Editor’s Workshop Copyediting and Proofreading Copyediting When you copyedit, you should look for accurate word meaning, word choice, and sentence structure. Matt realized that his narrative was greatly improved after making his own changes and following Andrea’s suggestions. But since he had made extensive changes to his draft, Matt wanted to make Sentence Fluency certain that his sentences flowed well. He decided that one of his sentences rambled. Can you find it? Matt then used the rest of the Copyeditor’s Checklist to finish editing his personal narrative.
Copyeditor’s Checklist Are there rambling sentences? Are there run-on sentences? Is there variety in sentence length? Are exact words used that help the
reader visualize the events?
Are transition words, phrases, and
clauses used that help the reader follow the time order?
Is there variety in word choice? Is the structure of sentences logical
and grammatically correct?
244 • Chapter 1
Find the run-on sentence in Matt’s personal narrative. How could you fix it?
Your Turn • Look over your revised draft. • Use the Copyeditor’s Checklist to edit your narrative. • Vary your sentences. • Read aloud your story or ask someone else to read it while you listen.
Proofreading Before writing the final copy of a narrative, a good writer proofreads to check for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. A proofreader’s checklist can help. Andrea was happy to proofread Matt’s narrative. She found one spelling error, two punctuation errors, and Conventions one capitalization error. Can you find them? Use a dictionary if you aren’t sure of a spelling.