An Editor's Checklist
Preparation
- Focus intently on the copy, blocking out distractions:
Concentrate
- Understand the assignment
- Remember you are dealing with the finished work of a fellow
professional. Show respect.
- Read it through once, cold, as a reader, making few if
any changes.
Editing Technique
- Have a good reason for any change
- Check all major changes with writer, and let writer make
changes when possible
- Never add errors or distort meaning
- Solve problems in order of importance (first VITAL, then
IMPORTANT, then MARGINAL, forget PICAYUNE)
Content
- Clear theme, expressed in one graf or so of story
- Compelling lead, based on the theme, underlining twist
that makes the story special
- Lead that is short (25 words or less) and direct (key thought
in main subject and verb)
- Second graf that flows from lead, amplifying most important
or compelling point of lead
- Clarity
- Fairness and balance
- Legal, ethical and taste issues
- Solid evidence based on credible, named sources
- Good quote in first few grafs
- Human examples and voices (how does it affect the reader)?
- Concrete detail?
- Diversity in sourcing?
- Use of appropriate online sources?
- Any important omissions?
Structure
- Grammar and punctuation.
- Spelling.
- Style.
- Math.
- Usage and language.
- Active voice, action verbs, precise words.
- Wordiness.
- Are there too many prepositional phrases?
- Are there too many long sentences?
- Are there too many sentences that begin with 'A', 'An',
'The'?
- Are there too many "to be" verbs?
- Is there redundancy?
- Is there jargon and bureaucratic language?
- Are there long separations between the
subject and the verb?
Presentation
- Are there photos or graphics and do they match the story?
- Is there an online or multimedia address that needs to be
checked?
- Are there pullouts, quotes or ibox info and do they match
the story?
Final read
- Check for problems that may have been overlooked during
the
first edit.
- Check for errors that possibly were added during editing.