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Copy Editing: 12-Session Self-Paced Course

Learn how to be a copy editor with our self-guided curriculum including lectures, tests, and video

Copy Editing: 12-Session Self-Paced Course
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Mediabistro Self-Paced Courses: Learning for the independent-minded.
No teachers, no fellow students. Just a rich multimedia curriculum designed to teach you what you need to know.

WHERE/WHEN Online, anytime 

CERTIFICATE CREDIT This course is included in the Mediabistro Copy Editing Certificate.

PRICE
$179 ($159 for )
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Course Details

VIDEO: Meet copy editor Cheryl Della Pietra in this preview of the Copy Editing Self-Paced Course.

Learn how to pass edit tests with flying colors and get work as a copy editor. You'll learn how to resolve pesky punctuation issues, spot and correct common errors, and craft elegant sentences. And you'll also discover how to create a career as a copy editor and what life will be like as a freelancer or full-time staffer.

Assignments include newspaper stories, magazine features, press releases, marketing materials, online copy, and fiction.

Click here to preview syllabus for the complete curriculum, including:

  • Session 1: An overview of copy editing
  • Session 2: What is style?
  • Session 3: Comma issues
  • Session 4: Working as a copy editor
  • Session 5: Em dash, en dash, and hyphen usage
  • Session 6: Commonly misused words, agreement, parallelism, capitalization, and headline style
  • Session 7: Modifier issues: dangling modifiers/participles, modifier placement, antecedent problems
  • Session 8: Additional skills, including fact-checking
  • Session 9: More on punctuation: semicolon, period, colon, ellipsis, exclamation point, question mark, single quotes
  • Session 10: Review of common problems: lay/lie, who/whom, that/which, possessives
  • Session 11: Considerations for different media: magazines, newspapers, press materials, books, online, academic, technical, medical, legal; writing headlines; copy-editing quotes
  • Session 12: Working as a copy editor: copy flow, common questions, hours, office politics, and fashioning a career

The self-paced course includes:

  • A video introduction and lesson with mediabistro copy editing instructor Cheryl Della Pietra
  • 11 written lessons 
  • 11 resource lists
  • 12 copy tests and answer keys
  • 2 supplemental videos on fact-checking and life as a copy editor 

By the end of the course, you will have:
Experience copy editing with both AP style and The Chicago Manual of Style and experience copy editing seven kinds of manuscripts (fiction excerpt, medical text, press release, newspaper story, academic text, online story, and magazine feature).

How the self-paced classroom works:

  • You have access to the course platform for three months. Please note, if you sign up after 6 pm ET Monday-Friday, your email invitation will be sent the following business day. 
  • Mediabistro's education team is available to answer your questions.
  • There are no other students and no instructor. Students are invited to post comments on our community forum of media professionals to interact with others in the field. 

Course Syllabus


Copy Editing: 12-Session Self-Paced Course (PDF)
View a sample syllabus for this class here.

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Instructor Bio

Cheryl Della Pietra
Cheryl Della Pietra has been a freelancer for Elle, Us Weekly, LIFE, and Fast Company, where she not-so-quietly obsessed over comma splices and misplaced modifiers. She has previously copyedited at SmartMoney.com and also supervised the copy department at P.O.V. magazine, where she was the research editor. Yearning to have her work copyedited for a change, she has written for Redbook and Marie Claire. Many moons ago, she was Hunter S. Thompson's editorial assistant, a job that honed her margarita-making skills.

Cheryl Della Pietra's Courses
Advanced Copy Editing – (Class starts January 14)
Copy Editing Essentials – New York (Seminar on January 23)
Copy Editing: 12-Session Self-Paced Course
Copy Editing: One-Day Intensive – New York

Testimonials

Cheryl is an excellent instructor. She is knowledgeable and communicates with warmth and humor. She was encouraging, stimulating, and spoke to each participant with respect. -- Miranda Smith

"Cheryl is a great editor and clear communicator. Any level editor will come away improved from her class." -- Sherri Devaney

"Cheryl was amazing. Her teaching skills are excellent and she clearly knows her stuff. Very impressive." -- Carol Wallace

"Cheryl is a phenomenal instructor. She shows that it is possible to be a wordsmith with a sense of humor!" -- Shannon Martin, editor & writer, New York Road Runners

"Cheryl's experience is a huge asset, providing us all with valuable practical advice. I would gladly take another course with her." -- Kelle Walsh

"Cheryl is patient and caring. Her great sense of humor lent to a lot of bantering back and forth. I will definitely take courses with her in the future." -- Michael Maynard

"This class was the shot in the arm that I needed as I tackle new freelance assignments. Cheryl brought real-world experience and answered our various questions with ease and a sharp sense of professionalism." -- Jay Franco

"Cheryl is wonderful! She was extremely thorough in going over our assignments, and very generous in sharing her insights into the publishing industry." -- Susan Case

"Cheryl is a direct, witty, and brilliant instructor! Her seminars are overflowing with invaluable content for entry and seasoned editors." -- Phylencia Taylor

"Cheryl was warm, engaging, and funny. I would definitely take another class with her." -- Diana Tetterton

"Cheryl's a real pro! She did an excellent job of boiling the information down to essentials, and is clearly at the top of her game." -- Alison Mundy

"Cheryl united a diversified class with her personable, approachable style and professionalism. Her course content far surpassed my expectations. I've recommended her class to friends and colleagues." -- Katie Sherman

"It was a pleasure to be in Cheryl's class. She knew her material and the industry, and was very supportive." -- Ellen Ryan

"Cheryl was prepared, knowledgeable, professional, engaging, and giving. I would recommend her to anyone. -- Daniel McCourt

"Cheryl has the perfect qualities in an instructor. She knows her stuff, can explain complex ideas in simple terms, and obviously enjoys teaching." -- Joanne Hus

"Cheryl was all I had hoped for in a teacher: experienced, serious about the subject matter, and able to present lectures and hold chats with a sense of humor." -- Kimberly Stravers

"Cheryl is clear and knowledgeable with a nice and friendly approach to teaching." -- Mindy Liss

"For anyone intimidated by the world of copy editing, Cheryl will quickly put you at ease with her keen insight into the field." -- Alvin Blanco
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