The Chicago Manual of Style The Associated Press style guide (especially for journalists) A reputable dictionary An in-house style guides, if your publication agency has one
A caret (^) is used to show where a new word or punctuation should be inserted. A horizontal strikethrough (―) indicates that a word should be removed. A slash through a capital letter (Ø) means that is should be lowercase. If you make an editorial revision which you wish to undo, write “STET” (Latin for ‘let it stand’) in the margin next to your incorrect revision.
This familiarity will allow you to quickly provide a helpful copy edit and to take full advantage of the resources that your word processing software uses.
Make sure that you understand the goal or objective of the piece as well. If you’re editing a long text (say, over 30 pages), you may need to skim a chapter or section at a time. If you’re copy editing your own text, you can probably skip this step.
If you’re editing with a word processing software, it will catch many errors for you. Keep your eyes open for spelling mistakes still, though, since digital spell checkers aren’t perfect and can’t edit based on context.
Subject-verb disagreement. Dangling or misplaced modifiers. Inconsistencies in verb tense.
For example, an inexperienced author may place a period or comma outside of quotation marks. Fix any misused em- or en-dashes, or hyphens.
Acronyms should be defined at the first usage. For example, USGS should be defined as or “the U. S. Geological Survey. ” Units of measure should also be define. For example, if you’re editing a paper on hydrology, “ppm” should be defined as “parts per million” when first used. Common measurements like “cm” may not need to be defined. Consult your style guide to find out.
Correcting ambiguity often includes revising passive voice when it’s ineffective or unintentionally obscures the subject who performs an action.
For example, if a character’s hair or eye color changes part way through a novel, note this. Note if the units of measurement in a technical paper shift from inches to centimeters part way through, alert the author.
For example, if an author of a science paper seems to argue for 2 different conclusions on different pages, flag this as illogical structuring.
When you notice something related to tone and wording, be sure ask yourself whether it makes sense for the author’s purpose and audience. For instance, if a medical article lacks medical jargon, think about whether it’s meant for doctors and researchers or for the general public before suggesting changes. For example, if an author has written a science text for children, it should not include too many words that kids will need to look up. On the other hand, if a novelist is unintentionally using a juvenile vocabulary, suggested a few more sophisticated wording choices.
You can also follow up with a secondary source if you’re unsure about the accuracy of something. When fact-checking online, check scholarly publications or government or educational websites. You could also use Google Scholar, but avoid resorting to sites like Wikipedia. Fact checking is especially important in nonfiction, technical, or scientific writing.
