The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors,

Packed with customizable editing tools--this practical, up-to-date reference includes the latest on writing and editing onlineThe McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers, and Proofreadersis an indispensable resource for writers, editors, proofreaders, and virtually everyone responsible for crafting clear, polished writing. Ideal for professionals and novices alike, it guides you through the entire proofreading and editing process and features a CD-ROM with more than 25 interactive tools and checklists.This all-in-one package offers style sheet templates, a list of editor's symbols, comprehensive editing and proofreading checklists, and guides to commonly misspelled and confused words. It also presents advice on electronically editing and proofreading for the Web.

K.D. Sullivan is an internationally recognized authority on proofreading and the art of error checking.

Merilee Eggleston has more than 20 years' experience as an editor in book publishing and for several prestigious corporate clients.

Preface

xiii

Acknowledgments

xv

PART ONE Gearing Up to Edit

Before You Begin

3

(6)

What Level of Work Will You Do?

3

(2)

Who Is the Audience?

5

(1)

When Is It Due?

5

(1)

What Format Is It In?

6

(1)

Which References Will You Use?

7

(1)

Who Will Answer Your Questions?

7

(1)

Tools

8

(1)

Project Information Checklist

8

(1)

Techniques and Tools

9

(22)

Consult the Experts

9

(2)

The World Wide Reference Department

10

(1)

Do It with Style

11

(3)

Follow the Leader and Pass It Around

13

(1)

The Last Word in Style

13

(1)

Make Your Mark

14

(2)

On Hard Copy

14

(2)

In Electronic Files

16

(1)

Learn the Art of Asking

16

(4)

What to Ask and What to Tell

17

(1)

Choosing Your Words

17

(1)

Fewer Is Better

18

(1)

Going Global

19

(1)

Making Queries Stick

19

(1)

Reviewing Your Queries

20

(1)

Do It in Stages

20

(4)

The Preliminary Skim

21

(1)

The First Pass

21

(1)

The Second Pass

22

(1)

The Final (Short) Passes

22

(2)

Tools

24

(7)

Standard Editorial Marks

24

(1)

Starter Style Sheet

24

(2)

Online Editorial Resources

26

(5)

PART TWO The 3 Cs: What to Look for as You Work

Is It Correct?

31

(36)

The Pieces of the Puzzle

32

(1)

The Rules of the Game

32

(24)

Agreement Is All-Important

33

(5)

Apostrophes Are for Possessives, Not Plurals

38

(1)

Capitals Can Clutter

39

(3)

Commas Are Crucial

42

(3)

Conjunctions Can Open; Prepositions Can Close

45

(1)

Hyphens Are Helpful (but Not Always Right)

45

(2)

Dashes Are Indispensable

47

(2)

Infinitives Can (and Sometimes Should) Come Apart

49

(1)

Danglers Can Deceive

50

(1)

Numbers Need Consistency

50

(1)

Punctuation Can Pile Up

51

(2)

Semicolons Are Sophisticated

53

(2)

Colons Wear Coattails

55

(1)

Which Word When?

56

(5)

A or An?

56

(1)

Bad or Badly?

56

(1)

It's or Its?

57

(1)

Less or Fewer?

58

(1)

Like or As?

58

(1)

Was or Were?

59

(1)

Which or That?

59

(1)

Who or Whom?

60

(1)

Tools

61

(6)

Words Most Often Confused

61

(2)

Words Most Often Misspelled

63

(1)

Is It Correct? Checklist

64

(3)

Is It Consistent?

67

(20)

Style Sheets, Revisited

68

(1)

Method, 1; Madness, 0

69

(1)

A Crash Course in Consistency

69

(16)

Fast and Loose Facts

69

(1)

Spelling

69

(3)

Capitalization

72

(1)

Punctuation

73

(1)

Numbers

74

(1)

Fonts

74

(1)

Icons and Symbols

75

(1)

Vertical Lists

75

(5)

Tables

80

(1)

Document Titles and Headings

81

(1)

Captions and Labels

82

(1)

Page Numbers, Headers, and Footers

83

(1)

Tables of Contents

84

(1)

Tools

85

(2)

Is It Consistent? Checklist

85

(2)

Is It Clear (and Compelling)?

87

(18)

Proofreading

88

(1)

Copyediting

88

(3)

Light Copyediting

88

(1)

Medium Copyediting

89

(1)

Heavy Copyediting

89

(1)

Substantive Editing

90

(1)

Where Clear and Compelling Come From

91

(2)

The Level of Writing

91

(1)

The Overall Structure

91

(1)

The Word Choice and Tone

91

(1)

The Clear and Compelling Makeover

92

(1)

Tools

93

(12)

12 Tips for Compelling Writing

93

(2)

Wordiness Watch List

95

(1)

Buzzwords to Banish

96

(2)

Writing for the World: A Guide to Globalization

98

(4)

Is It Clear and Compelling? Checklist

102

(3)

PART THREE Onscreen and Online

Microsoft Word Documents

105

(34)

Track Changes---the Better Red Pencil

106

(8)

Using Track Changes

107

(7)

Beyond Track Changes

114

(4)

Checking Spelling and Grammar

114

(1)

Searching

114

(2)

Inserting Breaks

116

(1)

Inserting Symbols

116

(1)

Alphabetizing

117

(1)

Formatting

118

(10)

Make Word Less Helpful

118

(1)

Take Advantage of the Toolbars

119

(2)

Make Yourself a Macro

121

(1)

Make Bullets and Numbers Behave

121

(3)

Use Fonts with Finesse

124

(1)

Set the Spacing

124

(2)

Take Tables in Stride

126

(2)

Advanced Options

128

(7)

Add Automatic Tables of Contents

128

(4)

Insert Hyperlinks

132

(1)

Check the Word Count

133

(1)

Compare Text

134

(1)

Check Heading Levels

134

(1)

Returning Finished Files

135

(1)

Tools

136

(3)

Editing in Word---a Quick Reference

136

(2)

Handy Keyboard Shortcuts

138

(1)

PDF Documents

139

(22)

Different Routes, Same Destination

140

(4)

Working on Paper

141

(1)

Working on Paper and Onscreen

142

(2)

Working Onscreen Only

144

(1)

The Tools You'll Use (or See) the Most

144

(12)

The Hand Tool

145

(1)

The Top-Drawer Editorial Tools

145

(6)

A Few Comments About Comments

151

(1)

Viewing Comments

152

(1)

Printing

152

(4)

Some Second-Drawer Tools

156

(1)

Attach a File as a Comment

156

(1)

Upload for Browser-Based Review

156

(1)

Beyond Comments and Tools

156

(1)

Edit

157

(1)

Completing Your Work

157

(1)

Tools

158

(3)

Editing PDFs---a Quick Reference

158

(3)

PowerPoint Files

161

(10)

Powers You Have and Powers You Don't

162

(7)

Marking Up Printouts

162

(1)

Editing Embeds

163

(1)

The Direct Approach

164

(4)

Inserting Comments and Recording Changes in PowerPoint

168

(1)

PowerPoint Printing

169

(1)

Tools

169

(2)

PowerPoint Editing---a Quick Reference

169

(2)

Web Sites

171

(14)

Where Language Goes, Rules Follow

171

(1)

Links, Banners, Buttons, and Bars

171

(1)

Real Marks for Virtual Pages

171

(3)

Marking Changes on Hard Copy

172

(1)

Using an Electronic Reporting Form

172

(1)

Using a Screen Capture

173

(1)

What to Watch for on the Web

174

(7)

Is It Correct?

174

(1)

Is It Consistent?

175

(1)

Is It Clear (and Compelling)?

176

(1)

Does It Work?

177

(4)

Tools

181

(4)

Sample Electronic Reporting Form

181

(1)

Checklist for Web Editing

182

(3)

Appendix A: Specialty Editing

185

(12)

Special Topics, Not Special Skills

185

(1)

Advertising

186

(3)

Advertising Style---a Whole Different Animal

186

(2)

Trademark Symbols

188

(1)

Annual Reports with Financials

189

(2)

Catalogs

191

(2)

Computer-Related Text

193

(3)

Tools

196

(1)

Checklist for Computer-Related Text

196

(1)

Appendix B: Editorial Extras

197

(20)

Testing, Testing

197

(3)

Testing, Testing . . . Proofreading Answer Key

200

(2)

Testing, Testing . . . Editing Answer Key

202

(2)

Expanded/Professional Style Sheet Template

204

(4)

Professional 8-Stage Proofreading Checklist

208

(3)

Complete Editorial Checklist

211

(6)

Glossary

217

(8)

For Reference and Reading

225

(2)

Index

227

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The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers, and Proofreaders(Book + CD-Rom)

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials