Editing I BWR106

Very few people can immediately write a lucid and well-expressed piece of work. In most cases, the final draft is smoothed and polished so that others can readily understand the writer's message. It is the editor's role to improve the quality of the writing, whether it is their own or someone else's work.  Learning to edit requires not only skills in language and writing, but also technique.

Course Structure: Editing I BWR106

1. Introduction to Editing: the role and scope of editing; tools for editing; editing skills; the production process: an overview; who does what in publishing
2. The Mechanics of Clear Writing: spelling, punctuation, grammar, language; style; tense
3. Assessing Manuscripts: readability; word length; structure; consistencies and inaccuracies; the reader's report; substantive editing; the author's responsibilities; the author/editor relationship
4. Copy Editing I: what the copy editor does; the procedure; house style; style sheets
5. Copy Editing II: marking up; parts of a publication; editing non-text material; illustrations
6. Preparing Copy for Printing: type design and page layout; proof stages
7. Proof Reading
8. The Final Stages: indexes; blurbs; checking final proofs

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the Academy, marked by the Academy's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims: Editing I BWR106

• To gain an understanding of the role and scope of editing.
• Understand the importance of clear, effective writing throughout all stages of the publishing process.
• Describe the procedure of manuscript assessment.
• Describe the procedures used by copy editors.
• Explain procedures used to prepare copy for printing.
• Describe the checks and procedures used in the final stages of preparing and printing publications.

What you will be doing during this Course

• Reading study materials and additional materials
• Interacting with tutors who themselves are qualified and experienced professionals
• Undertaking a variety of practical tasks
• Answering and submitting assignment questions

Example of Reading from the Course:

• Style Errors - Below are errors in style due to inappropriate or poor choices of language which can lead to boring, imprecise and inaccurate writing. In some situations, they may be relevant and suitable, but they are usually best avoided:
  
  • Clichés – over-used phrases, eg. bed of roses
  • Vogue words and trendy expressions, eg. proactive, meaningful dialogue, flavour of the month
  • Colloquialisms in formal writing
  • Parochialisms in documents intended for a wide audience
  • Jargon in documents intended for a general audience
  • Euphemisms, eg. pass away, upwardly mobile
  • Overstatements, eg. fabulous, incredible, fantastic, amazing
  • Archaic words, eg. herewith, thereby, hereinafter
  • Sexist terms, eg. man made, nurseryman, waitress
  • Tautologies, eg. totally unique, completely empty
  • Unnecessary use of foreign words and phrases
  • Ambiguity.

The course covers: the nature and scope of editing, the role and responsibility of the editor in publishing, working with authors and publishers, the editing process and skills required, copyright and other legal concerns, indexing and referencing, varying the approach according to the kind of book, etc.