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Copyediting. By Warren Vieth & Darcy Delaney. Six-Word Stories. Ernest Hemmingway “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” SMITH Magazine compiles “Six-Word Memoirs”. “Six-Word Memoirs”. “Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.” -Aimee Mann. “Six-Word Memoirs”.
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Copyediting By Warren Vieth & Darcy Delaney
Six-Word Stories • Ernest Hemmingway “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” • SMITH Magazine compiles “Six-Word Memoirs”
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.”-Aimee Mann
“Six-Word Memoirs” “At the end of normal street.”-Tracey Morgan
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Yes, you can edit this biography.”-Jimmy Wales
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Dad died, mom crazy, me, too.”-Moby
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Danced in Fields of Infinite Possibilities.” -Deepak Chopra
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Dad wore leather pants in Reno.” -John Falk
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Learning disability, MIT. Never give up.” -Joe Keselman
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Thought long and hard. Got migraine.” -Lisa Levy
“Six-Word Memoirs” “Well, I thought it was funny.” -Stephen Colbert
Exercise • Divide into groups • Come up with six-word story • Vote on best six-word story from group • Raise hand when completed
Headlines • Headlines must: • Draw the reader in • Be concise • Be easily understood • (Don’t make the reader reread)
Headline Bloopers “Poll: Alabamians believe not enogh spent on education”
Headline Bloopers “Couple slain: Police suspect homicide”
Headline Bloopers “Typhoon rips through cemetery hundreds dead”
Headline Bloopers “Something went wrong in plane crash, experts say”
Copyediting • Avoid clichés • Know the numbers • Know common misspellings • Know common grammar errors
Clichés • Common clichés: • “Hit and miss” • “All intents and purposes” • “Pedal to the metal” • “Hotch-potch” • “Ace in the hole” • What are some of your least favorite clichés?
Numbers • Know: • Percentages • Simple addition • Simple subtraction • Multiplication • Division • Pay attention to birthdates
Numbers QUESTION: How old is someone born Dec. 13, 1954?
Numbers ANSWER: 54
Numbers QUESTION: The city’s parks and recreation budget was cut from $2.4 million to $1.2 million. What was the percent change?
Numbers ANSWER: 50 percent
Numbers QUESTION: Last year your town had three murders. This year there were none. How would you describe the change?
Numbers ANSWER: 100 percent decrease
Common Misspellings • Accidentally • Believe • Calendar • Discipline • Embarrass • Foreign • Guarantee • Harass
Common Misspellings (continued) • Judgment • Library • Misspell • Neighbor • Occurrence • Pastime • Receive
Common Misspellings (continued) • Separate • Twelfth • Vacuum • Weird (Source:http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html)
Common Grammar Errors • It’s vs. its • it’s: it is • its: something belongs to it • They’re, There and Their • They’re: They are • There: A place (let’s go there) • Their: Plural possessive pronoun (their house) • You’re vs. Your • You’re: You are • Your: Possessive pronoun (your house)
Common Grammar Errors The dangling participle Example: “After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges.” (Source: http://www.copyblogger.com)
Links • www.NewsU.org • www.PaceSetter.OU.edu • www.NiemanLab.org • www.MediaBistro.com • www.CopyDesk.org/Words