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Editing

Minor Editing

(aka Copyediting)

Also known as “Just fix it”

 

 

Sometimes you just want someone to clean up your rough draft and make sure there are no grammatical errors. You want to be sure you’ve said what you meant to say. That’s when it’s time for some minor editing, or copyediting―as opposed to what is called substantative (or major) editing, the kind you’d need if you were writing a book. When a professional copyeditor has worked her magic, you probably can’t tell anything has been changed, but somehow you like the piece you wrote even better. If you wish to see the changes, your copyeditor can electronically mark the changesm, and you can decide which ones to accept.

 

Remember, communication is the goal. Rather than muddling up your message with a lot of extra words, keep your writing clean and uncomplicated.

 

I’ve selected this page to demonstrate copyediting, so I’ve made intentional mistakes in in the text, which I have then corrected. One of my pet peeves, are is the noun stacks. Let’s say the phrase that trips me up when reading something is “the last collective bargaining agreement negotiations process”. As you can see, that is one big pile of nouns following that one little adjective. Stacking that many nouns together makes it hard for your reader to understand what you are saying. I’ll give you a good solution mainly by rearranging the words. What they were trying to talk about was “the process we went through to come to an agreement during our last collective bargaining sessions.” Much easier to read, isn’t it?

 

Here’s another, “personnel litigation avoidance training,” that which is a bit confusing as well. What the company was trying to say was that they wereit was offering training to help your employees avoid litigationlaw suits. One more? Here you go: “The first military family relief assistance program annual report.” Translation: “the first annual report for a program that provides aid to military families.” I’ll get off my soap box now.

 

Another problem I often run into is with bullets. Bullets are a great way to help your reader get to the heart of your message, but there are a few’s one rules which that you should keep in mind. One is called parallel construction―in other words, your points should all be similar in the way they are worded. You must:

 

  • You must b·  Begin each bullet with the same part of speech
  • You must t·  Try not repeat any unnecessary introductory words
  • It’s important to u·  Use the same verb form for all of your bullets

·       Separate bullet points that begin with the same word

  • ·  Use sShort, concise phrases are best
  • I always m·  Make the most important point first

 Remember, to help your reader understand your point easily, avoid noun stacks, and use parallel construction in all of your bullet points. Write clearly and simply. Or save yourself some trouble and call me. I’ll be glad to take care of it for you.


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