• The traditional definition of a “widow” and “orphan” in typography.
• How these words are now often used to describe a typographical “runt.”
• How you should approach widows and orphans as a proofreader.

Read on below to find out what to look for when proofreading typeset texts.

What Is a Widow in Typography?

A widow is a final line that appears on a separate page from the rest of its paragraph. This leaves it by itself at the top of a page, with the rest of the paragraph on the previous page:

Most publishers try to avoid this, since it breaks the flow of the writing.

What Is an Orphan in Typography?

An orphan is a first line that appears on a separate page from the rest of its paragraph. You may spot one at the bottom of a page somewhere:

As with widows, orphans interrupt the flow of writing, so publishers prefer to avoid them.

What Is a Runt in Typography?

So far, so simple. But we’re not done yet! These days, a lot of people use “widow” or “orphan” to refer to a single word or short phrase on a line by itself at the end of a paragraph:

These lonely words and phrases are also known as runts in some cases. What constitutes a runt also varies, though it can include anything less than half the width of a paragraph.

Runts like these aren’t necessarily problems, but they can look untidy and leave a lot of extra white space on a page. Thus, some designers and publishers prefer to avoid them.

Due to the variation in terminology, moreover, it is always worth checking exactly what your client means if they mention widows, orphans, or runts in the brief for a proofreading job.

How to Fix Widows and Orphans

When proofreading a typeset text, such as the page proofs for a book, you’ll want to point out widows, orphans, and runts for your client. You may even want to leave a comment with a suggestion for fixing it (e.g., cutting a word or two from a preceding line).

However, you will not need to change them directly. That’s a job for a typographer! When copy editing a document in a word processor, meanwhile, widows, orphans, and runts aren’t usually an issue since the text isn’t set in place. And many word processors even come with in-built features to prevent widows and orphans occurring.

But, if you know your client will be skipping the typesetting process and printing from the draft, you can note any issues with the layout you spot in the document. If they want you to then tweak the text to remove widows and/or orphans, you can do so.

Becoming A Proofreader

If you’d like to learn more about how to proofread texts of various kinds, our Becoming A Proofreader course was made for you! Sign up for a free trial today to find out more.

The post Editing Tips: Widows and Orphans Explained appeared first on Knowadays.

• What sic means
• How and when to use it
• The alternatives to using sic
• How to proofread documents with quotations

Read on to learn more about using sic in quotations.

What Does Sic Mean?

Sic is short for the Latin phrase sic erat scriptum, which means thus it was written. As this suggests, people use sic to show that a quote has been reproduced exactly from the source – including any spelling and grammatical errors and non-standard spellings.

How and When to Use Sic (with Examples)

There are several ways that you can use sic in a quotation:

1. To show that you’ve copied an error in a quotation from the original text (rather than introducing it accidentally). 

This is the most commonly used version of sic. You simply put sic in square brackets after the word that is misspelled. For instance: 

They started there [sic] company in 1992.

Here, we have added sic in square brackets to show that we know there is incorrect. If we didn’t do this, a reader might think we’ve misquoted the source and introduced an error.

1. For archaic or dialect spellings that could be interpreted as errors.

UK and US English spell certain words differently, so you can use sic to indicate this. For example: 

The best flavour [sic] of ice cream is chocolate.

If you’re using an older text, some of the words may have older versions of spellings, and you can use sic to indicate this. For instance: 

Shakesper [sic] is the greatest playwright of all time.

1. To show irony or poke fun at the original writer.

Although this is less common, some writers use sic to indicate irony in a text or tease the original writer. This use is similar to using scare quotes. For example: 

The Titanic is unsinkable [sic].

Alternatives to Using Sic

Writers commonly use sic to show that they have reproduced the text as it was written in the original document. But sic isn’t the only way to do this. In fact, there are three other ways:

1. Paraphrase

Paraphrasing means to write the information in your own words. This means that you would remove the need for the word sic in your writing. Just be sure to properly reference the original text to avoid plagiarism. 

1. Replace

You can just replace the incorrectly written word with the correct spelling in square brackets:

Go over [there].

This is cleaner but not always appropriate. For instance, if you’re writing about how spelling has changed over time, it would be more appropriate to show the incorrect spelling and use sic.

1. Recte

Recte means rightly in Latin and can replace sic. Recte is usually used with the correctly spelled word: 

Go over their [recte there].

Proofreading Documents with Quotation

As a proofreader, you will not need to add sic to a quotation if you spot an error. After all, unless you have the quoted source to hand, you won’t know whether the error was in the original version. But you may need to:

• Make corrections or leave a comment if you see sic being misused.
• Suggest alternative ways to address errors in quotations.

This last point is key, as sic is most useful when an author needs to preserve an error in quoted text (e.g. if they’re analysing typos in a body of writing).

In other cases, it would be simpler for the author to correct the error. This may involve marking the correction with square brackets to indicate the change:

They started [their] company in 1992.

However, different style guides have different rules for how to treat typos in quotations, so you may also want to check your client’s chosen style guide on this matter.

Style Guides on Sic

As mentioned above, different style guides have different rules on how to approach errors in quotations. And this includes how they use the word sic. To help you out, then, we’ve compiled a list of what a few major style guides say:

• The AMA style guide suggests using sic in square brackets to indicate a spelling or grammar error in a quotation, but not typically for archaic or obsolete spellings.
• APA style involves using sic (italicised and in square brackets) to indicate a typo in a quotation, but it does not use it for archaic or regional spellings.
• The Associated Press Stylebook suggests paraphrasing text that contains spelling or grammar errors rather than quoting it exactly.
• The Chicago Manual of Style says to use sic (italicised and in square brackets) to draw attention to an error in a quotation. However, unless it is important to preserve the error, it is better to simply correct minor errors in quoted text.
• MLA style suggests using sic (italicised and in square brackets) to highlight spelling or grammar errors in quoted text.

For more information on how to proofread documents that contain quotations, see our Becoming A Proofreader course (in particular the academic proofreading module).

Becoming A Proofreader

Want to be able to proofread any business, creative, or academic document to a professional standard? Our comprehensive Becoming A Proofreader course will take you from complete beginner to confident, trained professional. Sign up for a free trial today.

The post How and When to Use Sic in a Quotation appeared first on Knowadays.

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to capitalize titles by focusing on the four common styles of title capitalization:

• Title case, which capitalizes the first letter of certain words
• Sentence case, in which you capitalize titles as though they’re sentences
• Initial case, where you capitalize the first letter of every word
• All caps, where you capitalize the entire title

After that, we’ll also look at the rules that APA, Chicago, MLA, and AP style, respectively, recommend.

What Is Title Case?

In title case (or headline style), you’ll need to capitalize the first letter of the following:

• The first word in the title or subtitle(s)
• Nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns
• Verbs and all words in verb phrases
• Adverbs and adjectives

You can see an example of this style below:

Note that the length of a word does not matter here: Even though it’s only two letters long, we capitalize Is because it’s a verb, but we don’t capitalize the prepositions at and in or the conjunction the. Whether to capitalize a word simply depends on the word type.

What Is Sentence Case?

Sentence case (or sentence style) treats titles like sentences. This means you should only capitalize the following:

• The first word in a title or subtitle
• All the letters in an acronym or initialism
• The first letter in proper nouns

In other words, you capitalize a word if you would usually capitalize it in a sentence.

If we return to our example title from above, we would write it like this:

Here, the only capitalized words are A, Why (the first words in the title and subtitle, respectively), FBI (a proper noun and an initialism), and America (a proper noun).

What Is Initial Case?

In initial case, you capitalize the first letter of every word in titles and subtitles. For instance:

This is fairly rare, but some people prefer it for its simplicity.

What Is All Caps?

One more way of writing titles is to capitalize everything. We call this all caps:

Some people also mix all caps with another style, using small caps for lowercase letters:

These styles are very striking, so they’re especially common in marketing copy. However, you will also find them in certain titles of books, journal articles, and elsewhere.

Style Guide Rules on Title Capitalization

Most style guides and sheets will advise on how to capitalize headings, so make sure to check whether your client is using one. Most guides will also stick with one of the styles we’ve outlined above, but you’ll find some variations among them.

Let’s review some well-known examples.

How to Capitalize a Title in APA Style

APA uses both title case (for titles in the main body of a document) and sentence case (for titles in reference lists). In addition, when using title case, APA capitalizes all words of four or more letters, including conjunctions and prepositions.

Title case: Murder Most Horrid: A Stud of Crime Rates in America
Sentence case: Crime prevention: A methodological approach for police officers

How to Capitalize a Title in Chicago Style

The Chicago Manual of Style recommends using title case, wherein you capitalize the first letter of the first word and all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. It also suggests capitalizing all conjunctions other than and, but, for, or, and nor:

An In-Depth Study of Utensils and Their Efficacy When Eating Pizza

How to Capitalize a Title in MLA Style

MLA style uses a title case system, but it also recommends capitalizing any word of four or more letters, including conjunctions and prepositions:

Ears in the Water: Can Dolphins Understand Us?

How to Capitalize a Title in AP Style

The AP Stylebook suggests using title case for headings and subheadings and requires capitalization of all words three or more letters long:

Send Me an Angel: Examining the Music of Blind Willie McTell

Becoming a Proofreader or Editor

If you’re interested in learning more about writing titles properly and exploring the various capitalization styles, consider checking out our Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses.

These courses offer a variety of learning modules that will teach you even more than capitalization. They cover everything you need to know about academic proofreading and editing.

If you’re interested, check our free trial today.

The post How to Capitalize Titles appeared first on Knowadays.

1. Learning Word 2019
2. Microsoft Word 2016: Beginner and Intermediate Training
3. Microsoft Word 2016 – Word Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training
4. Learning Word for the Web (Office 365/Microsoft 365)
5. Knowadays Formatting In Microsoft Word

Keep reading to learn more about these Microsoft Word courses!

The Best Microsoft Word Courses

With so many Microsoft Word course options, from those aimed at beginners to those focused on developing niche skills, it can be hard to choose just one. We’ll be looking at five popular courses and investigating what they offer in terms of key features, format, course material, certification options, and price.

1. Learning Word 2019

Learning Word 2019, offered by Linkedin Learning, is one of the shortest, most basic Microsoft Word courses available. It covers the essential tools and features needed to create a presentable document, including how to create and save new documents, add images, and create headers/footers.

This course consists of one module, and most students will be able to complete it within an hour. It uses a combination of nine videos, two practice exercises, and one quiz to teach the material. After completing the course, you receive a certificate of completion and one National Association of State Boards of Accountancy continuing education credit. Currently, Learning Word 2019 is available on Linkedin for $34.99.

2. Microsoft Word 2016: Beginner and Intermediate Training

Microsoft Word 2016: Beginner and Intermediate Training, offered by Udemy, is taught by a certified Microsoft Word expert using practical, hands-on exercises and quizzes. It offers beginner to intermediate training broken down into 11 modules (each taking approximately 20 minutes), covering topics such as using hyperlinks and text boxes, adding page breaks, and controlling the spacing and margins of your document.

The course finishes with a final capstone project to give you a chance to apply the skills you’ve learned. You do not need prior knowledge of Microsoft Word to take this course and you receive a training certificate upon completion.

3. Microsoft Word 2016 – Word Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training

Microsoft Word 2016 – Word Bootcamp – Zero to Hero Training is offered by Skillshare (which has an annual membership fee of $165.00) for complete Microsoft Word beginners. This is a project-based course, and you learn by examining real-life documents, such as business reports and marketing newsletters. The course is aimed primarily at those who use Microsoft Word for work, as the material covers working with things like company logos, PDFs, and corporate templates.

This course, which offers a free trial, is broken down into 52 short videos and generally takes about three to four hours to complete. It includes a printable cheat sheet of the material and practice exercises but does not include a certificate upon completion. You should also note that, while most of the material will be applicable for Mac users, the course was created for the PC version of Word 2016.

4. Learning Word for the Web (Office 365/Microsoft 365)

Learning Word for the Web (Office 365/Microsoft 365), offered by Linkedin Learning, is designed to instruct users on the web-based version of Microsoft Word. It provides an overview of Word’s online app, its features, and ways in which it differs from the desktop version.

Included for $34.99 are three modules with 17 videos. The course is designed for those who have experience using the desktop version of Word but are new to the online version. It also includes a certificate upon completion. One thing to keep in mind about the online version of Word, however, is that it does not include all of the features included in the desktop version.

5. Knowadays Formatting In Microsoft Word

Offered by Knowadays, Formatting In Microsoft Word teaches a very specific (but very marketable) skill – advanced formatting. While it is not for complete beginners (basic knowledge of Word is recommended), it’s the ideal course for anyone who wants to take their Microsoft Word formatting skills to the next level and further their career by becoming proficient in Word’s more complex features, such as themes and macros. It’s important to note that if you’re a freelance proofreader or editor, adding advanced formatting to your repertoire can help you attract more clients and earn more money.

For $199, Formatting In Microsoft Word includes 11 modules, 30+ lessons, and 20 practice-based exercises. The comprehensive material was created by Microsoft Word formatting experts and includes a variety of learning tools, such as text instructions, images, step-by-step demo videos, and end-of-lesson quizzes. One standout feature is that you are given access to tutor support as you progress through the course. It culminates in a final self-evaluated project, and a certificate is available upon completion.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Which Microsoft Word Course Is Best for You?

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which course best fits your requirements. It largely depends on your:

• Reasons for expanding your skillset
• Budget
• Schedule
• Experience level
• Learning style

Of course, you should also always read the reviews and testimonials for courses you’re interested in and take advantage of any free trials that are offered.

Our Formatting In Microsoft Word course offers a varied course format and comes with a 14-day money back guarantee. Plus, our friendly customer service team is always available to answer any questions. Claim your free trial today!

The post 5 of the Best Microsoft Word Courses appeared first on Knowadays.

Whether you’re working on a creative writing project or a professional resume, you should always choose a font that enhances readability and visual appeal while keeping the focus on your content. In this post, we’ll discuss how to choose a font for your (or your client’s) document, including:

1. What are the different types of fonts?
2. What’s the difference between a typeface and a font?
3. What is a serif font?
4. What is a sans-serif font?
5. How to choose a font for your document.

Keep reading to learn more.

What Are the Different Types of Fonts?

Part of why choosing a font is so difficult is because there are thousands of different fonts and typefaces available: script, decorative, display, monospaced, etc. They each have their own unique characteristics, and your ideal font largely depends on your document and target audience. Here, we’ll be focusing on two popular font styles: serif and sans serif.

What’s the Difference Between a Typeface and a Font?

The terms typeface and font are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings within the field of typography. A typeface refers to a set of stylistically related characters with consistent design attributes. It encompasses the overall visual appearance (such as shape and style) of a collection of letters, numbers, or other characters. Arial, Times New Roman, and Helvetica are all examples of different typefaces.

A font, however, refers to a variation of a typeface. It represents a specific style, weight, and size within a typeface family. Fonts are digital files that contain the information necessary to display a particular typeface on a computer screen or in print. For instance, Arial Regular, Arial Bold, and Arial Italic are all different font styles within the Arial typeface family.

What Is a Serif Font?

A serif is a typeface that features small lines or strokes at the end of a larger stroke in a character. These strokes can be thick or thin and contain several decorative variations and flourishes. Serif fonts are known for their legibility and traditional appearance, making them ideal for print materials such as books and newspapers.

Serif fonts have a long history and many believe they originated from the classical Latin alphabet and were initially designed to mimic the brush or chisel strokes used in stone carving.

As writing systems evolved and manuscripts were produced, various styles of serifs emerged. In fact, the first printed books in the 15th century used serif typefaces that imitated the handwriting of the time.

Some examples of widely used serif fonts include Times New Roman, Baskerville, Didot, Bookman Old Style, Garamond, and Georgia:

What Is a Sans-Serif Font?

A sans serif is a typeface that doesn’t have small lines (serifs) at the end of the strokes. The term sans is derived from the French word for without. Sans-serif fonts have a more clean, crisp, minimalist design than serif fonts. Due to their contemporary appearance, they’re ideal for digital content, such as websites and mobile apps, as they are generally more appropriate for short passages of text and user interfaces.

Some examples of sans-serif fonts are Arial, Lato, Helvetica, Roboto, and Montserrat:

How to Choose a Font for Your Document

Here are three factors to consider when choosing a font for your document:

1. The purpose of the document
2. The target audience
3. Consistent implementation

1. The Purpose of the Document

Different fonts convey different tones and levels of formality, so it’s important to consider the purpose of the document when choosing a font. If you’re working on a document for a client and are unsure of their font preferences, check the brief or style guidelines. Some companies or brands may have established industry standards.

2. The Target Audience

Consider the target audience of the text when selecting a font, as different age groups and demographics have varying levels of reading ability and visual acuity. For example, if you’re writing a children’s book, you should choose a font that’s simple and easy to follow rather than fancy and complex. And if your target audience is seniors, avoid stylized, decorative fonts and stick to clear, readable ones like Times New Roman or Arial.

3. Consistent Implementation

No matter what font you choose, it’s important to apply it consistently throughout the text. When multiple fonts are used haphazardly, it can create a chaotic or disjointed look and appear unprofessional. The focus of your text should be your content, and inconsistent formatting distracts from your overall message.

Knowadays Courses

Do you want to learn more about how to apply and customize fonts in Microsoft Word? Our formatting course will teach you everything you need to know about typefaces and fonts, as well as a variety of other advanced formatting tools. Check it out today!

The post How to Choose a Font for Your Document appeared first on Knowadays.

In this post, we’ll review the essentials of recording macros and provide you with an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process. We’ll cover:

1. What is a macro?
2. When would you use macros?
3. How do you record macros?
4. How you can learn more about Microsoft Word’s tools and features.

Keep reading to dive right in!

What Is a Macro?

A macro is a recorded sequence of actions or commands that can be used to automate repetitive tasks. To do this, you record a series of steps and then replay them when needed.

Macros can be used to perform various tasks within a document, such as formatting text, applying styles, and inserting content.

When Would You Use Macros?

Since macros automate frequently used functions, they can significantly increase productivity and save time with the click of a button! You might use them to:

1. Standardize Document Formatting

Macros can help ensure consistent formatting throughout your documents. You can record a macro that applies a predefined set of formatting styles, headers, footers, etc. to ensure consistency across multiple documents.

2. Integrate With Other Applications

Macros can facilitate integration between Microsoft Word and other applications. For example, you could create macros that interact with data from Excel spreadsheets, pull information from databases, or generate reports by combining data from different sources.

3. Perform Complex or Repetitive Calculations

Macros can help automate complex calculations within your Word documents. You can record macros that perform calculations, manipulate data, or generate reports based on the document content.

4. Automate Repetitive Tasks

Macros can save you time and effort by automating repetitive tasks. For example, if you frequently apply a specific formatting style with lots of steps or repeatedly insert the same content, you could record a macro to perform those actions with just one click.

How Do You Record Macros in Microsoft Word?

Follow these steps to record a macro in Word:

1. Ensure that the Developer tab is visible in the ribbon. If it’s not, you can enable it by going to the Word Options dialog box, selecting Customize Ribbon in the left-hand navigation pane, and checking the box next to Developer in the Main Tabs section.
2. Once it’s visible, click on the Developer tab. This contains various tools and features for creating and managing macros.
3. In the Developer tab, click on the Record Macro button. This will open the Record Macro dialog box.
4. In the Record Macro dialog box, you can name your macro in the Macro name field. Make sure to use a descriptive name that reflects the purpose of the macro.
5. If you want to assign a keyboard shortcut to the macro, you can do this by clicking on the Keyboard button and selecting the desired key combination.
6. Choose where you want to store the macro. To store it in the document you’re working on, select This Document (normal.dotm). To make the macro available for any document, select All Documents (normal.dotm). You have the option to add a description for the macro in the Description field.
7. Click OK to start recording.
8. Perform the actions you want to record. These can include typing, formatting text, inserting content, applying styles, and any other actions you want to automate.
9. When you finish recording, click Stop Recording in the Developer tab, or go back to the Record Macro dialog box and click Stop Recording.

Knowadays Courses

Are you interested in learning more about how to format in Microsoft Word? Formatting is a great skill to have in your repertoire as a freelancer – and offering it as an additional service can help you attract new clients.

Our formatting course features over 30 lessons that will teach you how to format documents professionally. Learn about key formatting tools and functions in Microsoft Word, and how to build an effective formatting workflow. Check it out today!

The post What Is a Macro in Microsoft Word? appeared first on Knowadays.

If you’re not sure about providing these services, this post can help you decide by exploring the following:

• Should you offer document formatting services?
• How do you offer formatting services as a proofreader or editor?
• How do you format using Microsoft Word?

Should You Offer Document Formatting Services?

Offering document formatting services isn’t essential for proofreaders or editors, but many choose to add it to help expand their client base and increase the earning potential of their business. Those who offer formatting will often scope their services to ensure that clients understand the difference between proofreading/editing and formatting and what they can expect in the final product.

Deciding whether you should offer formatting and additional specific services comes down to three key considerations:

1. Your skill set
2. The cost-to-benefit ratio
3. The fields or industries you work in

1. Do You Have the Skill Set?

You will need an understanding of at least some of the formatting tools available in Microsoft Word or other word processors. Furthermore, you should understand how to perform several basic formatting tasks that facilitate or streamline other formatting requirements.

For example, applying styles to headings is useful for consistency, but people often use styles to generate a dynamic table of contents. If you’re comfortable generating tables and lists and applying styles, you could reasonably offer at least a basic formatting package. However, if you’re not able to perform these tasks, you’ll want to learn how to before committing to offering the services. An online course can help you develop the skills you need in this regard.

2. Is the Service Worth Your Effort?

Offering formatting services can provide additional revenue per document but only if you can format a document in an effective and efficient manner. A cost–benefit analysis can be helpful. Basic formatting services often cost less than proofreading and editing services, so you’ll want to know that the time you spend formatting wouldn’t be better spent proofreading or editing.

Microsoft Word offers the ability to record and code macros to help automate many formatting and other oft-repeated tasks, saving you time.

3. Does Your Field or Industry Often Require Formatting?

Some fields and industries rely on document formatting more than others. Researchers, for example, aim to publish their work in academic journals, which often have strict formatting requirements in their style guides. Conversely, marketing agencies tend to rely on designers to create the layout for advertisements, posters, or displays, meaning a proofreader may only flag layout issues rather than correcting them.

How to Offer Formatting Services as a Proofreader or Editor

Promoting formatting services is no different from promoting yourself as a freelance proofreader or editor. However, many potential clients may not realize that document formatting is an option when they’re selecting someone for editorial support, so you’ll want to ensure that the service offering is clearly visible, regardless of the selected medium.

The following are additional tips on how to offer formatting services.

1. Learn and Develop

If you already possess basic or advanced formatting skills, then great! Continue to practice and develop these skills so you remain effective and efficient. However, if you don’t feel confident with formatting tasks, don’t worry – you can learn through online training. For example, our Formatting in Microsoft Word course teaches a number of advanced formatting skills and gives you the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned.

2. Define, Scope, and Promote

As a freelance proofreader and/or editor, you already know that promoting yourself on LinkedIn, social media, job boards, and forums is important. You’ll want to update your resume and profiles to showcase your formatting proficiency and experience.

Start by defining and scoping your formatting service. You should promote only what you’re capable of doing, and you should read job descriptions carefully to ensure that you feel comfortable with the required tasks. Consider the core and related skills you’re confident with, such as creating page columns, and either promote these in your listings or be prepared to discuss them. By doing this, you’re making clients feel confident that they’ll receive a professionally presented document.

Remember to update your resume and profiles to reflect the new skills you’ve developed.

3. Competitive and Beneficial Pricing

Analyzing your cost-to-benefit ratio can help you determine what you should set as a baseline for formatting and help you avoid common issues when offering freelance services. Some proofreaders and editors prefer to see the documents before agreeing to a rate since the documents could have ghost formatting issues that will require time to troubleshoot and address.

The Editorial Freelancers Society offers average editorial rates for various services, including document formatting, design, and layout.

Learn How to Format Documents in Microsoft Word

Whether you’re new to document formatting or have years of experience, showcasing your training and experience can help you promote formatting services as a proofreader or editor. Our Formatting in Microsoft Word course will train you in performing basic and advanced document formatting tasks and, upon completion, provide you with a certificate of completion that you can add to your resume and online profiles. Check it out here!

The post How to Offer Formatting Services as a Proofreader or Editor appeared first on Knowadays.

But as a proofreader, should you provide formatting services? The answer comes down to how familiar you are with formatting in Microsoft Word or other word processors and whether you want to expand the services you offer to clients.

In this post, we’ll discuss:

• What is proofreading?
• What is formatting?
• Should proofreaders offer formatting services?

Keep reading to learn more about the difference between proofreading and formatting and how you can develop your formatting skills.

What Is Proofreading?

In short, proofreading ensures the text of a document reads right. Proofreaders typically do the following:

• Correct any grammar, syntax, word choice, or punctuation issues.
• Check for consistency in spelling, capitalization, and typeface.
• Ensure the document follows the relevant style guide, including checking that any references appear correctly.

Proofreading often follows copy editing to ensure errors introduced by the author or editor are addressed before print. In the traditional publishing and content production industries (such as book publishers and marketing agencies), proofreading follows document design and includes checking for mechanical errors as well as ensuring the layout format of the text looks correct.

Often, a proofreader might only comment on formatting issues rather than address them directly, leaving designers and typesetters to correct the problems.

What Is Formatting?

While proofreading ensures the text reads right, formatting ensures the text looks right.

Anyone can have a well-written report or thesis, but if the layout results in boring walls of text without obvious structure and breakpoints, readers may feel overwhelmed and lose interest. In short, formatting ensures the document is professionally presented, be it a dissertation, journal article, blog post, business report, or even an entire book.

Formatting often includes the following tasks, depending on the type of document:

• Adjusting font, paragraph, and page-display settings.
• Applying styles for titles, headings, subheadings, captions, etc.
• Working with graphic elements.
• Inserting page and section breaks and creating page columns.
• Adding page numbers and section information to headers and footers.
• Creating a table of contents, list of tables, or list of figures.

Formatting a document can be performed in any standard word processor or design software, but most of the time, proofreaders use Microsoft Word. Fortunately, this program makes formatting easy by having pre-set styles that can be applied to headers, body text, captions, lists, etc. This makes it much easier to create a table of contents, a list of tables, or a table of figures.

However, simplicity often comes with its own complications! Once you’ve applied styles throughout a document, you’ll need to check through the whole document to ensure paragraph settings don’t cause awkward page breaks. A keen-eyed proofreader with formatting experience can spot these issues and troubleshoot them to ensure a properly formatted document.

Should Proofreaders Offer Formatting Services?

Whether a proofreader should offer formatting as a service is a matter of their level of comfort with formatting and the cost-to-benefit ratio of having this service. While offering formatting isn’t essential, many proofreaders do include it as an additional service. This allows them to provide a more comprehensive, specialized service, and in doing so, gives their business a competitive advantage and the potential to increase earnings.

A proofreader trained and experienced with formatting can set styles and apply them throughout a document in a matter of minutes. However, if the proofreader isn’t comfortable with formatting or doesn’t feel they’re fast enough to make it worth their time, then having this as a service may not be ideal.

Learning how to format in Microsoft Word is not difficult, and with practice, patience, and reasoning skills, any proofreader can become an expert in formatting documents. Plus, once they become proficient with formatting in Microsoft Word, learning how to format documents in other platforms, like Google Docs, becomes simpler. Expanding their formatting knowledge and capabilities opens up a proofreader to further client opportunities since clients’ preferences vary in terms of platforms.

Advanced Formatting in Microsoft Word

Learning how to format documents may seem like a complicated technical process, but it doesn’t have to be! Taking an online course on how to format documents can help you develop and master the skills needed to effectively and efficiently format a document, no matter the content type.

Knowadays’ formatting course, Formatting in Microsoft Word, will walk you through how to format documents in Microsoft Word and provide lots of opportunities to hone your skills. You can read more about the course here.

The post What’s the Difference between Proofreading and Formatting? appeared first on Knowadays.

What Is Accessibility in Writing?

Accessibility is the process of making sure something is accessible or available to as many people as possible. In writing, this involves making sure that a text is readable for people with vision impairment, cognitive disabilities, or other specific reading needs. 

Making digital documents accessible is a legal requirement in many countries, including the US and the UK. This means you’ll likely be approached by clients to ensure that their writing meets these requirements.

There are a vast number of ways to improve the accessibility of a document, and the changes you make will depend on the needs of many different people. 

For example, people with visual disabilities or sensory issues often make use of screen readers; devices that translate text into audio or braille. Understanding how these tools work may inform many of your decisions when editing.

Making writing accessible can also benefit people who speak English as a second language or even those who need to skim read a document, so it’s a good to keep these readers in mind, too. For now, though, we’ve got some basic tips to help you edit a document for accessibility.

1. Use Heading Styles

A clear structure makes a document more readable. You can use heading styles to indicate structure and allow readers to navigate a document more easily. When editing the headings in a document, make sure that:

• Your client has used the heading styles provided by their word processing software (such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs), rather than manually bolding or enlarging text to look like a heading. This is because screen readers will not interpret this type of title as a heading. 
• Headings are placed in the appropriate order to better indicate where one section ends and another begins (for example, Heading 1 should be used for main headings, Heading 2 for subheadings, and so on).
• Headings are visually different from each other to aid in moving from one section to the next.
• Stacked headings (two headings with no normal text in between them) are avoided wherever possible.

2. Make Linked Text Descriptive

Both internal and external links are often a crucial part of digital documents. But while links might be obvious for some (for example, by being underlined or in bold), it can be harder for those with limited vision to identify them and know where they lead.

For this reason, you should make sure your client has provided meaningful text to accompany any links in their document. It should indicate that a link has been provided and where it directs to.

The easiest way to do this is by checking that the sentence would still make sense if the link itself were removed:

Click here to learn more. ✘

Visit our About page to learn more. ✔

You’ll also need to check that your client hasn’t used the same link text for different destinations. For example, if two links within a document are labeled “About Us” but lead to different destinations, one of these will need to be changed.

3. Use Appropriate Formatting Conventions

Font style, color, and layout can affect how easy text is to read, especially for people with vision impairments or cognitive disabilities. To help make text as accessible as possible, keep an eye on how your client uses:

• Font styles. Sans serif fonts are generally easier to read than serif fonts, as the lack of ornamentation makes individual letters clearer.
• Font color. Color alone should not be used to provide meaning and should be accompanied by relevant text or symbols. There should also be a significant contrast between the text and background color:

Color contrast is important. ✘

Color contrast is important. ✔

• Page numbers, headers, and footers. Pages in a long document should be numbered, but some screen readers will not read text provided in a header or footer. Make sure any essential information given here is also provided elsewhere.
• Page alignment. Text should always be left-aligned, not right-aligned or centered.

Formatting isn’t always the responsibility of an editor, but if your client has asked you to edit their work for accessibility, it’s an important aspect to consider.

4. Provide Alt Text for Images, Tables, and Diagrams

Screen readers can’t read text that’s part of an image. For this reason, any image, table, or diagram within a document should include Alt (or alternative) text.

Alt text, alt tags, or alt descriptions are text that describes an image. If an image doesn’t load, the alt text will be provided instead. It’s these descriptions that screen readers read aloud.

If your client has already provided alt text, make sure it’s sufficiently descriptive and accurately describes the information provided by the image (without being too long). 

A chart about female STEM researchers. ✘ 

A pie chart showing that only 30% of STEM researchers are women. ✔

For more complex images or graphics, your client may need to provide a full in-text description in addition to the alt text. When editing alt text, the key things to remember are what information the reader should gain from an image and whether the alt text provides that information.

5. Write in Plain English

Plain English is a style of writing that focuses on being clear and easy to understand. It can make text more accessible for a wide range of people and provide information quickly and efficiently. Some key components of plain English include:

• Common, everyday language.
• Shorter sentences.
• Structures that prioritize key details.

You may want to consider suggesting your client write in plainer English or adjust their writing with these qualities in mind.

Of course, the purpose of the document will determine whether plain English is appropriate. A piece of creative or literary writing, for example, will likely make use of more complex language and structure. But for most documents, writing in plain English will ensure the content is as accessible as possible.

Becoming An Editor

If this introduction to editing for accessibility has piqued your interest, why not become an editor yourself? Our Becoming An Editor course offers comprehensive training, from the basics of editing to how to launch your own freelance career.

Check out the full curriculum on the course page or sign up for a free trial.

The post How to Edit Documents and Text for Accessibility appeared first on Knowadays.

We’ll explain everything you must know about these literary devices, including the different ways to format them.

What’s an Epigraph?

An epigraph is a short quotation placed at the beginning of a book as part of the front matter or at the start of a chapter.

This quote is usually borrowed from an existing work, like a novel, poem, song lyrics, religious text, or nonfiction book. 

The author will have carefully selected an epigraph for a specific purpose. This might include:

• Setting up a central theme, message, or plot point the reader will encounter.
• Establishing the book’s mood or tone, so that the reader knows what to expect.
• Providing context, suggesting a historical setting, or explaining some aspect of the world the story takes place in.
• Recognising a work or individual who has inspired the author and their writing.
• Introducing a text referenced later.

Epigraphs can vary in length but are usually no longer than a paragraph.

Epigraphs in Literature

Epigraphs aren’t mandatory, but they’re found in many literary works.

For example, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is prefaced by an epigraph that quotes the epic poem Paradise Lost:

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me Man, did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?”

In doing so, Shelley introduces the Biblical theme of creation and the relationship between ‘Maker’ (Dr. Frankenstein) and ‘Man’ (Frankenstein’s monster), which is explored in the novel.

Mario Puzi’s The Godfather, on the other hand, starts with a more down-to-earth epilogue:

“Behind every great fortune, there is a crime.”

With this one simple quote, the reader knows to expect a story about the lives of the rich and the criminal underworld.

Sometimes an author may even quote themselves, their own characters, or an in-universe work in an epigraph. 

For example, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring opens with a poem that describes the history of the eponymous ring:

“One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, / One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.” 

This rhyme exists only within the fantasy world of Middle Earth, where the novel is set, but serves as a perfect way to establish the plot the reader is about to encounter.

Editing Epigraphs

In addition to checking for mechanical errors, you’ll need to perform the following tasks when editing an epigraph:

1. Checking the formatting.
2. Identifying whether an epigraph is suitable.
3. Keeping copyright in mind.

Let’s look at these tasks in more detail.

1. Checking the Formatting 

Epigraphs are typically formatted as follows:

• Placed within quotation marks.
• Indented from the left.
• Followed by an em-dash and the author of the quote’s name on another line.

“This is an example of an epigraph.”

—Knowadays

However, the style guide your client uses may have different rules for formatting the epigraph.

APA style, for example, suggests that quotation marks are unnecessary, and the author’s name should be right-aligned:

This is an example of an epigraph.

—Knowadays

While MLA style recommends providing the epigraph’s source and the author’s name:

This is an example of an epigraph.

—Knowadays, “What Is an Epigraph?”

Whatever style guide your client is using, you’ll need to ensure they’ve properly followed the guidelines for formatting an epigraph.

2. Identifying Whether an Epigraph is Suitable

Deciding whether an epigraph is necessary will mainly come down to the author, but as an editor, you can provide input on its suitability.

If your client’s epigraph doesn’t seem relevant to the book’s content, for example, this could distract or confuse readers. In this case, you would flag the epigraph as an issue.

You should also check that the epigraph sets an appropriate tone or mood for the book it precedes. A lighthearted and joking epigraph, for example, might appear insensitive if placed at the start of a book about the Second World War.

3. Keeping Copyright in Mind 

Epigraphs may be subject to copyright laws, depending on where they’re from and when they were written. 

This means your client could face legal action if they have used a quote for an epigraph without proper permission.

While this sort of legal issue won’t usually be your responsibility as an editor, you might need to flag the problem with your client if the work they are quoting is not in the public domain.

Becoming an Editor

From front to end matter and all that’s in between, you can find everything you need to know about editing books in our Becoming an Editor course’s dedicated creative writing module.

Sign up now to begin your free trial.

The post What Is an Epigraph? (And How to Format One) appeared first on Knowadays.