Estimate proofreading time for a text.
Proofreading rates run from about 2500 words an hour for general prose down to 1100 for legal text, where every clause must be checked against intent and cross-references verified. Medium matters independently and in a direction that surprises people: reading on paper is about 15 percent slower but catches noticeably more errors, and reading aloud is nearly twice as slow while catching the most — particularly the wrong-but-real words a silent read glides over. Breaks are included deliberately, because proofreading accuracy degrades sharply after about 45 minutes and pushing through produces a pass that missed things.
Effective rate
Words per hour = complexity rate x medium factor
Total time
Hours = words / effective rate + 10 min break per work block
Because it forces you to process every word rather than predicting them. Silent reading relies heavily on pattern recognition, which is exactly why the eye slides over a correctly spelled wrong word. Speaking each word breaks the prediction and surfaces those errors.
Yes, because accuracy is the whole point. Proofreading performance falls measurably after roughly 45 minutes of sustained attention, and a tired pass gives false confidence. A schedule without breaks is a schedule that produces a worse result in the same total time.