Cost: $279.99
Course Type: Online/Facilitated
Length: 60 hours


 

Course Description
While you may be a natural at spotting errors in printed material, that’s only the most basic skill you’ll have to master to make a career as a proofreader. Proofreading involves a whole lot more than simply knowing where the commas go: It is a technical skill that requires thorough knowledge of the publishing process and detailed style rules, as well as the ability to make informed decisions that affect the book as a whole.

This comprehensive course will give you the knowledge and tools you need to begin working as a freelance proofreader using Chicago style, the principal style manual for publishers who produce non-technical works. Topics discussed include:

• The role of the proofreader in the process of book production
• The proofreader’s responsibilities
• Standard proofreading symbols and how to use them
• Controversial grammar issues to watch out for
• Word choice: Rules for proofreaders
• The intricacies of punctuation
• Using the Chicago Manual of Style
• The nuances of formatting names and special terms, titles of works, numbers, and abbreviations in typeset books
• Thoughtful and accurate decision making
• When and how to query
• How to keep track of inconsistencies before they become unmanageable
• Style sheets as time (and sanity) savers
• Proofreading for page layout
• Assigning blame: printer’s errors versus editorial alterations
• Rules for word breaks, margins, running heads, and page numbers
• Special considerations for figures and tables
• Formatting chapter titles, headings, and subheads
• How to proofread a table of contents and an index
• Documentation, footnotes, and reference lists
• Emerging rules for citing online resources
• Questions to ask before you begin each project
• Terminology to use when communicating with a publishing company
• The varying levels of proofreading
• Resources for further study

Format
Essential Skills for Proofreaders is designed to take approximately 60 hours. You may stop and start, picking up where you left off. You have 90 days from your date of registration to complete the course.

Essential Skills for Proofreaders consists of fourteen online learning modules of varying lengths, as well as assigned reading from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, and carefully designed exercises.

Additionally, registered students will have access to an online discussion board. This board serves two purposes. First, you may use it to ask questions related to proofreading, which will be answered personally by the instructor. The public format of the discussion board allows all registered students to see the questions and the instructor’s response; this important tool will expand upon information learned in the course itself. Second, several of the assignments you will be asked to undertake during the course involve posting responses to discussion questions and interacting with other students in the online discussion format.

Each module ends with a test to assess what you have learned. All students who pass the comprehensive end-of-course test will receive a certificate of completion.

 

Recommended Materials
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition

Cost: $279.99
Course Type: Online/Facilitated
Length: 60 hours