All text should be read and corrected as much as possible prior to submitting for layout. This will help speed up proofing stages later in the production process.
Before beginning copy-editing, you may wish to compile a simple style sheet to ensure consistency throughout the yearbook. This may include such things as:
- The name of the school. Should it always be written in full? How is it capitalised and punctuated? Can it be abbreviated in certain circumstances?
- Year levels. What is the preference? Usually, year levels are written with the word 'Year' capitalised and the level as a number, e.g. Year 13.
- Terms. Does your school tend to capitalise Term and have the number as a digit, not a word? Example: Term 3.
- Byline. When a student or teacher has written an article, how do they sign off? Is there a comma after their name followed by their year level? Or is a dash preferred? Should teacher names always be preceded by their preferred title? Here are some examples of bylines:
- Tess Brown, Year 9
- Mr Wilton, Teacher-in-Charge English
- Billy Trent (Y9)
- Mrs Nessie Fulton
TOC Graphics
Copy-Editing vs Proofreading
Copy-editing
A copy-editor will improve the overall style and accuracy of the text. They may recast sentences to aid reader comprehension and flow.
A copy-editor will also ensure consistency of information such as names, locations and dates throughout the document (consider creating a style sheet for them to follow). Spelling and grammar will also be corrected throughout.
Tips
- Ask yourself who, what, when, where, why, and how when reading for content.
- Does the text answer all the questions you think it should?
- Trim long stories by carefully compressing text to retain key elements, rather than just cutting from the end.
- To condense text, be on the lookout for long quotes that can be reduced or paraphrased and redundant passages the article can simply do without.
- Eliminate repetition and do away with clutter and jargon.
Proofreading
A proofreader will be specifically looking for and correcting mistakes in spelling, punctuation, grammar and format. Proofreading requires great attention to detail and the ability to disconnect from the content of the text to focus on the language and layout.
Typically proofreading is carried out after the 1st proof has been laid out, i.e., on the hard copy (if available), and marked up manually on the printout.
Tips
- If you wrote the copy, get someone else to proofread it, as they can approach the text without your preconceptions.
- If you have to proofread your own copy, put it aside and do something else for a while – give yourself time to forget what you wrote.
- It takes a lot of concentration, so proofread when you are fresh.
- Have the proofreader’s tools of the trade handy – dictionary, thesaurus, etc.
- Schedule an allocated time, as proofreading is a specific task, not something to be squeezed in.
- Do it at least twice – once for technical accuracy, once for sense.
- Typos can slip in anywhere – especially in headings.
- Brackets and speech marks – make sure there are two, and opening and a closing.
- Check copyright and copyright acknowledgements.
- Double-check headings - spelling errors are often overlooked in large headings
- Is the punctuation consistent in numbered or bulleted lists?
- Are headings in title case or sentence case - either is acceptable, but should be used consistently throughout
- Are any bylines consistent in terms of information, order and punctuation?
- Remove any double spaces, including after a full stop.
Advanced formatting of the articles is not required. For your own ease of use you may choose to use the same font throughout all the articles, if you find it easier to read, etc, but please note that all text formatting is stripped out when the designer imports the text into the layout software.
Please minimise the use of text inside boxes within a Word document, as often these do not import properly, and text can be lost.
If you have any specific wishes for the layout of a certain article or page, it is best to provide a separate document with the layout notes/instructions in that for the designer to follow.