Tools of the trade: the copy-editor’s and proofreader’s
editorial armoury
Which reference works should I have at my disposal if I’m to edit and proofread
professionally? This is a question that often arises in the mind of the new entrant to the
world of editing and proofreading other people’s words. Any edition of the publications
listed below will be invaluable aides, but if you can obtain – and afford – the latest editions,
they tend to reflect current trends and wisdom, and now the newest technologies.
The ‘starter kit’ is a fairly basic, but nevertheless essential one:
A mid-range dictionary for the language in which you typically edit. In English, you could
choose between:
Collins English Dictionary
Concise Oxford Dictionary
Cambridge English Dictionary
Pharos English Dictionary for South Africa, with Afrikaans translations
Any of the Advanced Learner’s or Cobuild dictionaries (aimed at non-native speakers of
English). Some of the above word lists are available online, some free of charge; other are
available on CD for easy electronic access.
Then, in addition, you’ll want to have access to word lists that help writers and editors
specifically (they’re filled with the kind of quirky words that only we wordsmiths fuss over):
Collins Dictionary for Writers and Editors
New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors
For the internationally recognised conventions that apply in a variety of disciplines (from
Astronomy to Zoology), you’ll be well advised to consult references such as:
New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors
The New Oxford Dictionary for Science Writers and Editors is but one of a range of many
mini-dictionaries dedicated to specific subject areas. Penguin has also published a range of
specialist dictionaries (eg Electronics, Geography, History, Physics, Psychology) that are
really worth their weight in gold.
To ensure consistency of spelling, punctuation, hyphenation, the use of numbers, and so on,
there are a number of style guides to consider:
The Oxford Manual of Style (UK)
The Chicago Manual of Style (US)
William Strunk and EB White The Elements of Style has been through many editions, and
contains much wisdom about writing well.
Sometimes, for us wordsmiths, a thesaurus of some kind comes to the rescue when we’re
(uncharacteristically!) at a loss for words. The classic is Roget’s Thesaurus (published under
various imprints), but there are also reverse dictionaries (Reader’s Digest, Oxford, for
example) that are enormously helpful.
A dictionary of (modern) quotations is often also helpful, specifically to check that
quotations the authors include in their manuscripts are in fact accurately reproduced and
correctly attributed.
If your grammar’s rusty or the rules of grammar are simply a bugbear to you, then find
yourself a useful book on grammar/punctuation that covers the basics and more. Examples
are:
GV Carey Mind the Stop (Penguin 1980)
Marion Field Improve your punctuation and Grammar (howtobooks 2003)
Fowler’s Modern English Usage (OUP, various editions)
Sir Ernest Gowers The Complete Plain Words (various editions)
Good Punctuation: The one-stop Punctuation Problem Solver (Collins 2004)
John Kahn (ed) The Right Word at the Right Time (Reader’s Digest 1985)
John Linnegar Engleish, our Engleish: Common Problems in South African English and how to
resolve them (Pharos 2009)
Eric Partridge You have a Point there: A Guide to Punctuation and its Allies (Hamish
Hamilton)
Eric Partridge Usage and Abusage (Hamish Hamilton)
RL Trask Penguin Guide to Punctuation (Penguin Reference 1997)
Finally, for sage guidance on all matters editorial (as much about the process as about the
detail) there are:
Judith Butcher, Caroline Blake & Maureen Leach Butcher’s Copy Editing (Cambridge
University Press 2007 – or any earlier edition of this classic)
WAM Carstens & Kris van de Poel Teksredaksie (SunMedia 2010)
Gill Davies & Richard Balkwill The Professionals’ Guide to Publishing: A practical introduction
to working in the publishing industry (Kogan Page 2011)
Amy Einsohn The Copy-editor’s Handbook (University of California Press 2000)
Elizabeth Flann & Beryl Hill The Australian Editing Handbook (John Wiley 2 ed, 2004)
Janet Mackenzie The Editor’s Companion (Cambridge University Press 2004)
Janet Mackenzie (ed) At the Typeface: Selections from the Newsletter of the Victorian
Society of Editors (Victorian Society of Editors 2005)
Elizabeth Manning Murphy Working Words (Canberra Society of Editors 2011)