The Training Project

1
The Training Project

• Basic Copyediting

By Lindsey Conroy July 30, 2007
2
The Topic

• Basic Copyediting
• This module teaches students the fundamentals of
  copyediting, namely, markup symbols and their
  usage and the proper editing procedures for
  correcting grammar, spelling, and conventions of
  style in documents as demonstrated in Carolyn
  Rudes Technical Editing.

3
The Audience

• English majors/minors, predominantly Technical
  Communication students, enrolled in 4366
  Technical and Professional Editing.
• These students have

• At least six hours of junior-level coursework.
• Proficiency in grammar, spelling, and conventions
  of style.  
• Academic and professional motivations beyond this
  course to successfully complete this module and
  acquire lasting knowledge.

4
The Objective

• Provide students with a self-paced training
  supplement that teaches the basic copyediting
  skills and provides practice opportunities for
  using markup symbols, reference materials, and
  electronic editing in revising documents.

5
The Purpose

• This module complements the 4366 Technical and
  Professional Editing face-to-face course
  currently offered at Texas Tech University and
  provides students with multiple opportunities to
  practice their copyediting skills before we delve
  more heavily into the subject as a class.
• After students have completed the supplemental
  course, I can reinforce the newly acquired
  knowledge in the traditional classroom setting.

6
The Goals

• Students will accomplish that objective through
• Learning to use markup symbols.
• Discovering the value of reference materials in
  editing.
• Committing editorial terminology and its use to
  memory.
• Editing practice documents for consistency,
  correctness, accuracy, and completeness.

As a by-product, this knowledge will also create
awareness in the students own work and improve
self-editing. 
7
The Tools

• Textbooks Carolyn Rudes Technical Editing, 4th
  edition Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition
  and Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary
• Software MS FrontPage 2003, MS PowerPoint 2003,
  MS Word 2003, Snagit, PDF Online, Internet
  Explorer 7.0
• Hardware HP Pavilion a620n, Lexmark x2350
  scanner

8
The Look
9
The Design

• The simple design consists of a bright,
  contrasting color palette, two stock images, and
  an Adobe graphic docking module link.

10
The Design
I chose variations of Arial and Verdana text the
red and black colors stand out nicely against the
white and green backgrounds.
11
The Design

• Most computer screens need vertical scroll to
  display the entire contents of the training
  project site.
• The fixed-width display creates consistency and
  best accommodates the changing contents of the
  largest white frame from page-to-page.

12
The Structure

• A classic-tutorial structure is conducive to this
  modules linear, bottom-up teaching sequence and
  is beneficial to college students who are
  familiar with the traditional schooling format.

13
The Navigation

• The left menu provides an overview of the site as
  well as guided navigation. I scrapped my plans
  for incorporating "toggle" buttons in favor of a
  wholly visible navigation menu. It's easier to
  use and more visually appealing.
• A breadcrumb trail is another navigational tool
  seen on the site however, it acts more as a
  position marker as there are no hyperlinks. I
  didn't think another navigational tool was
  necessary for such a small site.

14
The Lessons

• Lesson 1 Copyediting An Overview
• Lesson 2 Markup Symbols and Their Usage
• Lesson 3 Using Reference Materials in Editing
• Lesson 4 Electronic Editing

15
The Lessons

• Each lesson contains an introduction, lecture,
  and exercise students will view a brief 5-10
  page lecture that discusses and demostrates the
  topic, then students will print the exercise (in
  Lesson 4, they dontthey just use MS Word for an
  e-editing exercise), scan it, and attach it in an
  email to me.
• I then will grade the exercises and return them
  to the students within two class periods so they
  can learn from my feedback and grasp their
  progress.

16
The Activities
absorb-type

• These lectures walk students through the steps of
  copyediting and offer students important
  information needed to complete lesson exercises
  that follow.
• I also supply the chapter number so students can
  connect their readings to these lectures.

17
The Activities
do-type

• Each lesson has an exercise in either PDF or MS
  Word format.
• These exercises provide practice for each lesson
  topic, and in the case of Lessons 2, 3, and 4,
  they include skills learned from the prior
  lessons.

18
The Activities
connect-type

• I created a Wiki for student discussion of the
  lesson topics and relevant queries.
• In addition, another hyperlink allows students to
  post editing mistakes theyve found in print and
  online material. They further apply their
  knowledge when they suggest corrections for the
  found mistakes.

19
The Exam

• Similar to the lesson exercises, the final exam
  tests the students retention of the skills
  taught in the module.

20
The Outcome

• Upon completion, students will know the basic
  copyediting skills and effectively use markup
  symbols, reference materials, and electronic
  editing in an academic and professional setting.

21
The End

• This presentation was created with Adobe
  Presenter.
• Thank you for watching.
• Does anyone have any questions or comments?