Chicago Style Workout 14: Editing Tables
This workout centers on paragraphs 3.82–89 of CMOS 18. Advanced editors might tackle the questions cold; learners can study he relevant section in CMOS before answering the questions.
Section 8.1 in the Spotlight
It’s not always obvious whether a word should be capitalized. We know to cap proper names of people, holidays, cities, and countries. But what about words like dad, state, or president? Confusion arises when the same word is capped in one context and lowercased in another:
Philip Gerard talks about research as the act of re-imagining
Philip Gerard’s new book is The Art of Creative Research (University of Chicago Press, 2017). He teaches in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Shop Talk invited Gerard to talk about an example of what he means by “creative research.”
Chicago Style for the Singular They
Since the announcement that the 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style will arrive in September, there has been a lot of buzz about some of the announced changes to the Manual. We’ll be looking closer at some of the changes over the coming weeks. First up is the pronoun they when it refers to a singular antecedent.
Announcing The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition
Yes, the rumors are true: there will be a new CMOS in September! In the seven years since the 16th edition’s debut we’ve seen large shifts in the way we read, write, edit, and do research. The 17th edition will address these changes as well as incorporate many of the suggestions and queries we’ve received over the
But Is It Wrong?
One of the primal joys in life is to do good work. When the suit fits, the accounts balance, or the pie crust is flakey, someone takes pride in it.
In editing, it feels good to make corrections, tidy things up, and serve the reader. It feels good to put knowledge into practice. And—admit it—it feels good to spot an error! . . . Problems arise when
Chicago Style Workout 13: Permissible Changes to Quotations
This workout centers on paragraph 12.7 of CMOS<.em> 18. Of course, any change to a quotation of someone else’s work must be made with extreme care. Even advanced editors might wish to take a look at CMOS before answering the questions.
Section 6.119 in the Spotlight
Many quotations end with a period or comma:
“He’s gone.” She turned away.
“Indeed,” he said.
Others end with a question mark or exclamation point, in which case
Your Editing Stories: A Reluctant Editor
Today we launch a new series written by . . . you! If you have a story about your editing life, send it to us here and we’ll consider it for posting. Gael Spivak works in communications for the Government of Canada. She specializes in plain language writing and editing. Gael sent us her editing story.
3* Rookie Editing Goofs You Can Stop Making Right Now
Some lessons are harder to learn than others. Unfortunately for new copyeditors, sometimes the only way to recognize bad habits is to get slammed a few times by writers pushing back or by supervisors writing stet all over the copy. So let me save you some grief and humiliation! Here are three bad habits I identified the hard way as a young editor.
