Module 4- Exercise 2&3 Memo

Exercise 2&3

Copyediting and online editing are two different processes for editing text. They both accomplish the same objective, to edit the text, but they go about it in different ways.

Copyediting on hard copies is the process that is used the most. During this process the editor/editors use something called a starter style sheet. This has space for the editorial details and all the decisions that you want to write down. When you are using this sheet you do not have to be the only one using it. You can jot down your queries and then send the sheet off the other editors to get their input. While editing hardcopy make sure you find all your global queries.

Also while editing hardcopy editors use different symbols that mean different things. They can mean delete a word, close a space, add a space, add punctuation, capitalize, make bold, indent, and many more. When you are in the editing stage make sure you read whatever it is you are editing at least three times. It is almost impossible to catch all the errors the first time you read something. Even if you missed a few things here and there after editing something it still goes to the proofreader. So the proofreader will go over the text on final time to catch any mistakes that weren’t fixed.

Some of the things that you need to look for in editing is if the typeface is easily readable, if the line spacing and word spacing is adequate, and if the font is at a reasonable size. You do not want your reader struggling while they are trying to read something.

Now online editing you still have to make sure that all the grammatical and punctuation errors are still fixed, but they way you go about them is different. Instead of handwriting all of you comments/decisions you use a program on your computer. Examples of programs are Microsoft Word Processor and Adobe Reader. In adobe you place your queries in the margins or in boxes, and in Microsoft you insert your queries directly into the text, setting them off between characters that don’t normally appear anywhere else. Examples would be brackets or multiple asterisks.

In online editing you can still have a style sheet and still have to read the text multiple times. But when doing online editing there are certain things that you need to know. One is creating and using styles, which is when you use your program to define headings, indented text, numbered or bulleted lists, and so on. Another thing is version control, which is when you save your document multiple times during your editing process so you have all the different versions it went through. Another good tool to know is the hidden text one, which is when you insert text in a document and it appears in the editing program but when you print it out it is not there. Some editors like to use endnotes and footnotes for signaling their queries.

In being a great editor you should know both how to online edit and copyedit and all the tools that go with them.