Hard Copy Editing

From time-to-time we receive requests for hard copy editing and proofreading. WordsRU is principally an online editorial service, one where electronic documents and manuscripts are uploaded at the time of submitting a detailed quote request via our secure, purpose-designed Web site. Completed edits are returned via the site, ready for downloading and printing (as may be required) by our customers. MS Word and its tracked changes feature is the main application for our electronic proofreading and editing service. However, from time to time we receive requests for paper-based editing, that is, editing to be written directly on hard copy texts. We also receive occasional requests for handwritten documents to be typed, printed and then edited on the resulting hard copy. In this scenario, the input is typed into a computer and thus an electronic document is also generated. These editorial variations can all be accommodated by special arrangement with WordsRU.

"An editor is someone who separates the wheat from the chaff and then prints the chaff."
—Adlai E. Stevenson 1900-1965
American Lawyer and Politician

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The original premise for hard copy editing and proofreading was for a document or manuscript to be "marked" with certain highly specific editing / proofreading symbols, indicating corrections to be taken up by a typesetter or printer (an example of editorial markup (or mark-up) will be given later in this resource note). However, today’s electronic document mark-up gives editors and proofreaders the opportunity to work very effectively on screen with the digital versions – and with complete traceability (and comparison) for the author of all changes made. Due to the ease of making corrections, achieving document set-up, layout, formatting, and moving blocks of text that are afforded in today’s electronic world via the World Wide Web and the Internet, hard copy editing is rapidly being supplanted by online editing, but instances do remain where customers continue to prefer the traditional method and we are happy to assist whenever this is a practicable option.

Irrespective of which method is required, WordsRU’s academically qualified, highly professional and experienced editors will help by checking your documents and manuscripts — whether texts in translation to English, theses, dissertations and essays; historical and literary works, collections of short stories, poetry; fiction and nonfiction in all genres; business documents, technical manuals, document comparison, templates, conference papers and articles, ESL editing or personal correspondence and other private papers — for grammar, spelling, tense and typographical errors.

Some of the key elements of our hard copy editorial service include:

Review grammar, word choice, and sentence structure
Check for logic, flow and readability
Ensure a tone and style appropriate to the document’s purpose
Maintain the author’s personal voice and individual style of expression
Edit to British, American, Canadian or Australian English
Compliance check with preferred citation style for academic papers
Return edits in two files: a marked changes and a "clea" revised text

Hard copy editing and proofreading markup codes or symbols - examples

The examples given below are some of the most frequently used standard lines or carets (the markup). A proofreader will place a mark within the line of text and list the correction or change in the margin. Editors typically show their more extensive corrections within the line of text (hence the need for double spacing although a hard copy edit can still make for a very confusing document for the uninitiated!).

PURPOSE	MARKUP SIGN	APPLICATION
Delete something
Delete and close up space
Close up space
Insert something
Insert a space
Space evenly
Keep what was original
Transpose letters or words
Begin a new paragraph
Spell out abbreviation
Use capital letters	≡
Use small capital letters	═
Use lowercase letters
Use italics
Use roman
Use boldface type
Add superscript
Add subscript
Add a comma		stop and then move on.
Add apostrophe		re going with us.
Add period		to listenNext you will
Add quotation marks		Hey,watch out!
Add parentheses
Question to writer

PURPOSE	MARKUP SIGN	APPLICATION
	insert a comma
	apostrophe or single quotation mark
	insert something
	use double quotation marks
	use a period here
	delete
	transpose elements
	close up this space
	a space needed here
	begin new paragraph
	no paragraph

Abbreviation	Meaning	Example
Ab	a faulty abbreviation	She had earned a Phd along with her M.D.
Agr See also P/A and S/V	agreement problem: subject/verb or pronoun/antecedent	The piano as well as the guitar need tuning. The student lost their book.
Awk	awkward expression or construction	The storm had the effect of causing millions of dollars in damage.
Cap	faulty capitalization	We spent the Fall in Southern spain.
CS	comma splice	Raoul tried his best, this time that wasn't good enough
DICT	faulty diction	Due to the fact that we were wondering as to whether it would rain, we stayed home.
Dgl	dangling construction	Working harder than ever, this job proved to be too much for him to handle.
- ed	problem with final -ed	Last summer he walk all the way to Birmingham.
Frag	fragment	Depending on the amount of snow we get this winter and whether the towns buy new trucks.
\| \|	problem in parallel form	My income is bigger than my wife.
P/A	pronoun/antecedent agreement	A student in accounting would be wise to see their advisor this month.
Pron	problem with pronoun	My aunt and my mother have wrecked her car. The committee has lost their chance to change things. You'll have to do this on one's own time.
Rep	unnecessary repetition	The car was blue in color.
R-O	run-on sentence	Raoul tried his best this time that wasn't good enough.
Sp	spelling error	This sentence is flaude with two mispellings.
- s	problem with final -s	He wonder what these teacher think of him.
STET	Let it stand	The proofreader uses this Latin term to indicate that proofreading marks calling for a change should be ignored and the text as originally written should be "let stand."
S/V	subject/verb agreement	The problem with these cities are leadership.
T	verb tense problem	He comes into the room, and he pulled his gun.
Wdy	wordy	Seldom have we perused a document so verbose, so ostentatious in phrasing, so burdened with too many words.
WW	wrong word	What affect did the movie have on Sheila? She tried to hard to analyze its conclusion.

Hard Copy Editing Example

A page with marked up copy

We edit - you take the credit!

WordsRU Proofreading and Editing Services:

WordsRU offers a full hard copy editing service for writers who may not have their document or manuscript in electronic format.

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