Make Copy Shine By Editing 2023

Objective – In this lesson, I can: • Identify editing needs of copy. • Plan and identify angles in stories. • Practice questioning every word and sentence in a story for accuracy,

grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Photo by Jordan Jackson

When someone is injured and paramedics arrive at the scene, their first responsibility is to assess the situation. They must determine the nature and severity of the problem before they ever go into action. The same is true of copy editing. Before we jump in with our red pens and bleed comments and editing marks all over someone’s hard work, we must first diagnose the piece. Allow your mind to roam freely over the story and see what you react to. Your original thoughts may be jumbled and confused, but you can organize them later. Edit for the “big picture” first, because if the story lacks a message and focus, then it doesn’t much matter if a few words are misspelled. GET READY: The best editors are those who continually expose themselves to quality writing. By constantly reading good writing, a copy editor learns what to expect when editing. Editors need to internalize the qualities of strongly written pieces so they can identify the weaknesses in the writing in front of them. The best editors are also writers. How can you expect to edit a story and advise a reporter on how to best fix it if you are not going through the same struggles? Writing is not a black-and white operation and neither is editing. It is complicated and the only way for an editor to be effective is to understand what it is like to be on both sides of the process.

ASSESSING Lesson 1 2

THE STORY