1. By Warren Vieth & Darcy Delaney
Copyediting By
Warren Vieth
&
Darcy Delaney

2. “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”
Six-Word Stories
Ernest Hemmingway
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn”
SMITH Magazine compiles “Six-Word Memoirs”

3. “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.” Aimee Mann

4. “At the end of normal street.” -Tracey Morgan
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“At the end of normal street.” Tracey Morgan

5. “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Yes, you can edit this biography.” Jimmy Wales

6. “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Dad died, mom crazy, me, too.” Moby

7. “Six-Word Memoirs” “Danced in Fields of Infinite Possibilities.”
-Deepak Chopra

8. “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Dad wore leather pants in Reno.”
-John Falk

9. “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Learning disability, MIT.
Never give up.”
-Joe Keselman

10. “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Thought long and hard. Got migraine.”
-Lisa Levy

11. “Well, I thought it was funny.”
“Six-Word Memoirs”
“Well, I thought it was funny.”
-Stephen Colbert

12. Exercise Divide into groups Come up with six-word story
Vote on best six-word story from group
Raise hand when completed

13. How does this have anything to do with copyediting?

14. Headlines Headlines must: Draw the reader in Be concise
Be easily understood
(Don’t make the reader reread)

15. “Poll: Alabamians believe not enogh spent on education”
Headline Bloopers
“Poll: Alabamians believe not enogh spent on education”

16. “Couple slain: Police suspect homicide”
Headline Bloopers
“Couple slain: Police suspect homicide”

17. “Typhoon rips through cemetery hundreds dead”
Headline Bloopers
“Typhoon rips through cemetery hundreds dead”

18. “Something went wrong in plane crash, experts say”
Headline Bloopers
“Something went wrong in plane crash, experts say”

19. Copyediting Avoid clichés Know the numbers Know common misspellings
Know common grammar errors

20. Clichés Common clichés: What are some of your least favorite clichés?
“Hit and miss”
“All intents and purposes”
“Pedal to the metal”
“Hotch-potch”
“Ace in the hole”
What are some of your least favorite clichés?

21. Numbers Know: Percentages Simple addition Simple subtraction
Multiplication
Division
Pay attention to birthdates

22. How old is someone born Dec. 13, 1954?
Numbers
QUESTION:
How old is someone born Dec. 13, 1954?

23. Numbers
ANSWER: 54

24. Numbers
QUESTION:
The city’s parks and recreation budget was cut from $2.4 million to $1.2 million. What was the percent change?

25. Numbers
ANSWER:
50 percent

26. Numbers
QUESTION:
Last year your town had three murders. This year there were none. How would you describe the change?

27. Numbers
ANSWER:
100 percent decrease

28. Common Misspellings Accidentally Believe Calendar Discipline Embarrass
Foreign
Guarantee
Harass

29. Common Misspellings (continued)
Judgment
Library
Misspell
Neighbor
Occurrence
Pastime
Receive

30. Common Misspellings (continued)
Separate
Twelfth
Vacuum
Weird
(Source:

31. Common Grammar Errors It’s vs. its it’s: it is
its: something belongs to it
They’re, There and Their
They’re: They are
There: A place (let’s go there)
Their: Plural possessive pronoun (their house)
You’re vs. Your
You’re: You are
Your: Possessive pronoun (your house)

32. (Source: http://www.copyblogger.com)
Common Grammar Errors
The dangling participle
Example:
“After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges.”
(Source:

33. Links www.NewsU.org www.PaceSetter.OU.edu www.NiemanLab.org