COPYREADING
AND HEADLINE
WRITING (ENGLISH
& FILIPINO)
LUKE MENDOZA
COPYREADING
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It is the art of arranging, correcting,
and selecting the quality and type of
news.
It is also called COPYEDITING.
One who edits copies is called a
COPYREADER or COPYEDITOR.
MGA TUNGKULIN NG
COPYREADER
 Tiyaking tumpak ang mga datos sa artikulo.
 Ang akdang ililimbag ay may wastong gramatika
at pagbabaybay ng mga salita.
 Magwasto ng kamalian ng mga datos.
 Pumutol o magkaltas ng di-mahahalagang datos.
 Mag-alis ng mga salitang nagsasaad ng opinyon.
 Mag-alis ng mga salitang walang kabuluhan.
 Tinitiyak nito na malaya sa anumang libelong
pamamahayag ang akda.
MGA TUNGKULIN NG
COPYREADER
 Sumusulat ng ulo ng balita at nagpapasya sa
tipograpiya nito.
 Magbigay ng tagubilin sa tagapaglimbag ukol sa
laki at tipong gagamitin, kolum at bilang ng ems.
 Sinusunod nito ang istilo ng pahayagan.
COPYREADING SYMBOLS
SYMBOL
USE & FUNCTION
COPYREADING SYMBOLS
SYMBOL
USE & FUNCTION
COPYREADING SYMBOLS
SYMBOL
USE & FUNCTION
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
NUMBERS
The numbers 1 – 9 are written in
words while the numbers 10 and
above are written in figures.
Example:
nine students
13 children
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
NUMBERS
EXCEPTIONS:
 dates, address: always in figures
 proper nouns: may be written in
figures/words
 beginning of sentence: always in words
 events: 1st – 9th is allowed
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
SPELLING
 Look for misspelled words.
 Here in the Philippines, American English is
used, not British English.
Ex: color, not colour
 If a word has more than one accepted
spelling, the shortest one is preferred.
Ex: judgment, instead of judgement
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
CAPITALIZATION
The first letter of the sentence is always
capitalized.
Proper nouns are capitalized, common
nouns are not.
Ex: singer Regine Velasquez
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
CAPITALIZATION
Small letters are usually used for title or
position.
Ex: Mrs. Cecilia Burayag, the principal
of BCIS, delivered the opening
remarks.
Capitalized titles: Governor Umali
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
ABBREVIATIONS
Spell out Dept., gov’t, and other
abbreviations.
The abbreviations Jr. and Sr. are allowed
in names.
Remember: Engr. Emmanuel Delgado;
Engineer Delgado 12 Dimagiba St.;
Dimagiba Street
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
ABBREVIATIONS
A title or position of a person may be
abbreviated if it appears before the name but
not if simply used in the sentence:
Ex: Sen. Recto filed another taxation bill
yesterday.
The senator filed another taxation bill
yesterday.
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
ACRONYMS
Acronyms are usually written in capital
letters.
Example: BCIS
Check if the letters of the acronym are in
the correct order.
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
ACRONYMS
When an acronym appears for the first
time in a news story, it is written after its
meaning and it is enclosed in
parentheses.
Ex: University of the Philippines (UP)
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
PARAGRAPHS
The first sentence of a paragraph is
indented.
In news stories, the rule is one paragraph,
one sentence only.
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
LEAD
There should be no names of unknown
persons in the lead.
Check for buried leads.
The standard lead answers the 5 Ws and 1
H.
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
PUNCTUATIONS: PERIOD
It is used at the end of declarative and
imperative sentences.
It is used in abbreviations such as p.m., a.m.,
Jr., Sr., Pres., Sen., Rep., Gov., Gen., Capt.,
Dr., Fr., Atty., Corp., and Inc.
Acronyms of schools, organizations and offices
do not need periods.
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
PUNCTUATIONS: COMMA
It is used to separate the month and day from the
year.
It is used to separate the street, barangay, town
and province in an address
It is used to separate facts concerning victims and
suspects.
Ex: Jolas Burayag, 17, of Barangay San
Fernando Norte
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
PUNCTUATIONS: COMMA
Do not use commas to separate the
abbreviation Jr., Sr., or III from the name.
Ex: Emmanuel Delgado Jr.
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
PUNCTUATIONS: HYPHEN
Use hyphen:
in most compound nouns
Ex: editor-in-chief, officer-in-charge
in fractions
Ex: two-thirds, three-fourths
in numerals
Ex: twenty-two, fifty-nine
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
PUNCTUATIONS: APOSTROPHE
 Apostrophes are used in the possessive form
of the noun.
Ex. the teacher’s table the teachers’
meeting
 In contractions
Ex. I’m (I am)
you’re (you are)
KEYS TO REMEMBER IN
COPYREADING
 Watch out for jumbled letters, words and paragraphs.
 Check for joined/disjoined words.
Ex. class room, newteacher
 Delete editorializing words/phrases.
Ex. The very beautiful and intelligent principal…
The cops were right in arresting…
 Check for redundancies (recurring
words/phrases/paragraphs, synonymous or redundant
terms).
Ex. the concert the concert ended
SAMPLE OF AN EDITED COPY
HEADLINE WRITING
• An assemblage of words written in
bigger, bolder letters than the usual
page text at the beginning of the
news.
• It is not a title.
TIPS IN CREATING A STRONG
HEADLINE
1. First, read the story for general meaning.
2. Clues to the headline are usually in the lead.
What happened?
Who did what?
How did IT happen?
3. Use the shortest words possible.
Ex. Cop – policeman
Up – increase
Nab - arrest
TIPS IN CREATING A STRONG
HEADLINE
4. Have a subject and a verb. Avoid starting with a verb;
the headline might sound as if it were giving orders.
Wrong: Revise money mart guidelines
Correct: Central Bank revises money mart guidelines
5. Use the historical present tense if the verb is in the
active voice.
Wrong: Delgado topped editorial tilt
Correct: Delgado tops editorial tilt
TIPS IN CREATING A STRONG
HEADLINE
6. Do not use a period at the end of the headline.
7. Omit articles (a, an, the).
Wrong: A fire hits Tondo slum area
Correct: Fire hits Tondo slum area
8. Use a comma instead of “and” in writing headlines.
Delays, confusion bug Asiad
Lacson, Trillanes no show at SONA
9. Use semicolon to separate sentences.
Gina Lopez heads Pasig body; Noy swears in 35
other execs
TIPS IN CREATING A STRONG
HEADLINE
10. Always give the source of a quote. Quotation marks are
not needed, a dash or a colon will serve the purpose.
Crackdown on errant bus firms – Enrile
Enrile: Crackdown on errant bus firms
11. Use the down-style – only the first word and proper
nouns are capitalized, unless otherwise indicated. This is
more readable because people are used to reading
sentences this way.
Ex. Faculty honors Nuñez
TIPS IN CREATING A STRONG
HEADLINE
12. Use only widely known abbreviations.
Wrong: JEE to play Santa this Christmas
13. Dont use names unless the person is well known, use
common nouns instead.
Wrong: Santos electrocuted
Correct: Carpenter electrocuted
14. Be positive. Don't use negatives in headlines. They
weaken not only the headlines but also the stories.
UNIT COUNTS
UNIT COUNTS
UNIT COUNTS
PRINTER’S DIRECTIONS
3 – 32 – Arial (31.5 u.c.)
1, ds, fl
3
32
Arial
31.5 u.c.
1
ds, fl
- number of columns
- font size
- font style
- total unit counts
- number of lines
- types of headline
SLUG LINE
Balita
PS Ngayon
Pres. Duterte
lpm/04-06-23
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Structure
Name of Paper
Keyword
Initials/Date
SUMMARY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Read
Edit
Write a Headline
Count Units
Prepare Printer’s Directions
Write Slug Line
Re-read
MARAMING SALAMAT SA
INYONG PAKIKINIG!!!