User:TUF-KAT/Copyediting

General Notes

Shorter is always better. Any time you can say something in five words rather than seven words, do so. This is more complicated than it might seem, as humans tend to stick extra words in that are simply not needed. Most of copyediting consists of removing words - this is not Wikipedia-specific, it is primarily what copyeditors do, whether they work in fiction, non-fiction, academic journals, government reports or anything else. Yes, they also fix spelling, punctuation and such, but the bulk of the changes they make to a document consists of removing stuff. Not only is that what copyeditors do, but any guide to writing will tell authors the same thing - the key to writing well is to write a lot, then remove the excess well. After the rough draft of a book is complete, authors revise primarily by removing unnecessary verbiage. Some writing guides will tell you that you must remove at least 10% (or even more) of the total verbiage or you're not doing it right.

Adverbs and Adjectives

Adverbs and adjectives are over-used. For example, I initially typed Adverbs and adjectives are frequently over-used, then realized that "over-used" implies "frequently". Many adverbs and adjectives do not add value to a sentence.

Adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. They mostly end in -ly, and include "happily", "inspiringly" and "worringly"

Adjectives modify nouns. They include "beautiful", "habitual" and "swift"

Passive Voice

Every sentence is either in active voice or passive voice. Active is more common, and consists of a subject, followed by a verb, then an object (optionally). Passive voice consists of an object, followed by a verb, then the subject.

• Passive: The song was composed by the band.
• Active: The band composed the song.

• Passive: Mary's watch had been returned by her ex-husband.
• Active: Mary's ex-husband returned her watch.

• Passive: The study was conducted by a team of scientists who were sent by Cornell University, to study what the epidemic was caused by.
• Active: Cornell University sent a team of scientists to conduct a study on the causes of the epidemic.

As you can see, in all three of these examples, the active version is shorter, and shorter is always better.

Note especially that third example. The passive voice contains three uses of the verb to be (was, were, was), all of which are removed when the sentence is made active. This is because the passive voice requires the use of a form of the verb to be. One way to find the passive voice in your writing is to look for any instance of that verb, and see if you can reword the sentence without using it. If you can, it is usually better to do so - not all uses of to be are passive, of course, but even many of those that are not will be poor style for other reasons, so it would be good to develop an eye for the following words and terms:

be, am, is, are, were, was, weren't, wasn't, aren't, isn't, should be, would be, could be, had been, has been

Pronouns

Pronouns replace a noun. It is important that you make it clear what noun the pronoun has replaced. Generally, it should be the closest previous noun to the pronoun.

Simpler Words

Never use an obscure word if it can be replaced with a common word.

• Her sophomore album was a dud can be Her second album was a dud
• The blast rattled his cranium can be The blast rattled his skull ( or head or brain)
• Her arguments obfuscated the issue can be Her arguments confused the issue (or even clouded)

Words to Avoid

The following words and terms should usually be removed, as they do not typically add value to a sentence.

Any form of the verb consists (e.g. My life has consisted of a string of failures is better as My life has been a string of failures)

Any form of "there are", especially at the beginning of sentences (e.g. There are a number of reasons I failed the test is better as I failed the test for a number of reasons)

The following connectors are usually not necessary (replace with "and" most of the time): As well as, In addition to

"Frequently", "usually" and "often" are redundant if the surrounding text implies it - check uses of these words thoroughly

Look for any instance of "that" or "which", and see if it is really necessary. Obviously, these are often used correctly, but they are also over-used. If they can be removed, do so.