What Is Copy Editing?

Newspapers and other publications require professional copy editing to ensure that proper grammar, spelling and punctuation is used.

Copy editing involves correcting or removing errors from or any piece of writing, small or great (news briefs, articles, manuals or book manuscripts, for instance). This includes editing copy for spelling and typos, grammar and punctuation, inaccuracies and inconsistencies of facts, figures and statistics, and whether the text properly follows standard editorial style guidelines. Copy editing sometimes requires improving the copy's clarity.

Spelling and Typos

Despite the wide use of computers and word processing programs, copy remains vulnerable to typos and spelling errors. Take, for example, the sentence "John spent his vacation in the Central American country of Columbia." The country's name should be spelled as "Colombia." However, word processing software will not likely pick up this mistake since "Columbia" (as in the "District of Columbia") is also correctly spelled.

Grammar and Punctuation

The "Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers" defines grammar as consisting of rules that govern how words are put together into sentences. Copy editing ensures that the copy properly uses the eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections). Copy editing also verifies whether periods, question marks, exclamation points and other punctuation are used correctly.

Clarity, Consistency, Redundancy

While the correct usage of grammar, punctuation and spelling are vital to the copy's success, clarity, consistency and eliminating redundant words and sentences are just as important to readers. For example, the sentence "John's visitation of the local food store involved his purchasing of a loaf of bread" can be clarified and improved to read as"John bought a loaf of bread at the supermarket." Redundant words and sentences are dry, boring to read, and threaten to lose readers' attention. Copy editing includes identifying redundancies and improving the text.

Fact Checking

Even if copy, such as a news article, uses correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style, it can still fall apart if the facts are incorrect. Part of a copy editor's duty is to check the facts, figures and statistics the author used in the writing piece. Fact checking the copy prevents the likelihood of the interviewer being accused of committing libel against or misrepresenting the words of the interviewee.

Style Types

In newspaper, magazine and book publishing industries, copy editing includes formatting copy to match a specific industry style guide, such as the "Associated Press Stylebook" (AP), the "Modern Language Association" (MLA), or "The Chicago Manual of Style." Doing this ensures that the published copy remains consistent from beginning to end.

References

• "The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers"; 15th Edition

Resources

• Copyediting: How to Prove Your Copyediting Skills
• Grammar Refdesk