Day one

Part one

• Brief introduction to the role of the sub-editor in your organisation

• How sub-editing differs from proofreading

• Building a process based on appropriate essential checks for the type of copy, usually including:

• Does the copy fit the brief/meet its intended purpose?

- Is it pitched at the right level for the target audience?

- Is it factually accurate?

- Is it a good read – and written to house style?

- Does it meet SEO requirements?

- Is it legally sound?

• Intro exercise

Part two

• Practical exercise

• Feedback and good practice examples of sentences that work well, versus the poorly constructed.

Part three

• How to use structure as the foundation for efficient sub-editing:

• Demonstration of the inverted pyramid for news (a top-loading format also effective for online content of all types including emails, short form content including marketing copy)

• Introduction to the 5Ws - a formula to help subs check content has key information readers require

Part four

• Practical exercises

Day two

Part one

• How to use structure as the foundation for efficient sub-editing:

- Demonstration of a variety of feature/ long-form structures – including the diamond, hexagon, egg, egg timer, multi-pyramid …

• Discussion of common problems and examples of how to fix copy that needs more than a tweak, with emphasis on improving intros and conclusions:

- weak intro

- lack of pace

- clunky transitions

- repetition

- length

- flabby sentences

- lame conclusion

Part two

• Practical exercise

• Feedback and group discussion.

Part three

• Discussion on how to work well with writers on opinion or first-person pieces, in particular learning to respect a writer’s individual style and voice.

• Examples of when to change copy and when to leave it alone – particular focus on how to edit direct quotes/ paraphrase effectively.

Part four

• Writing titles and headlines that inform, promise and engage

- How SEO influences and helps headline writing

- How to balance creativity with practicality

- How to stay on the right side of click-bait

- How to use the other complementary display copy, that helps sell a piece – blurbs, call-outs, captions

• Final practical exercise

Questions and answers