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Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Edit articles for accuracy, clarity, fairness, structure, ethics and libel concerns.
2. Edit articles for conciseness, grammar and spelling.
3. Correct and apply proper punctuation.
4. Learn and apply Associated Press (AP) Style.
5. Write and edit headlines and blurbs for various story types.
6. Write and edit cutlines (photo captions) for print and online news media.
7. Identify methods and techniques for self editing, copy editing and proof reading.
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I. Content Editing
A. Libel and invasion of privacy overview
B. Ethics overview
C. Accuracy and fact checking
D. Fairness, balance and objectivity
E. Structure and flow
F. Leads, holes and other issues
1. clarity issues
2. awareness of sexism, racism, ageism and other problems language can inadvertently
convey
II. Conciseness
A. Active/passive
B. Repetition and wordy expressions
C. Using simple language
D. Gerunds and "to be"
E. Other conciseness issues
III. Grammar and spelling
A. Noun/pronoun and subject/verb agreement
B. Modifiers, dangling, misplaced and squinting
C. Verb tenses
D. Rules of spelling
E. Parallel structure
IV. Punctuation
A. Comma splices and fused sentences
B. Quote punctuation
C. Proper punctuation for phrases, clauses and sentences
D. Apostrophes, plurals and conjunctions
E. Proper comma use
F. Semicolons vs. colons
G. Compound modifiers
V. Precision
A. Blob words
B. Strong nouns and verbs
C. Word choice
D. Common misused words
E. Avoiding clichés
VI. Associated Press (AP) Style
A. Numbers and sports scores
B. Titles and proper names
C. Dates, times, addresses
D. Word choice and more.
E. Other AP Style
VII. Headlines and Cutlines
A. Headline writing and editing.
B. Cutline writing and editing
VIII. Editing Strategies
A. Self editing methods
B. Proof reading vs. copy editing
C. Strategies for thorough editing
IX. Editing jobs in news media
A. Newsroom editor positions
B. Copy editor and fact checker jobs
C. Editing for digital media jobs, i.e. social media editor
Note: All topics are covered in both the lecture and lab parts of the course.
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Lecture-Related Assignments:
1. Reading 10 to 40 pages per week.
2. Weekly quizzes
3. One to two midterm exams and a final exam.
Lab-Related Assignments:
1. Daily/weekly skills-building exercises and/or quizzes covering the following topics, among
others:
A. AP Style
B. Content editing
C. Punctuation
D. Grammar
E. Clarity and precision
F. Cutline writing/editing
G. Headline writing/editing
H. General copy editing and proof reading
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Instructor-prepared materials.
The Associated Press (AP) Style Book. The Associated Press. Current edition
Editing Made Easy: Simple Rules for Effective Writing. Kaplan, Bruce. Upper Access. 2012 (classic)
Editing for Today's Newsroom: A Guide for Success in a Changing Profession. 2nd ed. Stepp, Carl Sessions. Routledge. 2008 (classic)