ENG 483, Spring 2008, Bradley Dilger
Each year the Western Writing Program conducts the Leland Essay Contest, which is designed to recognize the best student writers in composition courses. You will be assigned one of the winning contest essays. Perform a light edit on the essay to prepare it for publication in the anthology Western Voices 2008.
Using standard copyeditors’ marks, correct all spelling, punctuation, syntactical, word usage, and grammatical mistakes.
Correct any serious blunders in language which can be easily corrected.
Make a list of any critical problems (fact errors, ambiguities which might embarrass the writer) which you think merit additional attention.
Ensure the essay conforms to MLA style. (If you don’t have an MLA handbook or style manual, consult mine, or visit the library or the University Writing Center.)
Prepare extras needed for publication:
Pick a “raised quote”—one or two memorable sentences—to be used in the layout of the essay in Western Voices. Edit your quote if needed. If your essay is long, select two quotes.
Write a one-paragraph introduction for the essay (the “Oscar blurb”).
|
Milestone |
Brief description |
Points |
Due |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Texts distributed |
Electronic and hard copy of the essay delivered to you; full issues of Western Voices available upon request. |
n/a |
2/14 |
|
Draft |
A complete draft of the assignment—all tasks noted above. Edit using a pencil and/or on a photocopy. |
30 |
3/06 |
|
Final |
The final edited essay, ideally ready for publication. |
70 |
3/27 |
Sticking to a “light” edit is the most critical part of this assignment. You must not affect the authorial voice of the student whose essay you are editing.
Composition courses and assignments vary considerably, so I can’t provide much information about your essay, except to note it if was written for ENG 100, 180, or 280.
See the course pack for examples of edited essays, raised quotes, Oscar blurbs, etc. I can loan you a copy of Western Voices if you would like to see more.
Your raised quote, Oscar blurb, editorial queries, and any other commentary should be included on a separate sheet submitted with your essay.
Your work will be assessed using the following criteria.
|
Area evaluated |
Best (A or B) |
Fair (C or D) |
Poor (F) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Quality of editing |
One or two minor problems which should be addressed are not corrected; no errors introduced by editing |
Several minor or one major problems remain which should be addressed, or errors introduced by editing |
Numerous serious problems remain in document, or editing introduces serious errors |
|
Proper editing level |
Authorial voice and content are not altered |
Style or content are affected in minor ways, or strongly in a few places |
Style of author seriously affected, or far too much editing performed |
|
Use of standard marks & polite queries |
Conventional editing marks used; marks are legible; queries, if any, are well-formed |
Editing marks sometimes irregular or illegible; queries deviate from Einsohn’s suggestions |
Editing marks often sloppy, inconsistent, or hard to follow; queries rude or condescending |
|
Raised quote & “Oscar blurb” |
Appropriate quote of proper length selected; blurb ready to be added to essay |
Quote questionable, or too long or short; blurb needs editing before it can be included |
Quote and blurb not representative of essay quality, and/or not professional |
Bradley Dilger,
Associate Professor of English,
Western Illinois U
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