Professional Editing
Conceptual and technical editing of a wide range of documents for diverse audiences, with attention to genre, tone, and style. Students will learn the responsibilities of the professional editor, including interaction with authors, revision strategies, and the grammatical and mechanical requirements of The Chicago Manual of Style. The final portfolio will include the resume, edited assignments from the course, notes to the author, and edited documents from the internship.
Which students might want to enroll in this track?
- Those interested in the publishing industry. Whether students are interested in working with popular magazines, journals, newspapers, academic publishers, the popular press, or an online magazine, students will learn skills relevant to jobs in these areas. This includes copyediting and copywriting jobs.
- Those interested in non-fiction writing. Students will learn the principles of grammar (language to talk about language) but, more importantly, they will also learn how to talk to other writers about writing and rhetoric.
- Those interested in teaching composition and English. Students will learn the fine art of feedback - how to tactfully respond to authors' writing in a manner that will lead them to improve the document.
- Those interested in the legal profession. Many students are interested in law school or in editing legal documents for firms.
What do we do in the editing courses?
We apply the rules of grammar to real documents, determining when rules can or should be broken or tweaked for stylistic or rhetorical purposes (and, of course, fixing those errors that are not issues of style or rhetoric). We learn to analyze documents in relation to their purpose and audience, focusing first on the word, then phrase, then clause, then sentence, then paragraph, and then section to ensure that the author is effectively accomplishing the goals of the document. We'll edit a range of documents, including advertising copy, technical documents, academic texts, websites, non-fiction essays, and fiction. Students will see firsthand how the genre affects the type of feedback necessary, as well as the appropriate copyediting marks necessary, for each.Where will students get internships for this track?
- Local Magazines, including Santa Barbara, Touring and Tasting, Coastlines
- Newspapers, including The Independent, SB Daily Sound, and The Valley Voice
- Local Businesses, such as Citrix Online, Mentor, and Deckers Outdoor
- Local Non-Profits, including Direct Relief, Habitat for Humanity, and the SB Zoo
- Law Offices, both private firms and the District Attorney's Office
- Campus Organizations and UCSB Departments
Which courses are recommended for this track?
- Writing 105G (Grammar and Stylistics) - strongly recommended
- Writing 105R (Rhetoric and Writing)
- Writing 107M (Magazine Writing)
- Writing 109JW (Journalistic Writing)
- Writing 109L (Legal Writing)
Who is the teacher for this track?
Craig Cotich earned his MA in English Literature and a Certificate in Technical Communication at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. He has been teaching writing courses at UC Santa Barbara for ten years and has taught Grammar and Stylistics, Professional Editing, Writing for Engineers, Business Writing, Research Writing, as well as a range of academic writing courses. Specializing in two areas within the UCSB Writing Program, he is the Co-Director of the Editing Minor and the Chair of the ACE sequence (a sequence of courses for first-generation, low-income college students). Craig has also run his own copywriting and copyediting consulting business for the past ten years, writing and editing for marketing agencies, publishing companies, small businesses, and consulting firms.
Questions?
Email Haley at horton@writing.ucsb.edu or call (805) 893.7826