Copyediting¶

What is Copyediting?¶

Copyediting includes tracked changes to correct grammar, misspellings, and formatting. This type of editing includes edits that are necessary, rather than suggestions. It can sometimes be referred to as proofreading, though proofreading is specifically copyediting the "proof" or final copy that has been formatted for publishing.

Copyediting Terminology¶

Term	Definition
AA	Author’s Alteration (AA) is an abbreviation used to indicate changes made by the author.
all cap	Text that is in all capital letters. Ex: THIS IS IN ALL CAPS, while this is not in all caps.
ampersand	Name of the & character.
angle brackets	Name of the < and > character.
AU	Author. Used in queries (“AU: Revision OK?”).
blind proofing	Proofreading pass in which the proofreader is not supplied with an earlier version of the text against which to compare the current version. Also called cold proofing.
block quote	Quoted passage set off from the running text - See extract.
bold	Boldface. These words are in boldface.
braces	Name of the { and } characters. Also called curly brackets.
brackets	Name of the [ and ] characters. Also called square brackets.
bubble	Penciled-in circle or box in which the editor writes a query, comment, or instruction on hard copy. (i.e., a comment box.)
bulleted list	Vertical list (also called set-off list) in which each item is introduced by a bullet or other graphic character.
caps	Capital letters.
change bar	Very thick vertical rule placed in the outer margin of a technical manual to indicate a paragraph that has been revised since the previous edition. See also redline.
Chicago style	Editorial preferences specified in The Chicago Manual of Style.
close paren	Name of the ) character.
close up	To delete unwanted horizontal or vertical space.
cross-reference	Phrase that mentions another part of the document or text (“in chapter 5 we discussed,” “as table 6 shows”). Also called x-ref or in-text ref. See also signposting.
curly quotes	Name of the “ and ” characters (as compared to the " character). Also called smart quotes.
dead copy	Manuscript that has been typeset and proofread.
diacritic	Mark that changes the phonetic value of an alphabetical character. Common diacritic marks include the acute accent (á), cedilla (ç), circumflex (â), grave accent (à), tilde (ã), and umlaut or diaresis (ü)
dingbat	Ornamental character: ⧫🔺😀
display type	Large type, used for part titles, chapter titles, headings, and the like
dot leaders	Row of periods between horizontal entries in a table or list. For example: Annual turnover. . . . . . . . . . 93.4%
ellipsis	Name of the . . . character
em	Typesetting measurement which depends on the size of the type: In 10-point type, an em is 10 points wide; in 18-point type, an em is 18 points wide.
em dash	Name of the — character
en	Half an em
en dash	Name of the – character. An en dash is longer than a hyphen (-) but shorter than an em dash (—). In manuscripts, the en dash is often typed as a hyphen.
end-line hyphen	Hyphen that falls at the end of a line of text. A soft hyphen is dropped in the final copy if the hyphenated word falls on one line; a hard hyphen is always retained no matter how the word falls.
extract	Quoted passage set off from the running text. Extracts are often set in a smaller type size and on a shorter measure than the running text. Also called block quote
flush	Positioned at the margin of the text page, either flush left or flush right.
flush and hang	Style of setting indexes and lists. The first line of each entry or paragraph is set flush left, and the remaining lines of the entry are indented.
folio	Page number in typeset text. A drop folio is a page number placed at the bottom of a page. A blind folio (also called a suppressed folio) is not printed, although the page (called a display page) is counted in the numbering of the pages; an expressed folio is one that is printed. Also, can signify an entire page (both front and back)
font	Characters in a given size and style of a typeface (e.g., 10-point Courier roman).
footer	One or two lines of copy, such as a chapter title or section title, set at the bottom of each page of a document or book. Also called running foot. Compare running head.
full caps	Text to be set in ALL CAPS.
hard copy	Printout of a computer file. By extension, any text that appears on paper.
(sub)head	Title that indicates the start of a section or subsection of a document or book chapter. Heads are given distinctive typographic treatment (type size, weight; capitalization, set off or run in).
headline style	Capitalization style for heads, display lines, or titles of works in which all words are capitalized except articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. Alternatively, prepositions shorter than four or five letters are lowercased, and longer prepositions are capitalized. Also called UC/lc. Compare sentence style.
headnote	Brief introductory or explanatory material that follows a part, chapter, or section title and precedes the running text.
house style	Editorial style preferences expressed by a publisher.
initial cap only	Another term for sentence style. See sentence style. All words are lowercased for heads, display lines, or titles except those that would be capitalized in a sentence.
intercap	Capital letter that appears in the middle of a company or product name (e.g., BankAmerica, WordPerfect, MasterCard). See also midcap.
ital	Italics. These words are in italics.
kill	To order the deletion of text or an illustration.
leading	[Pronounced “ledding.”] Line spacing in a printed text, measured in points. 12 points = 1 pica; 6 picas = 1 inch; 72 points = 1 inch
MS	Manuscript.
numbered list	Vertical list in which each item is introduced by a numeral.
on-screen editing	Editing that is performed on a document’s computer files rather than on hard copy. Also called on-line editing or electronic manuscript (EMS) editing.
open paren	Name of the ( character
orphan	A line (the first in a paragraph) that is stranded at the bottom of a printed page, separated from the remainder of the paragraph by a large break.
PE	Short for printer’s error; used to indicate an error made by the typesetter on a set of proofs. Compare AA.
query	Publishing jargon for “question” [for the author]; used as a verb or a noun.
ragged right	Text aligned at the left margin but not at the right margin. See also Justify.
recto	Right-hand page of a book, magazine, or brochure. Compare verso.
redline	On-screen or hard-copy version of a manuscript that indicates which text has been added or deleted since the previous version. In the redline version, the added text is also called redline, and the deleted text is called a strikeout. Here, the redline text is enclosed in braces, and the strikeout text is slashed: I pledge my allegiance to {the} flag.
roman	Type style most often used in printed materials—as distinct from italic, GOTHIC (looks sort of like this), or script
run-in text	Text that is not set off on its own line. For example: Run-in heads. Run-in heads are often preceded by a para-indent, set in italics, and followed by a period. The regular text continues on the same line, just as this example shows. (Run-in is also used to describe lists and quotations that are not displayed.)
running text	Portion of a document consisting of sentences and paragraphs, rather than set-off display lines, tables, and other elements. Also called general text or regular running text.
sentence style	Capitalization style for (sub)heads, displays lines, and titles of works in which all words are lowercased except those that would be capitalized in a sentence (e.g., the first word, proper nouns, proper adjectives, and the word I). Also called initial cap only. Compare headline style.
serial comma	Comma preceding and or or in a list of items (a, b, and c; d, e, f, or g). Also called Oxford comma.
serif	Short cross line that projects from the main stroke of a printed letter. For example: These letters have serifs A C E F M N T W These letters do not A C E F M N T W
signposting (optional)	Excessive cross-references to topics previously discussed and to be discussed (“The court’s decision, as we saw in chapters 2 and 3, was controversial but firmly grounded in precedent. We will examine the legacy of this controversy in chapter 5 after we have reviewed the major precedents for the decision.”)
small caps	Small capital letters. Capital letters slightly shorter and squatter than regular caps. To apply small caps to your text (in Microsoft Word): command + D > check “Small caps” > press “OK” (make sure “Small caps” is unchecked afterward)
solidus	Name of the / (a forward slash) and (a backslash) characters. Also called slash, slant, or virgule.
spine	Backbone of a book that connects the front and back covers. Spine copy usually includes the book title, the author’s surname, the publisher’s name, and the publisher’s logo.
stet	Latin for “let it stand.” Used to reinstate text that had been marked for deletion or marked otherwise.
suspended compound	Set of compound adjectives or nouns in which an element common to all members is not repeated. For example: the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders; steel-plated or –cased equipment; the pre- and posttest scores.
typo	Typographical error. A misprint.
UC	Uppercase. Capital letters.
UC/lc	Uppercase and lowercase. Used to indicate that display text is to be capitalized according to headline style—as distinct from display text that is to be capitalized according to sentence style.
unnumbered list	Vertical list in which items carry neither numbering or bullets. Compare bulleted list, numbered list.
verso	Left-hand page (that is, back of a page) of a book, magazine, or brochure. Compare recto.
vetting	Substantive review of a manuscript by an expert in the subject matter; similarly, the checking of a translation by someone who is proficient in both languages.
widow	A short line (the last line in a paragraph) stranded at the top of the next printed page, separated from the remainder of the paragraph by a page break. Other meanings: an orphan a short line (the last line in a paragraph) that contains only part of a word or a word of three or four characters

Master Copyediting Checklist¶

Document Formatting Checklist:¶

Copyediting Checklist:¶

Some of the following checklist items can be quickly found and reviewed with the Find or Find and Replace tool. Other checklist items are the things you'll pay attention to specifically during your copyediting read through.

Remove Filler Words and Phrases¶

The following are a list of words that often appear unnecessarily in writing like "like" and "um" in speeches. You can quickly run through these filler words and phrases by using your writing program's Find and Replace tool to review the times you mention these words and trim out these words if that makes sense.