Thesis Copyediting Guidelines by Dr. Ross James

1. Presented by Dr Ross James

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4. What the university says Copyeditors must follow Guidelines agreed by ACGD and IPEd b. Final comments from university and IPEd: “This is your thesis … the final responsibility for its integrity is yours.” CURTIN RESOURCES http://studyskills.curtin.edu.au/better-sentences/ http://studyskills.curtin.edu.au/good-grammar/ Curtin guidelines for editing 4

5. What your supervisor should do Provide editorial advice or substantive editing (structural or content editing). 2. Approve your choice to retain a copyeditor. 3. Help you decide about pragmatic options to replace APA styles.

6. What you should do Give copyeditor clean and complete copy of thesis (not chapter by chapter; no unfinished sections!). Give copyeditor the style guide the thesis must conform to. Take responsibility for final product; review each suggested change or correction before accepting it. Acknowledge the copyeditor.

7. What your copy editor will do (1/4) Edit for structure: big picture. Do the blocks of content hold the structure together as complete whole? Edit for flow: sentences. How do they work and feel? Are they a bridge for the reader to flow from point to point, or do they require the reader to jump chasms of comprehension? Edit for errors: digging deep.Spelleeng, punchuation:, gramma, formatting, consistency.

8. What your copy editor will do (2/4) • Restrict work to Australian standards for editing practice. • 1. Copyediting (Standards D. Language and illustrations) • clarity of expression • accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation • appropriate use of style and tone • appropriate use of technical, specialised or foreign material • appropriate, accurate, consistent use of illustrations, diagrams etc.

9. What your copyeditor will do (3/4) • Restrict work to Australian standards for editing practice. • 2. Proofreading (Standards E. Completeness and consistency) • the integrity of all parts of the publication • consistency in use of style, terminology, etc. • grammar, punctuation and spelling • referencing • illustrations and tables.

10. What your copyeditor will do (4/4) • Provide you a written list of things they won’t do. • Provide you with a written quote and a Letter of Engagement to sign • Make suggestions only! You are responsible for reviewing each change or correction suggested before accepting it. • Recommend you consult supervisor or university guidelines for issues of content. • Provide the thesis with editing notes (if hardcopy) or tracking (if digital)

12. Copyediting with tracking

13. Copyediting with tracking

15. APA style … To guide authors submitting research papers. Some APA styles seem irrelevant or undesirable in theses. Your 3 or 4 examiners are unlikely to fail you on formatting. I suggest pragmatic options. Query what your supervisor means by “APA style”. Don’t confuse“APA style = referencing conventions” and “APA style = journal article formatting”

16. APA style and pragmatic options • Headings • Table captions • Figure captions • Appendices

17. APA style: Headings In-line or run-in headings Inline headings

18. Pragmatic options to replace APA style Headings

19. APA style and pragmatic options Table & figure captions APA Pragmatic Figure 5.2. Favourite movie genre

20. APA style Tables & figures • APA style: code figure and table numbers to chapter numbers. • Fonts between 8 and 14 point. • Tables and figures must be mentioned in the text as (see Table 1.1/ Figure 1.1). Do NOT write “on page …”. • Position table and table label and title on left margin. • If table is in unprintable area of the page reformat it OR autofit to contents Auto fit to contents

21. APA style Appendices: Referencing

22. APA style and pragmatic option Appendices: In the list

24. Spaces Create one space after periods at end of sentences. Because you are using a software program, not a typewriter! … end of sentence. One space … end of sentence. Two spaces … end of sentence. Three spaces Nonbreaking and end of sentence spaces

25. Symbols Solution &: Do a simple search and correct as needed Bookends: 1. CTRL+H. Search for each opening bookend first then the closing bookend 2. Multiple symbol bookends

26. M-u-u-u-m! Throughout your thesis you’ve spelt ‘public’ in ‘public health’ without the L .

27. Hyphens, em and en dashes Hyphens (-) (also minus or negative)

28. Hyphens, em and en dashes Hyphens (-) (also minus or negative) A punctuation mark that connects two things together as a single concept (compound words; e.g., self-report) or modifier (e.g., two-thirds) 20-30 (Never used with numbers) 20–30 (An en dash is always used with numbers) Consumption of apples was frequent – 4 or 5 times a day A space before or after a hyphen self - report - 4 self-report -4

29. Hyphens, em and en dashes • Connects things that are related to each other by distance • ranges of time: from 45-50 minutes • ranges of numbers: of the 100 questionnaires 5-9 were not completed correctly • ranges of space: they ran 15-20 kilometres; the area was 80-90 square metres • A space before or after an en dash 45 – 50 minutes 45–50 minutes

30. Hyphens, em and en dashes • Can take the place of commas (,) parentheses (such as these rackets) or colons (:) but the sentence will end with a period. • The questionnaires were designed well–we expected nothing less. • APA: no space before or after an emdash designed well – we expected nothing less. designed well–we expected nothing less. Create en- and em-dashes

32. Wordplay: spelling, compounds and confusions SPELLING US or Australian English (e.g., iSe vs. iZe) Yes? No? Maybe?

33. Wordplay: spelling, compounds and confusions AU: Macquarie Dictionary APA (US): Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary US or Australian spelling: Consistency!

34. Wordplay: spelling, compounds and confusions • Compound words • In general: too complex to summarise • Convention changes (e.g., database and lifestyle not so long ago required a hyphen) • See APA 6th ed. • Consult most recent dictionary (e.g., Macquarie) Compounds

35. Wordplay: spelling, compounds and confusions • Confusions Confusions

36. Making love to me is amazing. • Wait! • I meant: making love, to me, is amazing. • Dark Jar Tin Zoo • Love Quotes for the Ages. Specifically Ages 19-91 The absence of two commas transformed him into a sex god!

37. Commas, AND and other conjunctions in a series • TheOxford commabefore and,nor, or oris recommended • APA requires a serial comma—a final comma before the finalconjunction • Before the first andfor clarity where two or more ands are used within the series. • The participants joined the aquatic therapy class to improve strength, balance, and increase flexibility and muscle performance. • When and coordinates two independent clauses. A clause has a subject, verb and stands alone as a sentence. (Also for all coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet). • The participants joined the aquatic therapy class, and they improved their strength and balance. • But not when and does not join two independent clauses. And joins two verbs: tookand is. • The participant took aquatic therapy lessons and is now fully functional

38. Lists: colons, semicolons, periods, numbers, letters • To introduce lists in a paragraph, use a colon ( : ) not a semicolon ( ; ). • There were 10 items: • There were 10 items; • Use semicolons for seriation if there are commas within the items. • The research team consists of (a) the research coordinator, Dr Mary Bloggs, who will visit the health centre each day; (b) the supervisor, Bill Blenkinsop; and (c) three quality control inspectors: Tom Tank-engine, Willy Wonka, and Ken Kangaroo. • Use a period, not parentheses, for a series with numbers: 1. Loremipsum... • Use parentheses for a series with letters: (a) Loremipsum…

39. Lists and punctuation https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/

41. Abbr. Latin: brevis “short” Abbreviations • APA says use abbreviations: • sparingly, • only if used more than three times in thesis, and • explain it first time it occurs, such as: American Psychological Association (APA). • without explanation if commonly used within a discipline (STI, HIV etc). But include it in a list of acronyms and abbreviations. • Do not explain again even in section headings (exception: tables & figures, which “stand alone”). • (Heading) 2.3.5 HIV myths • Table 2.5  Human Immunodeficiency Virus Myths

42. Abbr. Latin: brevis “short” Abbreviations • (cf. Smith et al., 2010 and Allen, 2008) does not use comma. • (e.g., a heart attack) uses a comma. * • (Smith et al., 2010) uses a comma. * • (health promotion, programme evaluation, etc.) uses a comma before if ending a list of two or more items. • (i.e., a piece of fruit) uses a comma. * • . . . the analysis (intervention vs. control) uses a period. • * APA requirement, but Australian convention is no comma unless required for a pause or clarity.

43. Oh no! Not . . .? Now? So soon? Do we have to? Please, no . . .

44. Numbers and statistics Numbers

45. The slash

46. Doing it yourself? My eight top tips • Print it out and read it. On-screen reading is awkward. • Read text slowly and aloud. • Use a blank sheet of paper to cover the material not yet proofread. • Point with your finger to read one word at a time. • Proofread in stages: one for spelling, another for formatting, etc. • Fine print: give it special attention • Turn copy upside down to check alignment of page elements (e.g., line spacing, word spacing, general format, type quality) • Highlight problems as you notice them, but don’t stop to make changes; it slows you down and distracts you.

47. "No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft.“ H.G. Wells

48. APA style blog http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/

49. ross@thebamboocamel.net

50. You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke. ~ Arthur Plotnik • Author of • Elements of Editing • The Elements of Expression: Putting Thoughts Into Words • and, best of all, • Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives