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data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-How_to_do_basic_copyediting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#How_to_do_basic_copyediting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>How to do basic copyediting</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-How_to_do_basic_copyediting-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Useful_tools" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Useful_tools"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Useful tools</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Useful_tools-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Common_mistakes_to_fix" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Common_mistakes_to_fix"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Common mistakes to fix</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Common_mistakes_to_fix-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Common mistakes to fix subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Common_mistakes_to_fix-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Commonly_confused_words" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Commonly_confused_words"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Commonly confused words</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Commonly_confused_words-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Capitalization_and_formatting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Capitalization_and_formatting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Capitalization and formatting</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Capitalization_and_formatting-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Punctuation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Punctuation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Punctuation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Punctuation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Style" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Style"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>Style</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Style-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Article_elements" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Article_elements"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Article elements</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Article_elements-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Contractions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Contractions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.6</span> <span>Contractions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Contractions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Spelling" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Spelling"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.7</span> <span>Spelling</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Spelling-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Things_that_do_not_need_fixing" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Things_that_do_not_need_fixing"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Things that do not need fixing</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Things_that_do_not_need_fixing-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Etiquette" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Etiquette"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Etiquette</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Etiquette-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Get help and meet other copyeditors</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Find_articles_that_need_copyediting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Find_articles_that_need_copyediting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Find articles that need copyediting</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Find_articles_that_need_copyediting-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input 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copyediting</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 18 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-18" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">18 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7:%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AE%D9%8A" title="ويكيبيديا:التحرير النسخي – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="ويكيبيديا:التحرير النسخي" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-as mw-list-item"><a href="https://as.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A7%B1%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE:%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%A8_%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%88_%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AC" title="ৱিকিপিডিয়া:অনুলিখন কেনেকৈ কৰিব – Assamese" lang="as" hreflang="as" data-title="ৱিকিপিডিয়া:অনুলিখন কেনেকৈ কৰিব" data-language-autonym="অসমীয়া" data-language-local-name="Assamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>অসমীয়া</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE:%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%A8" title="উইকিপিডিয়া:রচনা সংশোধন – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="উইকিপিডিয়া:রচনা সংশোধন" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Correcci%C3%B3n_b%C3%A1sica_de_textos" title="Wikipedia:Corrección básica de textos – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Wikipedia:Corrección básica de textos" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hak mw-list-item"><a href="https://hak.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AA%AA%E6%98%8E:P%C3%B4ng-chhu" title="說明:Pông-chhu – Hakka Chinese" lang="hak" hreflang="hak" data-title="說明:Pông-chhu" data-language-autonym="客家語 / Hak-kâ-ngî" data-language-local-name="Hakka Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>客家語 / Hak-kâ-ngî</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Penyuntingan_naskah" title="Wikipedia:Penyuntingan naskah – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Wikipedia:Penyuntingan naskah" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Korrekt%C3%BAra" title="Wikipédia:Korrektúra – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Wikipédia:Korrektúra" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sunting_kopi" title="Wikipedia:Sunting kopi – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Wikipedia:Sunting kopi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spr%C3%A5kvask" title="Wikipedia:Språkvask – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Wikipedia:Språkvask" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Corrigir" title="Wikipédia:Corrigir – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Wikipédia:Corrigir" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%93%E0%B6%A9%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%8F:%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%96%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%9A_%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%A7%E0%B6%B4%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%8A_%E0%B7%83%E0%B6%82%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%9A%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%AB%E0%B6%BA" title="විකිපීඩියා:මූලික පිටපත් සංස්කරණය – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="විකිපීඩියා:මූලික පිටපත් සංස්කරණය" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_copy-edit" title="Wikipedia:How to copy-edit – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Wikipedia:How to copy-edit" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedija:Osnovno_lektoriranje" title="Wikipedija:Osnovno lektoriranje – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Wikipedija:Osnovno lektoriranje" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spr%C3%A5kv%C3%A5rd" title="Wikipedia:Språkvård – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Wikipedia:Språkvård" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2:%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%89%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%90%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99" title="วิกิพีเดีย:การตรวจสอบต้นฉบับพื้นฐาน – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="วิกิพีเดีย:การตรวจสอบต้นฉบับพื้นฐาน" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipedi:Nas%C4%B1l_tashih_edilir" title="Vikipedi:Nasıl tashih edilir – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Vikipedi:Nasıl tashih edilir" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Hi%E1%BB%87u_%C4%91%C3%ADnh" title="Wikipedia:Hiệu đính – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Wikipedia:Hiệu đính" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E7%B7%A8%E4%BF%AE" title="Wikipedia:如何編修 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="Wikipedia:如何編修" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q10953805#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div 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Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Guild_of_Copy_Editors" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors">Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors</a>.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Wikipedia:CE" redirects here. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:CE_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Wikipedia:CE (disambiguation)">Wikipedia:CE (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238436933">.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--color-base,#202122)}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ombox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ombox-content{border:1px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ombox-style{border:1px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ombox-move{border:1px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ombox-protection{border:2px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.9em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-invalid-type{text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 10%}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{clear:right;float:right;margin:4px 0 4px 1em;width:238px}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output table.ombox img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}</style><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Twemoji_1f527.svg/30px-Twemoji_1f527.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="30" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Twemoji_1f527.svg/45px-Twemoji_1f527.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Twemoji_1f527.svg/60px-Twemoji_1f527.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512"/></span></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><div style="padding-top: 6px; padding-bottom: 5px;"><b>This help page is a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Project_namespace#Wikipedia_how-to_and_information_pages" title="Wikipedia:Project namespace">how-to guide</a>.</b><br/><div style="font-size: 90%;">It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines" title="Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines">Wikipedia's policies or guidelines</a>, and may reflect varying levels of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus" title="Wikipedia:Consensus">consensus</a>.</div></div></td><td class="mbox-imageright"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1252059228">.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutboxplain{float:right;margin:0 0 0 1em;border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);background-color:var(--background-color-base,#fff);padding:0.3em 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em;text-align:center;font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutboxleft{float:left;margin:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutlist{display:inline-block;border-bottom:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);margin-bottom:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutboxplain ul{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .module-shortcutanchordiv{position:relative;top:-3em}.mw-parser-output li .module-shortcutanchordiv{float:right}.mw-parser-output .mbox-imageright .module-shortcutboxplain{padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;line-height:1.3;margin:0}</style><div class="module-shortcutanchordiv"><span id="WP:COPYEDIT"></span><span id="WP:CE"></span><span id="WP:5C"></span></div><div class="module-shortcutboxplain noprint" role="note"><div class="module-shortcutlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Shortcut" title="Wikipedia:Shortcut">Shortcuts</a></div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:COPYEDIT&redirect=no">WP:COPYEDIT</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:CE&redirect=no">WP:CE</a></span></li><li><span class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:5C&redirect=no">WP:5C</a></span></li></ul></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul 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guidelines</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Editing_policy" title="Wikipedia:Editing policy">Editing policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Core_content_policies" title="Wikipedia:Core content policies">Content policies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Dispute_resolution" title="Wikipedia:Dispute resolution">Dispute resolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Simplified_ruleset" title="Wikipedia:Simplified ruleset">Simple rule set</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Simplified_Manual_of_Style" title="Wikipedia:Simplified Manual of Style">Simple style manual</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Help:Getting_started" title="Help:Getting started">Introductions</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Administration" title="Wikipedia:Administration">Administration</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contributing_to_Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia">How to contribute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Help:Introduction">Tutorial</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Help:Directory#How_to_pages" title="Help:Directory">How-to pages</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Why_create_an_account%3F" title="Wikipedia:Why create an account?">Creating an account</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Editing" title="Help:Editing">How to edit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Your_first_article" title="Help:Your first article">Starting an article</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard" title="Wikipedia:Article wizard">Article wizard</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Talk_pages" title="Help:Talk pages">Talk pages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">Referencing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Moving_a_page" title="Wikipedia:Moving a page">Renaming</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Guide_to_deletion" title="Wikipedia:Guide to deletion">Deletion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Creation_and_usage_of_media_files" title="Help:Creation and usage of media files">Media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:List" title="Help:List">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Table/Introduction_to_tables" class="mw-redirect" title="Help:Table/Introduction to tables">Tables</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Template" title="Help:Template">Templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Copying_text_from_other_sources" title="Wikipedia:Copying text from other sources">Copying text</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Styletips" title="Wikipedia:Styletips">Style tips</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Wikitext" title="Help:Wikitext">Wikitext</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Essays_in_a_nutshell/Article_writing" title="Wikipedia:Essays in a nutshell/Article writing">Writing advice</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_development" title="Wikipedia:Article development">Article development</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Basic copyediting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Layout" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Layout">Layouts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoiding_common_mistakes" title="Wikipedia:Avoiding common mistakes">Avoiding mistakes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles" title="Wikipedia:Writing better articles">Writing better</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:The_perfect_article" title="Wikipedia:The perfect article">Perfect article</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Advanced_article_editing" title="Wikipedia:Advanced article editing">Advanced editing</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Department_directory" title="Wikipedia:Department directory">Community</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="Wikipedia:Community portal">Portal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Dashboard" title="Wikipedia:Dashboard">Dashboard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Essay_directory" title="Wikipedia:Essay directory">Essays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Maintenance" title="Wikipedia:Maintenance">Maintenance</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Task_Center" title="Wikipedia:Task Center">Task Center</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Directory" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Directory">WikiProjects</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor%27s_index_to_Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia:Editor's index to Wikipedia">Editor's index</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Directories_and_indexes" title="Wikipedia:Directories and indexes">Directories and indexes</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ" title="Wikipedia:FAQ">FAQs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Directory" title="Help:Directory">Help index</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools" title="Wikipedia:Tools">Tools</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Request_directory" title="Wikipedia:Request directory">Interactive help</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse" title="Wikipedia:Teahouse">Teahouse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk" title="Wikipedia:Help desk">Help desk</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Contributing_to_Wikipedia" title="Template:Contributing to Wikipedia"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Contributing_to_Wikipedia" title="Template talk:Contributing to Wikipedia"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Contributing_to_Wikipedia" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Contributing to Wikipedia"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Discovering that pages need basic <a href="/wiki/Copyediting" class="mw-redirect" title="Copyediting">copyediting</a>, i.e., correcting for grammar, spelling, readability, or layout, may surprise new visitors to Wikipedia, but this <i>is</i> the "encyclopedia that anyone can edit": it is <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Not_perfect" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Not perfect">not perfect yet</a>! Thousands of articles need simple improvements you can make without <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Expert" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Expert">being an expert in the subject</a>. Copyediting involves the "five Cs": making the article clear, correct, concise, comprehensible, and consistent.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The following is a guide for new copyeditors. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc"/> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="How_to_do_basic_copyediting" data-mw-thread-id="h-How_to_do_basic_copyediting"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-How_to_do_basic_copyediting"></span>How to do basic copyediting<span data-mw-comment-end="h-How_to_do_basic_copyediting"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For general help with editing, see <a href="/wiki/Help:Editing" title="Help:Editing">Help:Editing</a>.</div> <dl><dt>Step one</dt> <dd>Scan the article for errors or ways in which it can be improved. The entire article or particular sections may be tagged as needing a copyedit. There is a list of common mistakes below.</dd> <dt>Step two</dt> <dd>Edit the page by clicking the "Edit" or "Edit source" tab near the top of it or one of the section [edit source] links.</dd> <dt>Step three</dt> <dd>Make your changes and fill out an <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Edit_summary" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Edit summary">edit summary</a>. Be helpful to the editors who follow you by giving a summary of what you have done. Simple "Copy edit" is fine, but "Edited for tone" is even better. The most commonly used <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Glossary" title="Wikipedia:Glossary">abbreviation</a> for "copy edit" is "ce", which is better than nothing, but it is more helpful to include one or more words or phrases such as "capitalization", "subject-verb agreement", "fixed dangling modifier", "logical quotes", or whatever describes your edit.</dd> <dt>Step four</dt> <dd>Preview your change and save.</dd> <dt>Step five (optional)</dt> <dd>If you think the article does not need further basic copyediting, click Edit again and remove the "copy edit" template at the top of the article, which is what flags it as needing improvement. The template typically is a markup that looks like <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Copy_edit" title="Template:Copy edit">copy edit</a>}}</code>, with a date inside the braces.</dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Useful_tools" data-mw-thread-id="h-Useful_tools"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Useful_tools"></span>Useful tools<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Useful_tools"></span></h2></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wordcounter.net/">WordCounter</a> counts characters and sentences, and makes other measurements. It can also help improve grammar, word choice, and writing style, as well as detect plagiarism.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/LanguageTool" title="LanguageTool">LanguageTool</a> has a free plugin for popular web browsers that checks spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation.</li> <li>Most word-processing software, such as <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Word" title="Microsoft Word">Microsoft Word</a> and <a href="/wiki/LibreOffice" title="LibreOffice">LibreOffice</a>, have built-in spelling and grammar checkers; for instructions, see <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spellchecking#Using_word-processor_software" title="Wikipedia:Spellchecking">Wikipedia:Spellchecking § Using word-processor software</a>.</li></ul> <p>Please be careful when using these and other tools; they are not infallible. You should manually check the output of online tools and spelling checkers for factual accuracy, grammar, spelling and the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:ENGVAR" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:ENGVAR">correct variety of English</a>, and the output should be corrected where necessary. Editors are fully responsible for their own edits regardless of any tools they use. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Common_mistakes_to_fix" data-mw-thread-id="h-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Common mistakes to fix<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h2></div> <p>These are some common errors you may find in articles: </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Commonly_confused_words" data-mw-thread-id="h-Commonly_confused_words-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Commonly_confused_words-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Commonly confused words<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Commonly_confused_words-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/List_of_commonly_misused_English_words" title="List of commonly misused English words">List of commonly misused English words</a></div> <p><i>its</i> and <i>it's</i>; <i>there</i>, <i>their</i>, and <i>they're</i>; <i>your</i>, <i>you're</i>, and <i>you</i>; <i>lose</i> and <i>loose</i>; <i>lie</i> and <i>lay</i> (and their tenses); <i>who's</i> and <i>whose</i>; <i>have</i> and <i>of</i> (<i>should of</i> for <i>should have</i>) </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Capitalization_and_formatting" data-mw-thread-id="h-Capitalization_and_formatting-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Capitalization_and_formatting-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Capitalization and formatting<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Capitalization_and_formatting-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <ul><li>Words defined, described, or referenced as words should be italicized, e.g., "The term <i>style</i> also refers to the layout of an article."</li> <li>Wikipedia article headings should generally be noun phrases (<i>History of<span class="nowrap"> </span>...</i>) and not prepositional phrases (<i>About the history of<span class="nowrap"> </span>...</i>).</li> <li>Headings begin with a single capital letter, i.e., they use <a href="/wiki/Sentence_case" class="mw-redirect" title="Sentence case">sentence case</a>. The only other capital letters in headings are in <a href="/wiki/Proper_noun" title="Proper noun">proper names</a> and <a href="/wiki/Acronym" title="Acronym">acronyms</a>.</li> <li>Titles of works of art (paintings, sculpture), plays and operas, television series, films, novels and nonfiction books, song cycles, and long poems should be italicized rather than put in quotation marks, e.g., <i><a href="/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance" title="Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance">Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance</a></i>.</li> <li>Titles of songs, short stories, individual episodes of television series, and brief poems, e.g., "<a href="/wiki/Strawberry_Fields_Forever" title="Strawberry Fields Forever">Strawberry Fields Forever</a>" or "<a href="/wiki/Stopping_by_Woods_on_a_Snowy_Evening" title="Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening">Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening</a>", should be in quotation marks. Italics, however, are required for a <a href="/wiki/Song_cycle" title="Song cycle">song cycle</a>, such as <i><a href="/wiki/Winterreise" title="Winterreise">Winterreise</a></i> or the title of a longer poem, such as <i><a href="/wiki/Four_Quartets" title="Four Quartets">Four Quartets</a></i>. Individual episode titles of television series need quotation marks, while the series name itself is italicized, e.g., "<a href="/wiki/Welcome_to_the_Hellmouth" title="Welcome to the Hellmouth">Welcome to the Hellmouth</a>" is the premiere episode of <i><a href="/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer" title="Buffy the Vampire Slayer">Buffy the Vampire Slayer</a></i>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Punctuation" data-mw-thread-id="h-Punctuation-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Punctuation-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Punctuation<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Punctuation-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Parenthetical_comma"></span> </p> <ul><li>Location constructions, such as <i>Vilnius, Lithuania</i>, require a comma after the second element, e.g., "He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, after the country had gained independence."</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Month%E2%80%93day%E2%80%93year_format" class="mw-redirect" title="Month–day–year format">month–day–year</a> style of writing dates requires a comma after the year, e.g., "On September 15, 1947, she began her first year at Harvard."</li> <li>Decade names should not include an apostrophe before the <i>s</i> (<span class="example" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-added, #006400);">"She was born in the 1980s."</span> instead of <span class="example deprecated-content example-bad" style="font-family: Georgia, 'DejaVu Serif', serif; color: var(--color-content-removed, #8B0000);">"She was born in the 1980's."</span>). Generally do not refer to a decade without its century. See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:DECADE" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:DECADE">WP:DECADE</a>.</li> <li>Make sure apostrophes are used correctly, and watch out for <a href="/wiki/Apostrophe#GG" title="Apostrophe">greengrocers' apostrophes</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Style" data-mw-thread-id="h-Style-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Style-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Style<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Style-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <ul><li>Avoid affected, pompous or excessive language, e.g., "due to the fact that" for "because", "ascertain the location of" for "find", and (in <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/utilise#Usage_notes" class="extiw" title="wikt:utilise">almost all cases</a>) "utilize" for "use".</li> <li>Check articles for unnecessary words and redundant phrases. Vigorous, effective writing is clear and concise. See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Plain_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Plain English">Plain English</a>.</li> <li>Quotations should not be changed, except for trivial spelling and typographic errors. Otherwise, obvious errors and censorship in the original can be marked with <code>{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Sic" title="Template:Sic">sic</a>}}</code>, which displays as [<i><a href="/wiki/Sic" title="Sic">sic</a></i>]. Legitimate insertions and omissions are acceptable if marked by square brackets and ellipses, respectively. See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:MOSQUOTE" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:MOSQUOTE">WP:MOSQUOTE</a> for details.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Don%27t_be_a_smartypants" title="Wikipedia:Don't be a smartypants">Watch out</a> for <a href="/wiki/Jargon" title="Jargon">jargon</a> and overly long sentences, which can reduce <a href="/wiki/Readability" title="Readability">readability</a>.</li> <li>In lists, ensure <a href="/wiki/Parallelism_(grammar)" title="Parallelism (grammar)">parallelism</a>. Use bulleted lists for more than a few elements, for readability.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Article_elements" data-mw-thread-id="h-Article_elements-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Article_elements-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Article elements<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Article_elements-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">External links</a> belong at the end of an article under the heading <i>External links</i> or <i>Further reading</i>. Articles, books, and websites used as sources are listed separately in a <i>References</i> or <i>Notes</i> section. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Contractions" data-mw-thread-id="h-Contractions-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Contractions-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Contractions<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Contractions-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <p>With the exception of direct quotations and names, do not use <a href="/wiki/Contraction_(grammar)" title="Contraction (grammar)">contractions</a> in articles. Spell out the words in full, i.e., write "do not" instead of "don't"; write "cannot" instead of "can't"; etc. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Spelling" data-mw-thread-id="h-Spelling-Common_mistakes_to_fix"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Spelling-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span>Spelling<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Spelling-Common_mistakes_to_fix"></span></h3></div> <p>Correct spelling mistakes and <a href="/wiki/Typo" class="mw-redirect" title="Typo">typos</a>. See <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Spellchecking" title="Wikipedia:Spellchecking">Wikipedia:Spellchecking</a> for complete advice on how to do this well; the main points are: </p> <ul><li>Be careful to use the correct variety of English (e.g., American or British), which affects spelling (e.g., <i>flavour</i>, <i>colour</i>, <i>centre</i> and <i>defence</i> vs. <i>flavor</i>, <i>color</i>, <i>center</i>, and <i>defense</i>). <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#National_varieties_of_English" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style">Wikipedia:Manual of Style § National varieties of English</a> has extensive guidance on how to choose correctly and how to write clearly for all readers. <ul><li>Articles about a given region use that region's variety of English.</li> <li>Otherwise, the first variety used by any given editor is retained by succeeding editors.</li> <li>The talk page may have a banner indicating which variety is already established, or the article may have a template like <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Use_British_English" title="Template:Use British English">Use British English</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> at the top of the wikitext.</li></ul></li> <li>Most web browsers have built-in spellchecking. You can use external websites or software to check for errors.</li> <li>If you want to focus only on misspellings, these tools are handy: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/User:Lupin/Live_spellcheck" title="User:Lupin/Live spellcheck">User:Lupin/Live spellcheck</a> – for monitoring misspellings as they are added</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Typo_Team/moss" title="Wikipedia:Typo Team/moss">Wikipedia:Typo Team/moss</a> – for finding misspellings in existing text</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Correct_typos_in_one_click" title="Wikipedia:Correct typos in one click">Wikipedia:Correct typos in one click</a> – for correcting typos from <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:DUMP" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:DUMP">dumps</a></li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Things_that_do_not_need_fixing" data-mw-thread-id="h-Things_that_do_not_need_fixing"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Things_that_do_not_need_fixing"></span>Things that do not need fixing<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Things_that_do_not_need_fixing"></span></h2></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Disputes_in_English_grammar" class="mw-redirect" title="Disputes in English grammar">Disputes in English grammar</a></div> <p>Some style guides advise against grammatical constructions, such as <a href="/wiki/English_passive_voice#Reasons" title="English passive voice">passive voice</a>, <a href="/wiki/Split_infinitive" title="Split infinitive">split infinitives</a>, <a href="/wiki/English_relative_clauses#That_or_which" title="English relative clauses">restrictive <i>which</i></a>, <a href="/wiki/Conjunction_(grammar)#Starting_a_sentence" title="Conjunction (grammar)">beginning a sentence with a conjunction</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Preposition_stranding" title="Preposition stranding">ending clauses in a preposition</a>. These are common in high-quality publications and should not be "fixed" without considering the consequences. For example, changing even one passive sentence to make it active can easily alter the meaning of an entire paragraph. Attempts to improve any passage must be based on tone, clarity, and consistency, rather than blind adherence to a rule. </p><p>Wikipedia <a href="/wiki/MOS:ENGVAR" class="mw-redirect" title="MOS:ENGVAR">does not prefer a single national variety of English</a>. In general, do not change one to another except under the circumstances described in <a href="#Spelling">§ Spelling</a> above. </p><p>When considering recommendations from copy-editing software like <a href="/wiki/Grammarly" title="Grammarly">Grammarly</a>, refrain from making changes that would negatively affect the tone of the sentence. Notably, avoid suggested changes that would introduce <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WTW" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:WTW">words to watch</a> or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:NPOV" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:NPOV">non-neutral wording</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Etiquette" data-mw-thread-id="h-Etiquette"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Etiquette"></span>Etiquette<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Etiquette"></span></h2></div> <p>Remember that Wikipedia is a collaborative, consensus-based environment. <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:BRD" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:BRD">Be bold</a> in making changes, but if you find your work has been undone by another editor, visit the talk page of the article and start a discussion before reinstating it. According to <i>Butcher's Copy-editing</i>: </p> <blockquote><p>The good copyeditor is a rare creature: an intelligent reader and a tactful and sensitive critic; someone who cares enough about the perfection of detail to spend time checking small points of consistency in someone else's work but has the good judgement not to waste time or antagonize the author by making unnecessary changes.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors" data-mw-thread-id="h-Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors"></span>Get help and meet other copyeditors<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Get_help_and_meet_other_copyeditors"></span></h2></div> <ul><li>If you have questions about English grammar, punctuation, or style, please seek advice at <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Language" title="Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language">Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language</a> or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Grammar" title="Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Grammar">Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Grammar</a>.</li> <li>If you want to meet other Wikipedia copyeditors and help out, check out <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Peer_review/volunteers" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Peer review/volunteers">Wikipedia:Peer review/volunteers</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Guild_of_Copy_Editors" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors">Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Find_articles_that_need_copyediting" data-mw-thread-id="h-Find_articles_that_need_copyediting"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Find_articles_that_need_copyediting"></span>Find articles that need copyediting<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Find_articles_that_need_copyediting"></span></h2></div> <p>Articles in need of basic copyediting may be tagged with templates, such as <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Copyedit" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Copyedit">copyedit</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> or <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Copyedit-section" class="mw-redirect" title="Template:Copyedit-section">copyedit-section</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span>. A list of such articles can be found in a few places. The easiest places to get started are: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_copy_edit" title="Category:All articles needing copy edit">Category:All articles needing copy edit</a>, a list of articles tagged with copy editing templates.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:GettingStarted" title="Wikipedia:GettingStarted">GettingStarted</a>, which suggests copyediting articles appropriate for new users after they sign up, or</li> <li>the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal#Todo" title="Wikipedia:Community portal">Community Portal</a> to-do list, which has many kinds of tasks, updated hourly.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="See_also" data-mw-thread-id="h-See_also"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-See_also"></span>See also<span data-mw-comment-end="h-See_also"></span></h2></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Not_a_typo" title="Template:Not a typo">Template:Not a typo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Make_technical_articles_understandable" title="Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable">Wikipedia:Make technical articles understandable</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Guild_of_Copy_Editors" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors">Wikipedia:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Notes" data-mw-thread-id="h-Notes"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Notes"></span>Notes<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Notes"></span></h2></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFArmstrong" class="citation web cs1">Armstrong, Julia. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224809/http://current.ischool.utoronto.ca/system/files/workshops/2011/copy_writing_workshop2011.pdf">"Copyediting and proofreading"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. University of Toronto. p. 2. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://current.ischool.utoronto.ca/system/files/workshops/2011/copy_writing_workshop2011.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 3 March 2016<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2 November</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Copyediting+and+proofreading&rft.pages=2&rft.pub=University+of+Toronto&rft.aulast=Armstrong&rft.aufirst=Julia&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcurrent.ischool.utoronto.ca%2Fsystem%2Ffiles%2Fworkshops%2F2011%2Fcopy_writing_workshop2011.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3ABasic+copyediting" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFButcherDrakeLeach2006" class="citation book cs1">Butcher, Judith; Drake, Caroline; Leach, Maureen (2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180712152932if_/http://ayorek.org:80/files/References/Copy-editing_%20The%20Cambridge%20Handbook%20for%20Editors,.pdf#page=19&zoom=auto,-147,472"><i>Butcher's Copy-editing</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 4.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Butcher%27s+Copy-editing&rft.pages=4&rft.edition=4th&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2006&rft.aulast=Butcher&rft.aufirst=Judith&rft.au=Drake%2C+Caroline&rft.au=Leach%2C+Maureen&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20180712152932if_%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fayorek.org%3A80%2Ffiles%2FReferences%2FCopy-editing_%2520The%2520Cambridge%2520Handbook%2520for%2520Editors%2C.pdf%23page%3D19%26zoom%3Dauto%2C-147%2C472&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3ABasic+copyediting" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="External_links" data-mw-thread-id="h-External_links"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-External_links"></span>External links<span data-mw-comment-end="h-External_links"></span></h2></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://brians.wsu.edu/common-errors-in-english-usage/">Common Errors in English Usage – Professor Paul Brians</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output 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