- Online
- $540 - $560
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.
Record of completion
A record of completion will be emailed to students who participate and satisfy the course requirements within two weeks of the course end date. Course completion means 80% attendance and/or 80% completion of mandatory assignments.
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.
Materials will be available in Canvas for three weeks after the course ends, after which time you will no longer be able to access the course.