These topics will be covered in class discussion and exercises , and in editing and copy-editing assignments in class on computers (see weekly topics and weekly assignments). Assignments will develop your skills and show the kinds of problems that arise in real-life editing. PLEASE NOE: the syllabus may be amended during the semesterd. Please check the "last revision" date at the end of this page and of the weekly assignments periodically.
Class attendance is mandatory. Class participation and forum participation are required, as learning how to ask questions and how to justify changes you want to make are as important as knowing what change should or could be made. Work cannot be made up, except under special circumstances. There are no exams, but occasional news or other quizzes may be given. Your grade is based on classwork (65 percent), class and mailing list participation (25 percent), final assignments (a test rather like one you might be given for a prospective job, 10 percent), and extent of improvement.
My office hours are the hour after class. I am also easily reachable by e-mail (sjr5@nyu.edu or srobbins@reedbusiness.com), or call me at 646-746-6556 (Monday, Tuesday or Thursday) or 212-749-6798 (Wednesday), for an appointment. If you cannot be in class, you MUST call and leave a message or send me e-mail. If you don't, you have no chance to make up missed assignments.
Last revision: March 23, 2005
course outline
Sonia Jaffe Robbins, Editing Workshop, G54.1123, Spring 2005
COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK I
2005 U.N. International Year of Microcredit; World Year of Physics
Jan. 19-22 Eid ul Hajj (period of pilgrimage to Mecca)
Jan. 21 Introduction to course; the Internet for editors; approaches to editing
WEEK II
Jan. 26-31 World Social Forum in Brazil
Jan. 28 Grammar
Jan. 30 Iraqi elections
WEEK III
February Black History Month
Feb. 4 Spelling; punctuation
Feb. 4-11 Fashion Week
WEEK IV
Feb. 6 Super Bowl
Feb. 8 Mardi Gras
Feb. 11 Word use & abuse
Feb. 9 Chinese New Year
WEEK V
Feb. 18 Editing; headlines; numbers
Feb. 19 Pitchers and catchers report for spring training
WEEK VI
Feb. 25 Layout; Quark lab
WEEK VII
Feb. 28-Mar. 11 49th meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women
March Women's History Month
Baseball spring training begins.
Mar. 4 Publication style
WEEK VIII
Mar. 11 Libel
MAR. 14-19 * * * SPRING BREAK * * * 
WEEK IX
Mar. 25 Editing against bias: racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, etc.
WEEK X
Mar. 27 Easter
Apr. 1 Editing
WEEK XI
Apr. 3 Baseball season opens
Apr. 8 Editing
WEEK XII
Apr. 15 Editing
WEEK XIII
Apr. 22 Putting it all together
Apr. 23 Passover (starts at sundown)
WEEK XIV
Apr. 29 Putting it all together, con't.; job talk
Last revision: March 23, 2005
Sonia Jaffe Robbins, Editing Workshop, G54.1123, Spring 2005
WEEK I
JANUARY 21 Introduction to course; the Internet for editors; approaches to editing
- Introductions
- Goals for the course
- Materials for the course
- Functions of copy editing
- Copy-editing skills
- Copy editors' role in the publication process
- Tools of the trade
The Internet for editors: e-mail, mailing lists, the Web, Netiquette
Approaches to editing
- How to read as an editor
- The editor's read, the copy-editor's read, the proofreader's read
- Who, what, where, when, why
- When is the lead not the lead
- Asking "dumb" questions
- Budgeting your time
Recipe for copy editing
From here on, all Reading and Homework are to be done BEFORE class.
WEEK II
JANUARY 28 Grammar
- Parts of speech
- Plurals and possessives
- That, which, who
- Subject-verb agreements, pronoun-antecedent agreement
- Diagramming
Go over grammar homework exercises.
READ
Daniel Okrent's "Public Editor" column in the January 23 Week in Review section of the New York Times or online, and every other Sunday.
About Grammar
Diagramming. Click on Diagramming Sentences to download the Power Point presentation. (You must have PowerPoint on the your computer. You should have no trouble reading the presentation on the computers in the news labs.) Click on the computer screen to move to the next page.
"A Grammatically Correct 239-Word Sentence" found by Prof. Charles Darling at Capital Community College in Connecticut. (Yes, this sentence actually appeared in print, and it is grammatically correct.) To avoid cheating, turn off the "underline links" option on your browser before you look at this link.
Kessler & McDonald, chaps. 3-7
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HOMEWORK
Bring grammar errors you have found in print.
Optional
Break down the 239-word sentence into its component parts. Diagram if possible. Bring your results to class.
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FEBRUARY · BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Here's a selection of Web sites related to Black History Month
The National Civil Rights Museum
African-American History and Heritage
Black History Hotlist
Black History Month
History Channel's Black History Month exhibit
WEEK III
FEBRUARY 4 Spelling; punctuation
Go over last week's in-class editing.
Spelling
Spelling "quiz"
Punctuation
In-class editing
READ
New World Dictionary, pp. xii-xxii
About Spelling
Some sample mnemonics
"'I' Before 'E'"
About Punctuation
Hyphens
Kessler & McDonald, chap. 9, 10
Strunk & White, pp. xiii-xviii, 1-14
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HOMEWORK
Group 1: Go to the American Copy Editors Society discussion list for a week. Report to the class via copyxediting about the subjects being discussed and what you learned. Is this discussion list worth subscribing to? Why or why not?
Considering Kessler and McDonald and Strunk and White, what decision do you come to about the series comma and why? Post your decision and rationale to copyxediting.
Post your spelling and punctuation questions to copyxediting no later than Wednesday.
Bring spelling and/or punctuation errors you have found in print.
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WEEK IV
FEBRUARY 11 Word use & abuse
- The copy editor as a repository of information
- Asking questions
General knowledge "quiz"
- Word meanings
- New words
- Changing usage (e.g., "like" versus "such as")
- Euphemisms
- Jargon, slang
- Wordiness & clichés
--How many words are too many?
--Clichés: Avoid them like the plague
- Why Roget's Original Thesaurus is superior to synonym dictionaries and other thesauri organized only alphabetically.
READ
New World Dictionary, xxv-xxviii
Strunk and White, pp. 39-65
Kessler & McDonald, chap. 11
About Word Use and Abuse
Euphemisms
Wordiness & Clichés
"Said" synonyms
"like" versus "such as"
Banished Words for 2005, from Lake Superior State University
The American Dialect Society's Words of the Year 2004
Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2004
Daniel Okrent's Public Editor column in Feb. 6 New York Times, Week in Review section
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HOMEWORK
Group 2: Subscribe to Copyediting-L, a mailing list for copy editors of all sorts (do NOT change the default settings on the subscribe page). Each person should subscribe for one day; the group should then combine the postings for all four days, and summarize the topics of discussion. Report to the class via copyxediting whether this discussion is list worth subscribing to, and why.
In Strunk and White, were you surprised by any of "misused words or expressions"? If so, which ones? Post your response to the copyxediting.
Post to copyxediting any examples of euphemisms, clichés, or wordiness that you find in your reading this week. (Include the name of the newspaper or magazine and the date where you found these examples.)
Considering the "Banished Words" and "New Words" of 2004, which words or terms do you agree with, and which do you disagree with? Why? Post to copyxediting.
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WEEK V
FEBRUARY 18 Editing; headlines; numbers
Review approaches to editing.
Headlines
In-class editing and headline writing
Numbers
- Is there a difference between 5 percent and 5 percentage points?
- Has the number of children gunned down doubled every year since 1950?
- When you see a chart with numbers, do the math.
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When doing any editing for this class, be sure to follow the Editing procedures (unless told otherwise) and consult the Class style manual. (We'll talk more about Publication Style in Week VII (March 7).
READ
Strunk & White, pp. 15-33, 66-85
John Schlander's headlines tips
Joel Pisetzner's headline hints
More headline hints from Wayne Countryman
Robert Nile's Stats Lesson, and the links under "So, You're a Beginner?" "The Next Step," and "Frequently Asked Questions."
Reread Okrent's Jan. 23 column concerning numbers.
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HOMEWORK
Group 3: Go to Journalism.org's "Five Common, Embarrassing Mistakes Journalists Make with Numbers," the Poynter Institute's discussion about "Teaching and training journalists in the use of numbers," and John Sweeney's article "Two experts caution journalists to look behind the numbers and data." How do these discussions compare to Robert Niles's Web site? Post your evaluation to copyxediting.
Take the Investigative Reporters and Editors' math test for journalists.
Post to copyxediting your candidates for best and worst headlines of the week, and explain why. Please indicate whether each is from a newspaper or magazine, and whether it is for a news or feature story.
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WEEK VI
FEBRUARY 25 Layout; Quark lab
Layout principles
- Designing the page
- Readability
- Fine-tuning page elements
- Use graphics, charts, maps, layout to help reader understand the story
!!!**Beware the temptations of Photoshop.**!!!
Learning Quark
In-class layout exercise.
READ
Writing captions
Intro to Quark (handout)
Quark menus (handout)
Okrent's Feb. 20 Public Editor column
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HOMEWORK
Bring in newspaper and magazine captions that illustrate or violate the principles of "Writing captions;"
Group 4: Read the examples of good headlines at ACES' "Heads Up" page. How would you evaluate the headlines there? What makes them good? Or why do you think they aren't good?
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MARCH · WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Here's a brief selection of reference Web sites related to Women's History Month
National Women's History Project
Internet Women's History Sourcebook
National Women's History Museum
Chicago Women's Liberation Union
Jewish and Palestinian Coalition of Women for Peace
Women Living Under Muslim Laws
WEEK VII
MARCH 4 Publication style, Quotes
- How to use a style book
- Capitalization: what's up, what's down?
- Numbers: figures or words?
- Abbreviations: to spell out or not to spell out
- Italics
- Signs & symbols
AP quiz
In-class editing
READ
AP Stylebook entries on capitalization, abbreviations, numerals, and titles, along with
cross-referenced entries
Publication style
State abbreviations
How to handle quotes handout
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HOMEWORK
Post to copyxediting some examples of publication style differences in the magazines or newspapers you read.
Group 1: Pick four sites from the Reference, Words section of E-resources. Evaluate what you find and report back to the class via copyxediting.
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WEEK VIII
MARCH 11 Libel
- What is libel?
- Development of U.S. libel law
- Public official, public figure, private individual
- Defenses to libel
- Anonymous sources
- What is a "quote"?
In-class editing
READ
"Libel Manual" chapter in AP Stylebook
Okrent's Mar. 6 Public Editor column
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HOMEWORK
Group 2: Pick three resources from the Usage section of E-resources and check them out. Report to the class via copyxediting.
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* * * * SPRING BREAK * * * *
WEEK IX
MARCH 25 Editing against bias
- Racism
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Ageism
- Others? (ethnicities; religion)
In-class editing
READ
Kessler & McDonald, chap. 13
The News Watch Project's Style Guide,
entries under A, B, and M. Browse the rest as you think of words that might be questionable.
"100 Questions and Answers About Arab Americans," Overview, Religion, Stereotypes, and Terminology sections. Browse the rest at your leisure.
The Epicene Pronouns: A Chronology of a Word That Failed by Dennis Baron. This is a list of English words that have been proposed as generic pronouns, to replace the supposedly grammatically correct "he."
Okrent's Mar. 20 Public Editor column
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HOMEWORK
Group 3: What resources have you found to be most useful for your reporting or editing assignments, whether found on your own or learned from colleagues or this class? Post them to copyxediting and discuss their value.
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WEEK X
APRIL 1 Editing
In-class editing
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READ
Okrent's Apr. 3 Public Editor column
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HOMEWORK
Group 4: What resources have you found to be most useful for your reporting or editing assignments, whether found on your own or learned from colleagues or this class? Post them to copyxediting and discuss their value.
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WEEK XI
APRIL 8 Editing
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HOMEWORK
Group 1: Pick three resources from the Reference, Facts section of E-resources. Report on their usefulness to copyxediting.
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WEEK XII
APRIL 15 "Manhattan South" or other editing; fact-checking
In-class editing
READ
AP Stylebook entries: "Islam," "Commonwealth of Independent States," and "weapons"
"We Know Where to Look It Up," a bibliography for copy editors compiled by Melinda J. McAdams
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HOMEWORK
Group 2: Pick three different resources from the Reference, Facts section of E-resources. Report on their usefulness to copyxediting.
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WEEK XIII
APRIL 22 Putting it all together
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READ
Okrent's Apr. 17 Public Editor column
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HOMEWORK
Group 3: Pick three resources from the Copy-Editing Association section of E-resources. Report to copyxediting which ones you consider most worthwhile, and why.
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WEEK XIV
APRIL 29 Putting it all together, con't.; job talk
- What is it like in the real world? and other professional questions.
- A copy-editing test you might be given in the real world
Last revision: March 23, 2005
Sonia Jaffe Robbins (c) 1996-2005