STYLEBOOK FAMILIARIZATION
AND COPY-EDITING RESPONSIBILITIES
Objective:
• Apply English skills
Every typographical error that appears in a publication chips away at its credibility.
Every time a journalist uses improper grammar in a story, people read it and wonder why
a trained writer has made such a blatant error. It is extremely important for a public
affairs office to make sure everything it publishes is absolutely accurate — from spelling
to grammar to punctuation to facts.
This chapter covers effective copy-editing, which concentrates on the nuts and bolts
of journalism: ensuring accuracy, using proper grammar and Associated Press style,
eliminating wordiness from copy, fine-tuning copy and rewriting.

Copy-editing responsibilities
Copy-editing corrects stories and improves the mechanics, flow and cohesiveness of
the text. When you know grammar, good writing practices and editing symbols, you can
swiftly edit stories to meet deadlines. Journalists must review their work to find and
correct all errors in:

Facts and accuracy
When published, readers almost always catch errors in accuracy. Errors detract from
the paper’s credibility and the writer’s ability to communicate. Errors are most often
found in rank usage, name spelling, title usage, locations of events, dates and times,
telephone numbers and statistics/numbers.
Names – Of all errors a writer can commit, the most inexcusable is to spell a person’s
name wrong. Double and triple check the spellings of names. Box and tick them on first
reference, ensuring that each letter of the name is correct as you do.
Numbers – Always double-check figures and verify tabulations, percentages and
casualty lists. A misplaced comma or decimal can make a huge difference.

Brevity
A reader can easily lose track of the intent of a story if it is cloaked in wordiness and
redundancy. These are common defects in writing that can be eliminated. You need to
ensure stories are clear and concise.

Wordiness means the writer is using too many words to express a thought. Some
examples:

Large number of instead of many
In the course of instead of while or during
Render assistance instead of help
During the time that instead of while
Officially designated representative instead of representative

Clarity
The writer must edit the copy to make sure it is free of technical words, jargon and
other words that readers may not be familiar with.

Spelling
Correct spelling signals that your staff upholds precision and professionalism. There
is no excuse for misspellings in a newspaper. You can train your eye to spot spelling
errors by becoming familiar with words you commonly misspell and words that other
people commonly misspell.

Style
Style refers to the uniform way to write or refer to things. In journalism, this
uniformity helps make stories easier to read, and it presents a professional product to
readers. The Associated Press Stylebook is used to provide consistency in presenting
information, but your unit may have its own local stylebook supplement.

Grammar
The journalist who uses language correctly increases readers’ understanding of the
text. Grammatical errors place the writer on a mediocre level and make the newspaper
seem unprofessional. If necessary, do extra work to fine-tune your knowledge of English
grammar. Several grammar tutorials and reference books are available at the
schoolhouse, post library and local bookstores.

Policy
The copy editor ensures violations of service policies, statements in bad taste or
security violations are deleted from stories. It is your responsibility to ensure that writing
doesn’t violate the sensitivities of the community. Refrain from including vulgarity, gore,
obscenity, lewdness, excessive violence and information that may ridicule the military or
its members. Journalists should become familiar with the appropriate regulations, policies
and instructions to be able to identify potentia