Fulfills Writing Workshop or Professional Preparation requirement.

Editing is a comprehensive overview of the field of editing. The course covers the major elements of editing and publishing for print media and the web--inquiries and proposals, readers' reports, the writer/editor relationship, structural and line editing, proofreading, using reference books, agents, contracts and copyright, production issues, design, marketing and publicity--as well as providing an overview of the publishing industry. Students will work on writing basics; grammar, spelling, and punctuation; Chicago style; editing techniques; and basic page layout. The course will include some lecture from the instructor, some individual reading and research and discussion, in-class exercises and assignments, and outside of class work. Class time is minimal and the time needs to be used for the most difficult and advanced areas of question. We should not waste our time together on material that could have been mastered prior to the meeting. Graduate students will read additional studies in editing (e.g., Editing: The Deign of Rhetoric, Sam Dragga and Gwendolyn Gong) and prepare a class presentation on an editing strategy. The pre-requisite course is Traditional Grammar and/or English Grammars.

Required texts include The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed.; Things Your Grammar Never Told You, 2nd ed.