Figure 6-1.—Copy-edited story—Continued.
For example, if the writer forgets to capitalize a
letter such as the “M” and “P’’ in mr. poindexter, the
copy editor, using a soft lead pencil (the tool of the
trade), would inscribe three horizontal lines under each
letter that needs to be capitalized. The copy will then
appear as follows:
mr. poindexter.
When the copy is corrected, the copy editor’s
shorthand indicates that the final work should read as
follows:
Mr. Poindexter.
Most of the copy-editing symbols described in
figure 6-2 are standard to both the Navy and commercial
media. There will be only minor variations from one
newspaper to another. You should learn these symbols
and use there to make changes in your own copy and
copy others submit to you.
APPLYING BASIC RULES
What follows are the basic rules you should
remember when copy-editing stories:
Use a soft, black lead pencil.
6-3
