Copy Editor Course

Lesson 1 • Defining the Copy Editor's Role

Clarifies the scope of copy editing versus developmental and proofreading roles. Establishes professional boundaries students apply throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • The Editorial Workflow

Maps the stages a manuscript passes through before publication. Students place copy editing accurately within the broader production pipeline.

Lesson 3 • Core Editorial Standards

Introduces style guides, house style, and consistency as the backbone of professional editing. Students learn to identify which standard applies to a given project.

Lesson 1 • Subject-Verb and Pronoun Agreement

Focuses on agreement errors that frequently appear in professional manuscripts. Students apply rules to complex constructions involving collective nouns and indefinite pronouns.

Lesson 2 • Parts of Speech in Context

Reviews nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and their editorial implications. Students identify misuse that disrupts clarity or correctness.

Lesson 3 • Punctuation Rules and Application

Covers commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, and apostrophes with editorial precision. Students correct punctuation errors that alter meaning or violate style.

Lesson 4 • Sentence Structure and Clarity

Examines clauses, phrases, and sentence types to diagnose structural problems. Students rewrite tangled sentences without altering the author's meaning.

Lesson 1 • Commonly Confused Words

Distinguishes homophones, near-homophones, and frequently misused word pairs. Students build recognition skills that spell-checkers cannot replicate.

Lesson 2 • Precise Word Choice and Tone

Trains editors to flag vague, redundant, or inflated language without rewriting the author's voice. Students balance precision with stylistic respect.

Lesson 3 • Spelling Conventions and Variants

Addresses American English spelling rules, variant spellings, and common misspellings. Students apply consistent spelling choices aligned with the project's style guide.

Lesson 1 • Creating and Maintaining House Style

Teaches editors to build a house style sheet from scratch and keep it current across projects. Students draft a functional style sheet for a sample publication.

Lesson 2 • Citations and Reference Formatting

Covers in-text citations, footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies across major citation systems. Students verify and correct reference lists for accuracy and consistency.

Lesson 3 • Navigating Major Style Guides

Provides hands-on practice with widely used editorial style references. Students locate rules quickly and resolve conflicts between competing guides.

Lesson 4 • Numbers, Dates, and Abbreviations

Covers style-specific rules for numerals, spelled-out numbers, dates, and abbreviations. Students apply these rules consistently across an entire document.

Lesson 1 • Building and Using a Style Sheet

Demonstrates how a live style sheet prevents inconsistency during editing. Students maintain a running style sheet while editing a multi-section document.

Lesson 2 • Tables, Figures, and Captions

Covers editorial standards for tables, charts, figures, and their captions. Students align visual elements with body text for accuracy and consistency.

Lesson 3 • Continuity in Long Documents

Addresses character names, timelines, and cross-references in books and reports. Students use tracking tools to catch continuity breaks across chapters.

Lesson 1 • Readability Metrics and Tools

Introduces readability formulas and digital tools that quantify text complexity. Students use metrics as diagnostic aids, not as absolute standards.

Lesson 2 • Diagnosing Unclear Prose

Teaches editors to identify the root causes of unclear writing, from buried verbs to excessive nominalization. Students annotate problem passages before proposing solutions.

Lesson 3 • Paragraph and Section Organization

Examines topic sentences, transitions, and paragraph unity as tools for editorial improvement. Students restructure disorganized paragraphs without altering content.

Lesson 4 • Preserving the Author's Voice

Distinguishes between errors that must be corrected and stylistic choices that define the author's voice. Students edit assertively while respecting intentional style.

Lesson 1 • Track Changes and Comment Tools

Covers the use of tracked changes and inline comments in word-processing software. Students produce clean, navigable marked-up documents for authors and publishers.

Lesson 2 • Style and Macro Automation

Introduces paragraph styles, character styles, and basic macros that speed up repetitive editing tasks. Students configure styles to enforce formatting consistency automatically.

Lesson 3 • Traditional Proofreading Marks

Introduces standard proofreading symbols used in print and hybrid workflows. Students apply marks accurately on hard-copy manuscripts.

Lesson 4 • Working with PDF and Typeset Files

Teaches editors to mark corrections on typeset PDFs using annotation tools. Students understand the constraints of editing at the page-proof stage.

Lesson 1 • Editing Digital and Web Content

Adapts copy editing principles to web articles, social media copy, and email content. Students apply SEO-aware editing without sacrificing accuracy or clarity.

Lesson 2 • Editing Nonfiction and Academic Text

Addresses the specific demands of editing scholarly articles, reports, and nonfiction books. Students apply rigorous consistency and citation standards to complex manuscripts.

Lesson 3 • Editing Journalism and News Content

Applies editorial standards specific to news writing, including brevity, attribution, and headline style. Students edit articles for accuracy, clarity, and style compliance.

Lesson 4 • Editing Marketing and Corporate Copy

Addresses persuasive writing conventions, brand voice, and compliance considerations in commercial content. Students edit marketing materials for accuracy, tone, and consistency.