R4,995.00

Copy-editing and Proofreading

Welcome to the Copy-editing and Proofreading Course at SA Writers College.

Being a copy-editor and proofreader can be a satisfying job in the writing industry, whether you work as a freelancer from home, or in-house for a company.

This five-month practical course will teach you the basic skills of copy-editing and proofreading so that you can make consistent and confident decisions when correcting texts.

The course covers copy-editing of fiction, non-fiction and academic writing, as well as proofreading of master’s or doctoral dissertations using the APA style guide (the latter is optional).

Copy-editing and proofreading are practical skills, and can only be studied through practice. The course thus focuses primarily on the practical application of these skills, and does not provide grammar theory, nor course notes as such. Rather, students need to complete several assignments of increasing complexity.

Students are expected to consult one of the prescribed style guides below for every editing decision they make. The style guides are an additional purchase, and are essential reference material for those students wishing to pursue a career in copy-editing and proofreading. A second-hand edition from the last five years will suffice perfectly well. Please note that we use UK English at the college.

Option 1:	Butcher’s Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders
Option 2:	The Oxford Style Manual or the New Oxford Style Manual
Option 3:	Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style (free online, but not as effective or up to date.)

Copy editing and proofreading at SA Writers College

“Excellent clarity and details of explanations and feedback. Excellent applicability of course content to industry.”

Fiona Corcoran, Copy-Editing and Proofreading Course

Course Details:

Modules: 5 Modules; 100-page course manual
Duration: Course can be completed at own pace: within five months
Start date: At any time; applications all year round via our website
Read course feedback here.

Students must complete:

21 editing assignments for tutor assessment and feedback
Feedback from Students

Admission Requirements:

Excellent grasp of grammar, punctuation, spelling and English usage (You should consider our Grammar for Writers course if you need to sharpen your grammar skills).
Access to a recommended style guide and dictionary is required. This is in addition to the course fee. (Butcher’s Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders, The Oxford Style Manual; Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style, available free of charge at http://www.bartleby.com/141/; The Oxford English Dictionary; Collins English Dictionary)
Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required
Use of Microsoft Word and the 'track changes' function
Will require a printer and scanner
No previous tertiary qualification required

Tutor for this course:

Di Smith has worked as an editor for over 20 years for various publication houses, including Pan Macmillan, Shuter & Shooter, University of KwaZulu-Natal Press and Flora & Fauna Publications Trust. Di has extensive experience as an author/editor of scientific publications (including works such as Pooley’s Trees of Eastern South Africa, Bird Atlas of Botswana, Zulu Medicinal Plants, among many others).

With a Master’s degree in science, Di has been a key member of the author team who have produced Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and other text books for the South African education market, shepherding these through multiple curriculum changes over the past few decades. Read more about Di here >

Course Curriculum

Module 1 - An Introduction

Introduction to the course
Recommended references and resources
House style guides
Writing exercise 1.1: Typos
Writing exercise 1.2: Transpositions
Writing exercise 1.3: Spacing errors
Writing exercise 1.4: Spelling errors
Writing exercise 1.5: Compound nouns
Writing exercise 1.6: Punctuation errors
Writing exercise 1.7: Correct word usage
Writing exercise 1.8: Apostrophes
Writing exercise 1.9: Company names
Writing exercise 1.10: Bias-free language

Module 2 - The Basics of Copy-editing and Proofreading

Introduction
What is Copy-editing?
What is Proofreading?
Writing Exercise 2.1: Correct, flag or query content-related errors in a given text (assessment and feedback task)
Writing Exercise 2.2: Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar and formatting errors in a given text (assessment and feedback task)

Module 3 - Copy-editing in Practice

Introduction
Maintaining a Style Sheet
Editing Exercise 3.1: Correct, flag or query content-related errors in a given text
Editing Exercise 3.2: Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar and formatting errors in a given text
Editing Exercise 3.3: Copy-edit a news snippet from an entertainment magazine on screen
Editing Exercise 3.4: Copy-edit a section of fiction text on screen

Module 4 - Proofreading in Practice

Introduction
Proofreading Symbols
Example Hard-copy Proofread
Example: Marked-up PDF
Editing Exercise 4.1: Proofread a section of text on screen
Editing Exercise 4.2: Proofread a section of text on paper

Module 5 - Polishing Your Skills

Introduction
Editing Exercise 5.1
Editing Exercise 5.2
Editing Exercise 5.3
Editing exercise 5.4
Where to look for work
What to charge
How to invoice

“I really enjoyed the course and found it challenging in a positive way. I have learnt new skills which I can apply to my job.”

Aleksandra Mijovic, Copy-Editing and Proofreading Course

How does the course work?

Detailed class notes covering the content of each module are e-mailed to students. At the end of each module, students will be required to complete several writing exercises. Once the writing assignment has been completed and e-mailed to the lecturer, an assessment and feedback will be sent to the student, and the module will be considered complete.

Conditions of Certification:

Students will receive an SA Writers College Certificate upon successful completion of the course, provided they meet the following conditions:

Students must have completed all assignments.
Students are expected to attain a minimum average of 50% for the course.
The course must have been completed within five months of registration.

Minimum Estimated Time Commitment:

Reading time: Minimum eight hours depending on your reading speed. A read-through of a recommended style guide for grammar and punctuation rules is vital.
Writing time: Minimum of ten hours

Need more advice about the best course for you?

We would love to chat to you if you have any questions about our writing courses.

If you need some advice about the best course or writing field for you, drop us a line or give Koos or Nichola a call at 021 813 9224. We can tell you about going rates in the field, chance of publishing success and general writing career options both in South Africa and internationally.

If you have questions about how we work, we have information in our FAQ section and How We Train section.
For information on our refund policy, please read our policies here.
To register for the course, please click here:

Feedback on this course from past students

“I thoroughly enjoyed this challenging course and was sorry to complete it! I had an excellent tutor; super quick, useful and gave constructive feedback. I would definitely recommend The Writers’ College to others for its excellent customer service, tutors and courses. Thank you so much.” Annalie Sieberhagen, Proofreading and Copy-editing Course

"This is the second course I've done with the college. The material is thorough and the lecturers are always prompt in their feedback and they always give motivating comments. The course was challenging and I learned a lot about copy-editing and proofreading." Corrina Coetzer, Copy-editing and Proofreading Course

“This course was more challenging than I expected. When I told my mother (a sub-editor) this, she replied icily: ‘If it were easy, anyone could do it!"’ while giving me the hairy eyeball.... My tutor was excellent: approachable, prompt and very well restrained.” Daniel Bristow, Copy-editing and Proofreading Course

“I really enjoyed the course and found it challenging in a positive way. I have learnt new skills which I can apply in my job and which enhance my performance. [My tutor’s] comments were always fair and communicated in a positive way. The turnaround of results was quick and his explanations clear and to the point. An excellent source of information, education and up-skilling resources for writing professionals in any media.” Aleksandra Mijovic-Cirilovic, Copy-editing and Proofreading

“I enjoyed the course but found it very difficult in the beginning. I did improve as I started to get into it and believe I will improve the more I proofread. My tutor was very kind and understanding – I am an amateur at this and he did not make me feel like I should not be attempting this course. I enjoyed the professionalism and the ease at which the course can be taken.” Lulu Barnard, Copy-editing and Proofreading Course

“Doing the course was an awesome experience. I have learned a lot! My tutor was very good. Constructive criticism was given and it was very clear about where I could improve; he was always prompt on replies and feedback. I will definitely consider doing another course – I’m still deciding which one. The course was interesting and not as easy as I thought, but I like a challenge and enjoyed it immensely.” Marli van Rooyen, Proofreading and Copy-Editing

More Testimonials Here

Course image by sj_sanders

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