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Copyediting

If you would not be forgotten, As soon as you are dead and rotten,
Either write things worthy reading, Or do things worth the writing.
Benjamin Franklin

Good copyediting is invisible to readers but promotes their confidence in writers as competent, knowledgeable authorities on the subject at hand.

Copyediting includes proofreading, which corrects basic sentence-level errors such as spelling, grammar, syntax, usage, and punctuation.

Copyediting goes beyond proofreading to correct complex paragraph-level errors such as parallel structure, appropriate word choice and sentence structure, and consistent tone and style.

Careful copyediting ensures that the intended meaning is conveyed. How an author makes a point assures readers that writers know their subject.

Conscientious copyediting respects readers’ intelligence and writers’ reputations.

The following examples show all five aspects of competent copyediting.

Original Revised

This would be an unacceptable disturbance to America’s most hallowed war grave, especially among the 289 sailors who miraculously survived the inferno and their descendents. 

This would be an unacceptable disturbance to America’s most hallowed war grave, especially among the 289 sailors who miraculously survived the inferno, and also for their descendents. 

The best way to describe the scene is similar to heat waves that rise off of hot pavement as divers pass through the boundary into a warmer layer of saltwater.

The best way to describe the scene when divers pass through the boundary into a warmer layer of saltwater is to think of the heat waves that arise from hot pavement.

Gm trailed Nissan by 1 point, statistically insignificant, last May 

GM trailed Nissan by a statistically insignificant one point last May.

Testimonial:

January 2010

Janis has contracted the proofing of Trucking Times Magazine for the past 10 years.  She has helped create a manual for the proper spelling and terminology used in our automotive aftermarket products industry. Janis is quick, she's dependable, and she's accurate.  I value her skills in helping my magazine to maintain a flawless image and to help make me look good. She can do the same for you.

David Herrmeyer
Founding Publisher/Editor
Trucking Times & Sport Utility News

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