Editor’s Note: The four C’s of copy editing

Many copy editors will tell you there are four C’s of copy editing: clarity, coherency, consistency, and correctness.

These four things are ideals that all editors work toward on every project. No matter how beautifully or competently writers put forward their ideas, readers will notice if there’s a run-on sentence or someone’s last name is Brown in one paragraph but Browne in the next.

Good copy editors understand that they serve as a writer’s first reader. These editors will look at any copy with a sharp eye toward the four C’s mentioned above so that the copy is as clean as possible for the eventual audience, the readers who haven’t been involved in a story from its start and don’t have the background info that a writer and assigning editor do.

Let’s dig into the four C’s a bit.

Clarity
Stories can be as factual, complete, and stylistically correct as possible, but that won’t matter a bit if the reader can’t understand what’s being said. Copy editors look for areas that could be confusing, vague, or contradictory, and will either clean it up themselves or flag it for the writer.

Coherency
Even if a writer has great ideas, the reader has to be able to understand them—and understand them in the way they were intended. Editors look for easy readability—for example, changing $5 words to 10-cent words that serve the same purpose (see: use vs. utilize). Editors also look to make sure all relevant information is included in a story, so that readers won’t be left confused.

Consistency
This is a nuts-and-bolts part of copy editing. Is the story consistent with the style guide it’s meant to follow? And, especially, is it consistent with itself?

Correctness
Any content you publish must be accurate. In some fields copy editing and fact checking are separate roles, but for the most part, a good copy editor will look up the facts when needed to make sure readers are getting the best, most reliable information they can. Correctness also extends to tone and style.

I hope these four C’s will serve as a good reminder for writers who want to review their own work, or for any editors looking to polish a piece before it goes live.

Pop quiz

Following University style, can titled and entitled be used as synonyms?

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Yes.

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A note about the pop quiz
Please think of these monthly quizzes as open-book! I don’t expect you to know the answer off the top of your head. I designed these quizzes, in fact, to get readers more comfortable using the University Style Guide to find the answer. You are encouraged to consult that before submitting your answer.

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