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The Art and Science of Editing

$50.00

The Art and Science of Editing

Is editing an art or is it a science? In this illuminating course, you’ll learn how it’s both — and how to use your editing powers for the good of the audience and the writer.

This course has been newly updated in 2023. It can be taken independently or as part of the ACES Certificate in Editing.

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Overview

  • This course can be taken independently or as part of the ACES Certificate in Editing.
  • This course will teach you what the purpose of editing is, how to work with writers, and the importance of audience.
  • Make hard facts easy reading for a variety of audiences.
  • Get best practices to eliminate jargon, clutter and acronyms that can jumble copy.
  • Understand the difference between grammar and usage, and how punctuation affects them.
  • Get a handle on the rules of style, and how and when to break them.

$50.00

SKU: NUWEB34-12 Learning Path: Tags: , ,

Learning Outcomes

In this course, you’ll learn about the science behind good editing, and the artful way in which good editors deploy their changes. You will learn how to:

  • Define editing and explain how it involves more than the editor
  • Compare the differences among grammar, usage and style
  • Recognize the ways in which editing involves critical thinking
  • Differentiate between necessary changes and impulsive ones
  • Understand three primary “rules” of editing

$50.00

Overview

  • This course can be taken independently or as part of the ACES Certificate in Editing.
  • This course will teach you what the purpose of editing is, how to work with writers, and the importance of audience.
  • Make hard facts easy reading for a variety of audiences.
  • Get best practices to eliminate jargon, clutter and acronyms that can jumble copy.
  • Understand the difference between grammar and usage, and how punctuation affects them.
  • Get a handle on the rules of style, and how and when to break them.

Training five or more people?
Check out our custom training.

It takes great skill to make a piece of writing simple, clear and direct. Editing involves looking at content from several perspectives: that of the writer, the publication, the audience and the “rulebooks.”

Some people approach editing as a discipline: Grammar rules must be followed, the stylebook must be heeded, words must be spelled correctly, punctuation must follow conventions. Others approach editing from a situational viewpoint: can this split infinitive remain without confusion, does the stylebook rule apply here, should it be “healthcare” or “health care,” does this punctuation mark make sense here?

This course will explain how both of those points of view contribute to good editing and covers strategies that all writers can use to make hard facts easy reading for a variety of audiences.

This course has been newly updated in 2023. It can be taken independently or as part of the ACES Certificate in Editing.

Questions?

If you need assistance, email us at info@poynter.org. 

Once you enroll in this online course, you can start any time and take the lessons on your own schedule. 

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their skills as an editor, and who wants to understand the tools of the trade to make effective changes in copy that are effective for the audience and embraced by the writer.

Cost

$50.00

Instructors

  • Merrill Perlman
    Independent writing and editing consultant
    Merrill Perlman spent 25 years at The New York Times in jobs ranging from copy editor to director of copy desks, in charge of all...
    Read More

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