INTRODUCTION

Editing and proofreading are often neglected, but they are the crucial final stages of the writing

process. Even the smallest error can result in embarrassing or even costly outcomes (misspelling a

name, transposing digits in telephone number, mistakes in a prospectus) so taking time and care to

check what you have written is essential. Editing is the first task that should be undertaken after

finishing the first draft of a piece of text. It involves checking the content of the text to ensure that the

ideas are expressed clearly and logically, and form a coherent and meaningful whole (Appiah, 2009).

Proofreading involves checking over the text in finer detail after the editing stage, to detect

errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar and format. The importance of the two tasks is demonstrated

by the fact that the publishing and printing industries employ different people who are specifically

responsible for each of them (Mamishev and Williams, 2009).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Mamishev and Williams (2009) asserted that editing is the process of selecting and preparing

written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information. The editing process can involve

correction, condensation, organization, and many other modifications performed with an intention of

producing a correct, consistent, accurate and complete work. The editing process often begins with the

author's idea for the work itself, continuing as a collaboration between the author and the editor as the

work is created. As such, editing can involve creative skills, human relations and a precise set of

methods.

There are various editorial positions in publishing. Typically, one finds editorial assistants

reporting to the senior-level editorial staff and directors who report to senior executive editors. Senior

executive editors are responsible for developing a product for its final release. The smaller the

publication, the more these roles overlap.

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 The top editor at many publications may be known as the chief editor, executive editor, or

simply the editor. A frequent and highly regarded contributor to a magazine may acquire the title of

editor-at-large or contributing editor. Mid-level newspaper editors often manage or help to manage

sections, such as business, sports and features. In U.S. newspapers, the level below the top editor is

usually the managing editor.

In the book publishing industry, editors may organize anthologies and other compilations,

produce definitive editions of a classic author's works (scholarly editor), and organize and manage

contributions to a multi-author book (symposium editor or volume editor). Obtaining manuscripts or

recruiting authors is the role of an acquisitions editor or a commissioning editor in a publishing

house.Finding marketable ideas and presenting them to appropriate authors are the responsibilities of a

sponsoring editor.

Copy editors correct spelling, grammar and align writings to house style. Changes to the

publishing industry since the 1980s have resulted in nearly all copy editing of book manuscripts being

outsourced to freelance copy editors.

At newspapers and wire services, copy editors write headlines and work on more substantive

issues, such as ensuring accuracy, fairness, and taste. In some positions, they design pages and select

news stories for inclusion. At U.K. and Australian newspapers, the term is sub-editor. They may

choose the layout of the publication and communicate with the printer. These editors may have the title

of layout or design editor or (more so in the past) makeup editor.

Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to detect and

correct production errors of text or art. A proof is a typeset version of copy or a manuscript page. They

often contain typos introduced through human error. Traditionally, a proofreader looks at an increment

of text on the copy and then compares it to the corresponding typeset increment, and then marks any

errors (sometimes called line edits) using standard proofreaders' marks.

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 Unlike copy editing, proofreading's defining procedure is to work directly with two sets of

information at the same time. Proofs are then returned to the typesetter or graphic artist for correction.

Correction-cycle proofs will typically have one descriptive term, such as bounce, bump, or revise

unique to the department or organization and used for clarity to the strict exclusion of any other. It is a

common practice for all such corrections, no matter how slight, to be sent again to a proofreader to be

checked and initialed, thus establishing the principle of higher responsibility for proofreaders as

compared to their typesetters or artists.

Copy holding or copy reading employs two readers per proof. The first reads the text aloud

literally as it appears, usually at a comparatively fast but uniform rate. The second reader follows along

and marks any pertinent differences between what is read and what was typeset. This method is

appropriate for large quantities of boilerplate text where it is assumed that the number of errors will be

comparatively small.

Experienced copy holders employ various codes and verbal short-cuts that accompany their

reading. The spoken word digits, for example, means that the numbers about to be read aren't words

spelled out; and in a hole can mean that the upcoming segment of text is within parentheses. Bang

means an exclamation point. A thump or screamer made with a finger on the table represents the initial

cap, comma, period, or similar obvious attribute being read simultaneously. Thus the line of text: (He

said the address was 1234 Central Blvd., and to hurry!) would be read aloud as: "in a hole [thump] he

said the address was digits 1 2 3 4 [thump] central [thump] buluhvuhd [thump] comma and to hurry

bang". Mutual understanding is the only guiding principle, so codes evolve as opportunity permits. In

the above example, two thumps after buluhvuhd might be acceptable to proofreaders familiar with the

text.

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 Double reading. A single proofreader checks a proof in the traditional manner, but then passes

it on to a second reader who repeats the process. Both initial the proof. Note that with both copy

holding and double reading, responsibility for a given proof is necessarily shared by two individuals.

Scanning, used to check a proof without reading it word for word, has become common with

computerization of typesetting and the popularization of word processing. Many publishers have their

own proprietary typesetting systems, while their customers use commercial programs such as Word.

Before the data in a Word file can be published, it must be converted into a format used by the

publisher. The end product is usually called a conversion. If a customer has already proofread the

contents of a file before submitting it to a publisher, there will be no reason for another proofreader to

re-read it from copy (although this additional service may be requested and paid for). Instead, the

publisher is held responsible only for formatting errors, such as typeface, page width, and alignment of

columns in tables; and production errors such as text inadvertently deleted. To simplify matters further,

a given conversion will usually be assigned a specific template. Given typesetters of sufficient skill,

experienced proofreaders familiar with their typesetters' work can accurately scan their pages without

reading the text for errors that neither they nor their typesetters are responsible for.

Proofreading cannot be fully cost effective where volume or unpredictable work flow prevents

proofreaders from managing their own time. Examples are newspapers, thermographic trade printing

of business cards, and network hubs. The problem in each of these environments is that jobs cannot be

put aside to be re-read as needed. In the first two cases, volumes and deadlines dictate that all jobs be

finished as soon as possible; in the third case, jobs presently on-site at the hub are hurried, regardless

of their formal deadline, in favor of possible future work that may arrive unpredictably. Where proofs

can programmatically[clarification needed] be read only once, quality will randomly but persistently

fall below expectations. Even the best and most experienced readers will not be able to be consistently

accurate enough to justify premium pay.

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 Production technology can also moot the need to pay a premium for proofreading. In the

example of thermographic business-card printing, even when there are no reprints, there is

considerable wastage of paper and ink in preparing each of the press runs, which are separated by

color. When (as often happens) there is unused space available on the plate, there is no increase in

production cost for reprints that use that space. Only when reprints are so numerous that they push

production staff into significant overtime would they increase costs. But significant overtime is usually

the result of a high volume in new orders using up the eight-hour day. In such industries proofreading

need only – and can only – make a marginal difference to be cost-effective. As for the customers,

many will never return even when their jobs are perfect, and enough of those who do need a reprint

will find the retailer's cost-saving price to be satisfactory enough to tolerate a late delivery.

Only where workload volume does not compress all deadlines to ASAP and the workflow is

reasonably predictable can proofreading be worth a premium wage. Inflexible deadlines mandate a

delivery time, but in doing so they necessarily do not mandate delivery before that time. If deadlines

are consistently maintained instead of arbitrarily moved up, proofreaders can manage their own time

by putting proofs aside at their own discretion for re-reading later. Whether the interval is a few

seconds or overnight, it enables proofs to be viewed as both familiar and new. Where this procedure is

followed, managers can expect consistently superior performance. However, re-reading focuses

responsibility instead of dividing it (as double-reading and copy holding, both described above, do)

and obviously requires extra effort from proofreaders and a measure of independence from

management. Instead of managers controlling deadlines, deadlines control managers, and leeway is

passed to the proofreaders as well as commensurate pay.

Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You reread your draft to

see, for example, whether the paper is well-organized, the transitions between paragraphs are smooth,

and your evidence really backs up your argument. You can edit on several levels:
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Content

Have you done everything the assignment requires? Are the claims you make accurate? If it is

required to do so, does your paper make an argument? Is the argument complete? Are all of your

claims consistent? Have you supported each point with adequate evidence? Is all of the information in

your paper relevant to the assignment and/or your overall writing goal? (For additional tips, see our

handouts on understanding assignments and developing an argument.)

Overall structure

Does your paper have an appropriate introduction and conclusion? Is your thesis clearly stated

in your introduction? Is it clear how each paragraph in the body of your paper is related to your thesis?

Are the paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence? Have you made clear transitions between

paragraphs? One way to check the structure of your paper is to make a reverse outline of the paper

after you have written the first draft. (See our handouts on introductions, conclusions, thesis

statements, and transitions.)

Structure within paragraphs

Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? Does each paragraph stick to one main idea?

Are there any extraneous or missing sentences in any of your paragraphs? (See our handout on

paragraph development.)

Clarity

Have you defined any important terms that might be unclear to your reader? Is the meaning of

each sentence clear? (One way to answer this question is to read your paper one sentence at a time,

starting at the end and working backwards so that you will not unconsciously fill in content from

previous sentences.) Is it clear what each pronoun (he, she, it, they, which, who, this, etc.) refers to?

Have you chosen the proper words to express your ideas? Avoid using words you find in the thesaurus

that aren’t part of your normal vocabulary; you may misuse them.
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Style

Have you used an appropriate tone (formal, informal, persuasive, etc.)? Is your use of gendered

language (masculine and feminine pronouns like “he” or “she,” words like “fireman” that contain

“man,” and words that some people incorrectly assume apply to only one gender—for example, some

people assume “nurse” must refer to a woman) appropriate? Have you varied the length and structure

of your sentences? Do you tends to use the passive voice too often? Does your writing contain a lot of

unnecessary phrases like “there is,” “there are,” “due to the fact that,” etc.? Do you repeat a strong

word (for example, a vivid main verb) unnecessarily? (For tips, see our handouts on style and gender-

inclusive language.)

Citations

Have you appropriately cited quotes, paraphrases, and ideas you got from sources? Are your

citations in the correct format? (See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for more information.)

As you edit at all of these levels, you will usually make significant revisions to the content and

wording of your paper. Keep an eye out for patterns of error; knowing what kinds of problems you

tend to have will be helpful, especially if you are editing a large document like a thesis or dissertation.

Once you have identified a pattern, you can develop techniques for spotting and correcting future

instances of that pattern. For example, if you notice that you often discuss several distinct topics in

each paragraph, you can go through your paper and underline the key words in each paragraph, then

break the paragraphs up so that each one focuses on just one main idea.

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, focusing on surface errors such as

misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation. You should proofread only after you have

finished all of your other editing revisions.

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Why proofread? It’s the content that really matters, right?

Content is important. But like it or not, the way a paper looks affects the way others judge it.

When you’ve worked hard to develop and present your ideas, you don’t want careless errors

distracting your reader from what you have to say. It’s worth paying attention to the details that help

you to make a good impression.

Most people devote only a few minutes to proofreading, hoping to catch any glaring errors that

jump out from the page. But a quick and cursory reading, especially after you’ve been working long

and hard on a paper, usually misses a lot. It’s better to work with a definite plan that helps you to

search systematically for specific kinds of errors.

Sure, this takes a little extra time, but it pays off in the end. If you know that you have an

effective way to catch errors when the paper is almost finished, you can worry less about editing while

you are writing your first drafts. This makes the entire writing proccess more efficient.

Try to keep the editing and proofreading processes separate. When you are editing an early

draft, you don’t want to be bothered with thinking about punctuation, grammar, and spelling. If your

worrying about the spelling of a word or the placement of a comma, you’re not focusing on the more

important task of developing and connecting ideas.

IMPORTANCE OF EDITING AND PROOF READING A COPY IN MEDIA CONTAIN

Editing requires careful analysis and critical thinking, and proofreading requires a great deal of

attention to detail. As such, they are not tasks that can be done in a rush or squeezed in between other

tasks: it is essential to devote sufficient time and concentration to both, and being in the right frame of

mind to do this is very important.

Schedule a period of time in your diary for focusing solely on editing or proofing, and find an

environment where you can be alone and free from distractions and interruptions. You may even wish

to book a meeting room for yourself. Before you start, ensure that you are in a relaxed mood, with no
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other conflicting priorities or concerns to sidetrack your thoughts. Sit at a clear, uncluttered desk,

which should have on it only the things that you need to help you with your task – pen, ruler,

dictionary, thesaurus, grammar/punctuation guide, and your organization’s style guide, if one exists.

As with all types of work, take regular breaks, as it is not possible to concentrate for long periods.

Don’t edit or proofread for more than half an hour at a time without taking a break. Take even just a

few moments to give your eyes a rest from the text.

Proofreading is not merely casting a glance over what you have written: it requires

concentration to disconnect your mind from the content of the text in order to focus on the language

and layout. Errors can be difficult to spot, so it is essential to read the text word by word to ensure that

you don’t miss anything. As it involves correcting small errors (some of which can, nevertheless, have

a major impact), it does not require major rewriting.

The aim of proofreading is to spot and correct errors in: spelling typography grammar,

punctuation and use of language style and format anything missed at the editing stage. When

proofreading your own work, you are often so familiar with the text that you see what you think you

have written rather than what you actually wrote. For this reason, you will get the best results by

asking someone else to proofread your work. Find someone to be your ‘proofreading partner’, with

whom you can swap and share proofreading tasks. If this is not possible and you have to proofread

your own work, make sure that you take a break of at least an hour (or ideally 24 hours) after writing

before you start to proofread. This will help to distance you from the text.

One of the most important principles of proofreading someone else’s work is to never make

assumptions. If you are unsure what the writer has intended to write, query it rather than jump to

conclusions and amend it wrongly.

When hiring a freelance writer or editor, it’s important that both you and the freelancer have

the right expectations. Are you certain you know what it is you need help with? Editing, proofreading
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(also called “proofing”) and copyediting are often assumed to be the same thing — but they’re not. Are

you looking for someone to improve the style and flow of your writing, or do you simply want

someone to ensure that your commas are in the right places?

In publishing, it’s typically understood that a document that has been edited will still need to be

proofed. An editor is often hired for their individual style or specialization in a particular subject area,

but if you’re looking for someone to go through a text with a fine-tooth comb, you need to find a

proofreader or copyeditor. To help clarify things, we’ve created this helpful guide to explain the

differences between these three skills.

When hiring a freelance editor, you’re hiring someone to review and change your text with the

intent to improve the flow and overall quality of your writing. An editor has the freedom to remove

entire sentences or rewrite entire paragraphs. A good editor will correct any obvious errors they come

across, but their main goal is to use their expertise and intuition to ensure the document makes sense,

cut down on wordiness, and clarify any ambiguity.

Proofreading is the process of examining the final draft of a document or text — after it has

been edited — to ensure there are absolutely no errors. A proofreader will review for spelling errors,

punctuation errors, typos or incorrect use of regional English (i.e. ensuring that you’re using American

English or British English when necessary).

For important proofreading, you will want to hire an experienced freelancer with the the ability

to find even the smallest grammatical errors that others might normally dismiss. Hiring a proofreader

is particularly helpful if you’re not confident in your writing, or if English is not your first language.

While proofreading can be done electronically — for example, using track changes in

Microsoft Word — it is just as often done on a printed version (also referred to as a “hard copy”) or

PDF. In this case, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with proofreaders’ marks, a collection of symbols

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and shorthand to indicate corrections. (Rest assured: professional graphic designers will also

understand these marks!)

To “copyedit” a document is to proofread it — with the added expectation of ensuring style

consistency with other content from the company or publication. Copyediting is also known as “sub-

editing” in the UK, Australia and elsewhere. When looking for a freelance copyeditor, ensure they

have the talented eye of a proofreader as well as additional expertise in matters of different styles of

writing. Some measures of consistency include making sure names, locations and dates are always

treated the same way. A copyeditor will also have expert knowledge of different style guides and may

also perform fact-checking or have specialized knowledge in a particular field. As such, a great

copyeditor may cost a bit more than a proofreader.

CONCLUSION

Based on the research it could be depicted that the role of editing and proof reading a copy in media

organization cannot be overemphasized. Editing and proof reading of reviewing and correcting written

material improve accuracy, readability, and fitness for its purpose, and to ensure that it is free of error,

omission, inconsistency, and repetition. In the context of publication in print, copy editing is done

before typesetting and again before proofreading, the final step in the editorial cycle. Also, it could be

concluded that content editing consists of reorganizing or restructuring the content of a document. This

involves any inconsistent parts of the content as well as any variances. Copyeditors can either fix the

content by rewriting it or heavily editing it. However, the copyeditor will often point out any difficult

passages for the author to resolve on his or her own time. Although copyeditors are not responsible for

factual correctness of the document, they can provide comments for the author on any information they

know to be incorrect, such as year discrepancies or misleading ideas. This type of fact checking is

acceptable for copyeditors that know the document's subject matter.

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REFERENCES
Allen Renear (2002). "Desktop Publishing". The Gale Group Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
Appiah, B. (2009). "Science editing at an Indian firm: perspectives of two US visitors" (PDF). Science
Editing. 32 (4): 118–119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-28.
Avery-Ahlijian, Angela Anne. (2011). Copy Editing in the Digital Age: How Technology Has
Changed Copy Editing (Thesis). Eastern Michigan University.
Cynthia J. Davis, Kathryn West (2006). "Women Writers in the United States: A Timeline of Literary,
Cultural, and Social History". Oxford UP. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
Dan Appenfeller (May 13, 2014). "Copy Editors Carve Niche in Digital Media Landscape".
Daniel J. Leab. "Toward Unionization: The American Newspaper Guild and the Newark Ledger Strike
of 1934-35". Tamiment Institute.
Deborah Howell (October 28, 2007). "The Power and Perils of Headlines". Washington Post.
Retrieved July 28, 2014.
Fred Vultee (June 1, 2013). "A look at the numbers: Editing job losses in the newsroom"
Mamishev, A., and Williams, S. (2009) Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook,
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, John Wiley & Sons. Inc., Hoboken, p. 128.
Poland, L. (2007) The business, Craft and Profession of the Book Editor, in Carter, David, Galligan,
Anne, (eds.), Making books: contemporary Australian publishing, Queensland University
Press, 2007, p. 100.

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