Module 4: Soft Copy Editing
Editing for Usage and Style by Tiffani Tijerina is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
Editing for Usage and Style by Tiffani Tijerina is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International
Explain the purpose and proper use of essential soft copy editing tools, including Track Changes, Comments, and Styles in word processing software.
Identify common challenges of on-screen editing and strategies to address them.
Follow a step-by-step copy editing workflow with multiple passes for macro-level, line-level, and proofreading edits.
Make sure to watch the videos in the chapter for technical skills! You can choose either Google Docs or Microsoft Word to focus on--you don't have to watch both versions (they aren't much different anyway).
*Explainer and knowledge check questions generated with Notebook LM, using Open PTE, Chapter 3 as the source content.
Our reading highlights that soft copy editing is now the industry standard, but it comes with its own set of unique challenges. While we gain efficiency with tools like Track Changes and Styles, we might lose the tactile, holistic experience of working with a printed document.
Think about your own editing habits--both academic and professional.
Do you believe your own editing habits of on-screen editing fully outweighs its drawbacks, or is there a time and place where hard copy is still superior?
What's one soft copy best practice or tool you've learned that has fundamentally changed the way you edit, and what's one hard copy habit you've struggled to let go of?
Once you've shared your initial thoughts, read through at least two of your classmates' responses and reply to their posts. Consider how their strategies might work for you or, alternatively, present a counter-argument to their perspective.