Copyreading and Headline Writing Practice Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary terms based on copyreading procedures, headline writing rules, and common editing marks.

Copyreading

The final touch given to an article before it goes to the printer, also known as editing or copyediting.

Copyreader

The person who edits or corrects errors in a copy, checks facts, writes headlines, and determines typography.

Copy

Material for a newspaper or magazine article, or the text as written by the author.

Libelous statements

Statements that harm the reputation of persons or subjects and may put the editorial staff in legal trouble.

Slug line

A short title or catchline (1-3 words) often placed at the upper left corner of a copy along with the reporter's name/initials and the date.

30 or #

Symbols used and encircled at the end of an article to indicate the story is finished.

More

A word written at the bottom of an unfinished story page to indicate it continues on the next sheet.

Add one (or first add)

The label used for the second page of a story instead of numbering it as page 2.

Headline

The title of a news story that serves as a display window and a summary for rapid reading.

Telegraphic sentence

A short sentence used in headlines that omits articles, unnecessary auxiliary verbs, and prepositions to save space.

Fat head

A headline error where letters or words are so crowded that there are no spaces between them.

Thin head

A headline error where spaces between letters or words are too wide.

Label head

An incomplete headline that functions like a product label, such as "Christmas Party".

Wooden head

A weak headline that lacks meaning due to the absence of a subject or a verb.

Mandatory head

A headline that gives a command because it begins with a verb.

Screaming head

A big and bold headline used for a short and unimportant story, or a sensationalized head.

Hanging preposition

A headline error where a preposition is placed at the end of a line, separated from its object.

Unit count

A measurement system for headlines where different letters and symbols are assigned specific values (e.g., small letters = 1 unit, m and w = 1.5 units).

Verbal deadwoods

Unnecessary or wordy phrases like "tender his resignation" that should be simplified to "resigned".

Redundant words

Phrases that repeat the same idea unnecessarily, such as "final conclusion" or "new recruit".

Editorializing

The act of including the writer's opinion or subjective comments in a news story, which should be deleted during copyreading.

Stet

A copyreading instruction meaning "let it stand," used to disregard a previous correction.

Ems

A unit of measure for layout; one column of a normal layout is equivalent to 12 ems.

Printer's direction

Special codes like "2-44BB-Rom" that tell the printer the number of columns, font size, font type, and format for a headline.

Abbreviation Rule

The practice of spelling out titles like "Engineer" when used with a surname only, but abbreviating them (e.g., "Engr.") when used with a full name.

Numbers Rule

The guideline to write numbers 1-9 in words and numbers 10 and above in figures, except at the beginning of a sentence.

Infinitive

Used in headlines to indicate a future event, such as "City Hall to push anti-squatting drive."

Proofreading

The process of correcting technical surface-level errors, typographical mistakes, and errors made by the typesetter.