Well-structured documents are the foundation of good written communication. A document with structural issues, in either organization or content, can be difficult to read and understand.
This course, a perfect complement to Copyediting and Proofreading: Introduction, introduces students to the basics of structural editing and is appropriate for people interested in editing as a career as well as those looking to improve their own documents. The course focuses on non-fiction documents.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Explain what structural editing is and how it fits into the editorial process
- Conduct a basic audience assessment
- Evaluate a document for structural issues
- Identify common issues with document organization and content
- Fix common structural issues
- Apply concepts of accessibility to document structure
- Communicate with clients
You’ll learn through a mix of lecture, hands-on activities, readings, and homework assignments.
Course outline
Week 1: Introduction to structural editing and basic principles of document organization
Week 2: Audience assessment, document evaluation and outlines
Week 3: Common issues in organization and content, and solutions for common issues
Week 4: Accessibility considerations and client communication
How am I assessed?
This course is marked complete/incomplete, and is based on your attendance and participation. You are expected to attend each class and actively participate in class discussions. You will have weekly homework and in-class assignments, but you will not be formally assessed on them.
Technology requirements
To take this course, you’ll need access to:
- an email account
- a computer, laptop or tablet under five years old using Windows or macOS
- the latest version of a web browser (or previous major version release)
- a reliable internet connection
- a video camera and microphone
Course format
This course is 100% online and instructor supported with real-time classes. Log in to your class at scheduled times and participate by video conferencing.