COPY EDITING
COPY EDITOR
• Copy editors “check written material, usually as the
final step before it is set into type, to correct errors in
grammar, spelling, usage and style.”
http://www.theslot.com/copyeditors
.html
COPYEDITING:
SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMON TASKS
• Correcting errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation,
and usage
• Making sure the specified style and format are
followed
• Making wording clearer, more concise, and more
graceful
REASONS TO COPYEDIT:
• Clarity (defined in terms of the intended reader)
• Correctness
– Of grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage
– Of facts
CAPITALIZATION
Do I need a
capital
letter?
Or should that
letter remain
lower case?
CAPITALIZE THE FIRST LETTER OF THE
FIRST WORD OF A SENTENCE.
satsat
in in
a puddle
of goo
•The
therotten
rottenpear
pear
a puddle
of
on
theon
kitchen
counter.counter.
goo
the kitchen
CAPITALIZE THE PRONOUN I.
If that
Darlene
claims
thatspent
she
If•that
liar liar
Darlene
claims
that she
thespent
night studying,
will say that
I saw
the nightIstudying,
i will
say her
that Thomas
i saw heratkissing
Thomas at the
kissing
the movies.
movies.
CAPITALIZE PROPER NOUNS.
On
Tuesday,
September
18, 18,
Elizabeth
• On
tuesday,
september
elizabeth
cooked
her her
first first
pot pot
of squid
eyeball
stew.
cooked
of squid
eyeball
stew.
OTHER PROPER NOUNS
• Titles before
Names
• Specific
Places
• Organizations
• Companies
• Product
Names
• Religions
• Languages
Nationalities
Holidays
Departments
Historical
Eras
• Regions of the
Country
• Course Names
• Titles of Works
•
•
•
•
TITLES BEFORE NAMES
• Professor
Stone
• Uncle Jerry
• President
Obama
Capitalize
these!
• the nursing
professor
• my uncle
• the president
of our stamp
collecting
club
But use lower
case for these!
SPECIFIC PLACES
• Tito’s Taco
Palace
• New York
City
• Gatorland
Capitalize
these!
• the taco
stand outside
• a city
• a theme park
But use lower
case for these!
ORGANIZATIONS
• World Wildlife
Fund
• American Red
Cross
• Doctors
Without
Borders
Capitalize
these!
• an
environmental
group
• an emergency
response
agency
• a medical
humanitarian
organization
But use lower
case for these!
COMPANIES
• Starbucks
Corporation
• The CocaCola
Company
• Apple Inc.
Capitalize
these!
• a coffee house
• a soda supplier
• a computer
manufacturer
But use lower
case for these!
ITEM 1
Byron likes spicy foods, so he chose the Asian
Asian
A
chicken wrap. Martha prefers bland dishes and
ordered a large
large basket
basket of
of french
frenchfries.
French
fries.
fries.
B
C
A.asian
B.Large
C.French
C.French
D.No change is necessary.
Katelyn used her last dollar to buy m&m
m&m candies;
M&M
candies;
A
she would have enjoyed a Pepsi
Pepsi to
to wash
wash them
them
B
down but the cafeteria
cafeteriaprices
priceswere
weretoo
tooexpensive.
expensive.
C
A.M&M
A.M&M
B.pepsi
C.Cafeteria
D.No change is necessary.
Niki is a practicing hindu,
hindu,so
Hindu,
so
soshe
she
shewas
was
wasoffended
offended
offended
A
when Sean pulled into a McDonald’s
McDonald’sdrive-thru
drive-thru
B
to order a Big
Big Mac.
Mac.
C
A.Hindu
A.Hindu
B.mcdonald’s
C.big mac
D.No change is necessary.
STANDARD PUNCTUATION
Do I need a
comma?
Or do I need a
semicolon?
END MARKS
• Use the period [ . ] to end statements.
Jasmine ate a chocolate-broccoli muffin.
• Use the question mark [ ? ] when asking
a question.
Did Jasmine eat a chocolate-broccoli muffin?
• Use—not overuse —the exclamation
mark [ ! ] to signify excitement or
emphasis.
Oh, no! Jasmine ate a chocolate-broccoli
muffin!
COMMAS, PART 1
• Use commas to connect introductory,
interrupting, and some concluding
material.
• Interrupting material will include a comma
before and a comma after.
• Without a doubt, Jasmine will pass the
comma test.
Jasmine will, without a doubt, pass the
comma test.
Jasmine will pass the comma test,
without a doubt.
COMMAS, PART 2
• Use a comma with a conjunction to
connect two sentences.
• and, but, for, or, nor, yet, and so.
Jasmine will pass the comma test, but Slacker
• Jasmine will pass the comma test. Slacker Sam
Sam
will not.
will not.
COMMAS, PART 3
• Use commas and an and to connect
three or more items.
• Jasmine
buy
a bagofofpotato
potato chips
Jasmine
willwill
buy
a bag
andaahotdog,
hotdog. and a soda
chips,
APOSTROPHE
• Use the apostrophe [ ’ ] with an s to show
possession: Jasmine’s pen, the cat’s
eyes, the professors’ frowns
• Or use the apostrophe to indicate the
letters/spaces removed in a contraction:
she’ d, can’ t, should’ ve
We
can’t
fromJasmines
Jasmine’spunctuation
• We
cant cheat
cheat from
punctuation
quiz
because
quiz because
shes
absent she’s
today!absent
today!
Before his calculus exam
exam Scott
exam,
Scott
Scottrubbed
rubbed
rubbed
his
his
his
lucky
lucky
lucky
A
B
rabbit’s foot
foot and
andfound
foundhis
hisfavorite
favoritepencil.
pencil.
C
A.exam, Scott
A.exam,
Scott
B.rubbed, his
C.foot, and
D.No change is necessary.
Francine has five chair’s
chair’sbut
chairs
butsix
sixguests
guests
guestscoming
coming
coming
A
BB
for Thanksgiving dinner; she hopes that old Uncle
Ross remembers
remembersto
tobring
bringan
anextra.
extra.
C
A.chairs
A.chairs
B.guest’s
C.remember’s
D.No change is necessary.
• http://www.oddee.com/item_97261.aspx
• http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/11/
11/_crappy_gabor_paper_overly_honest_citation_sli
ps_into_peer_reviewed_journal.html
• http://weberwritingandpr.com/tag/editing/