Brief Contents. PART 1 The Basics 1. PART 2 AP Style 35. PART 3 Punctuation and Usage 133

Transcription

1 Brief Contents Preface xvii PART 1 The Basics 1 1. The Role of the Copy Editor 3 2. Editing Content Copy Editing for Print and Online Legal, Ethical and Inclusive-Language Concerns for Copy Editors 27 PART 2 AP Style Abbreviations and Acronyms Capitalization Numerals Plurals Commonly Misspelled and Misused Words Titles AP Potpourri Style Mastery 123 PART 3 Punctuation and Usage Commas Semicolons and Colons Apostrophes Quotation Marks, Question Marks and Exclamation Points Hyphens, Dashes, Ellipses and Parentheses Irregular Verbs Problem Pronouns Prepositions Agreement Wordiness Punctuation and Usage Mastery 227 PART 4 Leads, Headlines, Images, Design and the Full Story Leads Headlines Images Design The Full Story 329 v

2 vi BRIEF CONTENTS Appendix 357 Notes 375 Credits 377 Index 379

3 Contents Preface xvii PART 1 The Basics 1 1. The Role of the Copy Editor 3 What Copy Editors Do 3 Check Facts and Figures for Accuracy 4 Check Style for Consistency With Associated Press and House Guidelines 4 Review Stories for Potential Legal and Ethical Problems and Resolve Them 5 Cut, Add, Replace or Rearrange Words, Sentences and Paragraphs 5 Check for Focus, Readability and Organization 5 Work Closely and Creatively With Reporters 5 Write Effective and Appropriate Headlines 5 Traits of Good Copy Editors 6 Strong Grounding in Basic Skills 6 Attention to Detail 6 Love of the Written or Spoken Word 6 Curiosity 7 Creativity 7 Familiarity With and Knowledge of Particular Media 7 Newsroom Organization and Copy Flow 7 2. Editing Content 11 Three C s: Clarity, Conciseness and Correctness 12 Clarity 12 Conciseness 14 Correctness 14 Leads 14 The Body and Organization 15 Questions to Consider 15 Inverted Pyramid 16 Other Story Formats 17 Finishing Up Copy Editing for Print and Online 19 Characteristics of Print Stories Versus Online Stories 19 Being Aware of Search Engine Optimization 21 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Search Engine Optimization Tips 21 vii

4 viii CONTENTS Editing Approaches to Print and Online 22 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Using Google Trends 23 Editing Hardcopy Versus On-Screen 24 Copy Editing Marks Legal, Ethical and Inclusive-Language Concerns for Copy Editors 27 Distinguishing Between Law, Morals and Ethics 28 Legal Concerns Libel 29 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Copyright 30 Legal Concerns Privacy 30 ONLINE INSIGHTS > SOPA, PIPA and Dealing With Piracy 32 Ethical Concerns Codes of Conduct 32 Ethical Concerns Diversity 33 PART 2 AP Style Abbreviations and Acronyms 37 Academic Degrees 38 Addresses 38 Months 39 Organizations 39 State Names 40 Text Messaging 41 Titles 42 Political Parties 43 Others 43 Exercises Capitalization 49 Addresses 50 Agencies 50 Buildings 51 Compositions Names of Books, Movies, Television Programs and Other Works 51 Congress 52 Constitution 52 Department 52 Directions and Regions 53

5 CONTENTS ix Fields of Study 53 Foods 53 Heavenly Bodies 53 Historical Periods and Events 54 Indians 54 Legislature 54 Online References 54 Plurals 55 Political Parties 55 Religious References 56 Room 56 Seasons 56 Time 56 Titles 56 Other Entries of Interest 57 Exercises Numerals 61 Exceptions to Less-Than-10 Rule 61 Numbers Beginning Sentences 65 Fractions 65 Millions, Billions 65 Ordinal and Cardinal Numbers 66 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Google it 66 Math and Conversions for Editors 67 Percentages and Decimals 67 Averages 68 Distance, Time and Rate 69 Area Measurements 69 Exercises Plurals 77 For Most Words 77 For Words Ending in -ch, -s, -sh, -ss, -x and -z 78 For Words Ending in -is 78 For Words Ending in -y 78 For Words Ending in -o 79 For Words Ending in -f 79 For Words With Latin Endings 80 For Compound Words 80

6 x CONTENTS For Proper Names 81 Others 81 Exercises Commonly Misspelled and Misused Words 85 Exercises Titles 99 The Golden Rule of Title Capitalization 99 Abbreviating Titles 100 Government Officials 101 Past and Future Titles 101 Long Titles 101 Doctor 102 Legislative Titles 102 Party Affiliation 103 Religious Titles 104 Royal Titles and Titles of Nobility 104 Composition Titles Names of Books, Movies and Other Works 104 Television Program Titles 105 Exercises AP Potpourri 109 Potpourri 109 Inclusive Language 116 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Online Terms for Editors 117 Exercises Style Mastery 123 Exercises 125 PART 3 Punctuation and Usage Commas 135 Compound Sentences 135 Elements in a Series 136 Other Series 137 Introductory Elements 137

7 CONTENTS xi Interrupting Elements 138 Attribution 139 Large Numbers 139 Beyond the Rules 140 Exercises Semicolons and Colons 149 Semicolons Independent Clauses (Complete Sentences) Joined Without Coordinating Conjunctions 150 Semicolons Elements in Series That Have Commas 151 Colons Introduction of Lists 151 Colons Separations for Explanations, Rules or Examples From Preceding Independent Clauses (Full Sentences) 151 Other Uses 152 Exercises Apostrophes 155 Possessives 155 Contractions 157 Single Letters 157 Figures 157 Double Possessives 157 Omitted Letters or Figures 158 Descriptive Phrases 158 Plural Words 159 Special Expressions 159 Exercises Quotation Marks, Question Marks and Exclamation Points 163 Quotation Marks With Other Punctuation 163 Quotation Marks For Direct Quotations 164 Quotation Marks With Composition Titles 167 Quotation Marks With Nicknames, Irony and Unfamiliar Terms 167 Question Marks 168 Exclamation Points 168 Exercises Hyphens, Dashes, Ellipses and Parentheses 173 Hyphens Compound Modifiers 174

8 xii CONTENTS Hyphens Prefixes 175 Hyphens Suffixes 176 Hyphens Ratios and Odds 176 Hyphens Fractions 177 Hyphens Scores and Vote Tabulations 177 Hyphens Other 177 Dashes Abrupt Change 180 Dashes Series Within a Phrase 180 Dashes Other 180 Ellipses 181 Parentheses 182 Exercises Irregular Verbs 185 To Lay or To Lie 186 To Raise or To Rise 186 To Set or To Sit 187 Irregular Verb List 187 Exercises Problem Pronouns 191 That and Which 192 Who/Whom and Whoever/Whomever 192 Who s and Whose 193 There, Their and They re 194 Exercises Prepositions 197 Unnecessary Prepositions 197 Wordy Prepositions 198 Idiomatic Use of Prepositions 199 Exercises Agreement 205 Subject-Verb Agreement 206 Pronoun Agreement 209 Exercises Wordiness 213 There Is/There Are and It Is Sentences 214

9 CONTENTS xiii Form of the Verb To Be as the Main Verb 215 Nominalization 215 Redundancies 216 Circumlocutions 217 Empty Phrases and Words 218 Clichés 219 Euphemisms 219 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Editing Blog Posts 219 Passive Voice 221 Exercises Punctuation and Usage Mastery 227 Exercises 229 PART 4 Leads, Headlines, Images, Design and the Full Story Leads 239 No-News Leads 240 Buried Leads 241 Too Long Leads 241 Passive Leads 242 Definition Leads 242 Direct Quotation Leads 243 Question Leads 243 Cliché Leads 244 Weak Beginnings 244 The When 245 Attribution 245 There Is/There Are 245 Exercises Headlines 253 The Tradition of Headline Writing 254 First Step 255 Traditional Headline Rules 255 Traditional Headline Types 256 Headline Do s 258 Headline Don ts 258 Headline Tips 259

10 xiv CONTENTS Accurate, Interesting, Appropriate and Effective Headlines 259 Examples of Winning Headlines 260 Some Additional Headline Advice 261 Column Measures 262 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Web Page Headline Tips 264 Using Microsoft Word to Write Headlines 264 Exercises Images 275 Working With Photographers and Graphic Artists 275 Selecting Images 276 Photographs 276 Graphics 277 Understanding Composition 279 Rule of Thirds 279 Balance 280 Contrast 280 Lines 283 Perspective 283 Format 287 ONLINE INSIGHTS: Free Online Photo Editing Tools 287 Preparing Images 288 Cropping 288 Sizing 290 ONLINE INSIGHTS: Preparing Photos for the Web 292 Adjusting 293 Sharpening 295 Writing Captions 298 Exercises Design 307 Design Principles 308 Balance 308 Proximity 309 Alignment 311 Repetition 312 Contrast 312 Dominance 313 Unity 313 Typography 313 Font Choices 314 Display and Body Type 314 Type Guidelines 315

11 CONTENTS xv Images 316 Photographs 316 Graphics 317 Designing Print Pages 318 Designing Online Pages 322 ONLINE INSIGHTS > Web Page Editing Tips 323 Exercise The Full Story 329 Exercises 331 Appendix 357 Heartland Directory 357 Online Editing Resources 365 Irregular Verb List 369 Common Clichés List 373 Notes 375 Credits 377 Index 379