You know, a lot of people who are good with words think that means they can be proofreaders. How hard can it be, right? Well, we wanted to find out. To test the mettle of people who want to work for Word Jones, we devised a cruelly efficient means of separating those with a true jones for words from the pretenders. We call it The Test.

This diabolical exercise in proofreading has induced a sheen of sweat on the brow of even the most erudite applicants. And now you too can feel the pain, though without the added pressure of prospective employment.

This is your chance to show us how good you are.

Here's the deal: Start by downloading the Word doc below. Go through it — very, very carefully — and make all necessary proofreading corrections, using the Track Changes function. Then e-mail it back to us as an attachment through the “Contact Us” link on this site. This is not an editing test, so only fix the things that truly need fixing: grammar, punctuation, AP style, etc. (Yes, this is strictly an AP deal.) And to simulate real-world conditions, do it in less than an hour. This isn't the Sunday Times crossword.

And, by the way: No one has ever gotten a perfect score. No one. So if you manage to be the first, we'll just whip out a pen and write you a little check for … ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS! And we might even put your name and picture on our website.

Have at it! Download The Test.