copyediting
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Copyediting. By Warren Vieth & Darcy Delaney. Six-Word Stories. Ernest Hemmingway “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” SMITH Magazine compiles “Six-Word Memoirs”. “Six-Word Memoirs”. “Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.” -Aimee Mann. “Six-Word Memoirs”. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Copyediting By
Warren Vieth&
Darcy Delaney
Six-Word Stories
• Ernest Hemmingway
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn”
• SMITH Magazine compiles “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.”
-Aimee Mann
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“At the end of normal street.”
-Tracey Morgan
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Yes, you can edit this biography.”
-Jimmy Wales
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Dad died, mom crazy, me, too.”
-Moby
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Danced in Fields of Infinite Possibilities.”
-Deepak Chopra
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Dad wore leather pants in Reno.”
-John Falk
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Learning disability, MIT.
Never give up.”
-Joe Keselman
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Thought long and hard. Got migraine.”
-Lisa Levy
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Well, I thought it was funny.”
-Stephen Colbert
Exercise
• Divide into groups
• Come up with six-word story
• Vote on best six-word story from group
• Raise hand when completed
How does this have anything to do with
copyediting?
Headlines
• Headlines must:– Draw the reader in– Be concise– Be easily understood
• (Don’t make the reader reread)
Headline Bloopers
“Poll: Alabamians believe not enogh spent on education”
Headline Bloopers
“Couple slain: Police suspect homicide”
Headline Bloopers
“Typhoon rips through cemetery hundreds dead”
Headline Bloopers
“Something went wrong in plane crash, experts say”
Copyediting
• Avoid clichés
• Know the numbers
• Know common misspellings
• Know common grammar errors
Clichés
• Common clichés:– “Hit and miss”– “All intents and purposes”– “Pedal to the metal”– “Hotch-potch”– “Ace in the hole”
• What are some of your least favorite clichés?
Numbers
• Know:– Percentages– Simple addition – Simple subtraction– Multiplication– Division– Pay attention to birthdates
Numbers
QUESTION:
How old is someone born Dec. 13, 1954?
Numbers
ANSWER:
54
Numbers
QUESTION:
The city’s parks and recreation budget was cut from $2.4 million
to $1.2 million. What was the percent change?
Numbers
ANSWER:
50 percent
Numbers
QUESTION:
Last year your town had three murders. This year
there were none. How would you describe the
change?
Numbers
ANSWER:
100 percent decrease
Common Misspellings• Accidentally • Believe • Calendar• Discipline • Embarrass• Foreign• Guarantee • Harass
Common Misspellings (continued)
• Judgment • Library• Misspell• Neighbor• Occurrence • Pastime • Receive
Common Misspellings (continued)
• Separate • Twelfth • Vacuum• Weird
(Source:http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html)
Common Grammar Errors
• It’s vs. its – it’s: it is– its: something belongs to it
• They’re, There and Their – They’re: They are– There: A place (let’s go there)– Their: Plural possessive pronoun (their house)
• You’re vs. Your– You’re: You are– Your: Possessive pronoun (your house)
Common Grammar Errors
The dangling participleExample:
“After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges.”
(Source: http://www.copyblogger.com)
Links
• www.NewsU.org
• www.PaceSetter.OU.edu
• www.NiemanLab.org
• www.MediaBistro.com
• www.CopyDesk.org/Words