit and fact-check queries return to the author, and the answers
come back to the copyeditor before the piece moves on to legal review.
3. Structural edit
| ID | Check | Result | Note |
|---|
| ED-S-01 | The piece matches the brief (angle, audience, length) | [Pass / Fail / N/A] | |
| ED-S-02 | The opening states why the reader should keep reading | | |
| ED-S-03 | Sections follow a logical order; no repetition | | |
| ED-S-04 | Headline and standfirst are accurate, not overstated | | |
| ED-S-05 | The ending gives a conclusion or a next step | | |
4. Copyedit: house style
| ID | Check | Result | Note |
|---|
| ED-C-01 | Spelling variety and dictionary follow house style | | |
| ED-C-02 | Grammar, agreement and punctuation are correct | | |
| ED-C-03 | Numbers, dates, times and units follow house style | | |
| ED-C-04 | Names, titles and terms are spelled consistently (termbase checked) | | |
| ED-C-05 | Headings use house capitalisation and are in order | | |
| ED-C-06 | Quotations match the source and are attributed | | |
| ED-C-07 | Inclusive language rules applied | | |
| ED-C-08 | Plain language: sentences and words suit the reader (see writing/plain-language-review for public-facing notices) | | |
| ED-C-09 | Lists are parallel; abbreviations are spelled out on first use | | |
5. Facts, sources and links
| ID | Check | Result | Note |
|---|
| ED-F-01 | All checkable claims logged and verified in writing/fact-check-log | | |
| ED-F-02 | Statistics give a source and a date | | |
| ED-F-03 | Every link opens and points to the intended page | | |
| ED-F-04 | Links go to primary or authoritative sources where possible | | |
| ED-F-05 | Citations or references follow the house citation style | | |
| ED-F-06 | Time-sensitive statements are dated ("as of October 2026") | | |
6. Accessibility
| ID | Check | WCAG 2.2 reference | Result |
|---|
| ED-A-01 | Every informative image has alt text that conveys its purpose; decorative images are marked as such | SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A) | |
| ED-A-02 | Headings, lists and tables use real structure | SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A) | |
| ED-A-03 | Text in images and charts meets contrast, or the information is also in text | SC 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA) | |
| ED-A-04 | Link text describes the destination | SC 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A) | |
| ED-A-05 | Headings describe the topic of their section | SC 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA) | |
| ED-A-06 | Embedded video has captions; audio has a transcript | SC 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (A), SC 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) (A) | |
| ED-A-07 | Charts have a text summary or data table | SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A) | |
7. Legal and ethics review
| ID | Question | Answer | Escalated to |
|---|
| ED-L-01 | Does the piece say anything that could harm the reputation of an identifiable person or organisation? | [Yes / No / Unsure] | |
| ED-L-02 | Does it use text, images, music or data owned by someone else? Is permission or a licence recorded? | | |
| ED-L-03 | Does it reveal personal data, health information or a private individual's identity? Is consent recorded? | | |
| ED-L-04 | Is any content sponsored, affiliate-linked or paid for? Is it disclosed clearly? | | |
| ED-L-05 | Does any interviewee have an agreed embargo, anonymity or approval condition? | | |
| ED-L-06 | Does the piece give advice (health, legal, financial) that needs a disclaimer or expert review? | | |
| ED-L-07 | Do any conflicts of interest of the author need disclosure? | | |
8. Final proofread
| ID | Check | Result | Note |
|---|
| ED-P-01 | All author queries resolved and changes applied | | |
| ED-P-02 | Headline, standfirst, captions and pull quotes proofread | | |
| ED-P-03 | Byline, credits and image credits correct | | |
| ED-P-04 | Page title, meta description and social preview text correct | | |
| ED-P-05 | Layout checked on mobile and desktop; no broken lines or orphans in headings | | |
| ED-P-06 | Publication date, time zone and embargo set correctly | | |
9. Query and findings log
| ID | Location | Check | Query or finding | Severity | Owner | Resolution |
|---|
| [Q-NNN] | [para N] | [ED-x-NN] | [question] | [High / Medium / Low] | [name] | [answer, date] |
| Q-001 (Example) | Para 3 | ED-F-02 | "Tomato yields rose by a third": source and year? | High | Author | Logged as CL-001 in the fact-check log: corrected to "about a quarter in 2025", source added |
| Q-002 (Example) | Image 2 | ED-A-01 | Alt text missing on the raised-bed diagram | Medium | Picture editor | Alt text written, data also in caption |
| Q-003 (Example) | Para 7 | ED-L-04 | Seed supplier link is an affiliate link: disclosure needed | High | Editor | Disclosure line added under standfirst |
| Q-004 (Example) | Headline | ED-C-05 | Title case used; house style is sentence case | Low | Copyeditor | Fixed |
Example: summary for the feature: 4 findings, of which 2 High, 1
Medium and 1 Low, all resolved before sign-off.
10. Sign-off
| Role | Name | Decision | Date |
|---|
| Copyeditor | [name] | [Approved / Changes needed] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Fact checker | [name] | | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Legal reviewer (if escalated) | [name] | | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Commissioning editor | [name] | [Publish / Hold] | YYYY-MM-DD |
References
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition (University of Chicago
Press, 2024), named as an example fallback reference. Official text:
University of Chicago Press, purchase or licensed access:
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C
Recommendation, 12 December 2024: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
- Related templates:
writing/style-guide, writing/fact-check-log,
writing/plain-language-review, docs/termbase,
docs/docs-review-checklist, marketing/content-calendar.
Standard and licence note
Based on common editorial practice and on the success criteria of WCAG
2.2 (W3C Recommendation, 12 December 2024), named by number and title.
The Chicago Manual of Style is named as a reference only; no rules or
wording are reproduced. All checklist wording is original. Check the
current editions before relying on them. The legal section lists
questions and is not legal advice. Template licence: MIT.