Description
This course introduces beginning proofreaders and copyeditors to The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), focusing on grammar, punctuation, style, and citation. Students should have an excellent grasp of college-level grammar, for this course will show how CMOS surpasses and clarifies the rules found in standard grammar guides. Familiarity with MLA or APA citation is recommended but not required; the fundamentals of the CMOS notes-and-bibliography system will be covered. This course focuses not on the business of proofreading and copyediting, which is covered to some extent in part 1 of CMOS, but on the practicalities of correcting a typical author manuscript.
Be aware that this course is not a substitute for reading CMOS. Rather, it is a curation of CMOS, directing proofreaders and copyeditors to the sections that they are most likely to consult again and again. To complete this course, students will need to read approximately 17 percent of CMOS. The course lessons explain tricky points, summarize complex information, and offer practical tips. This course aims to save its students time and frustration, and to help them take the first steps toward mastery of CMOS.
At the end of this class, students will be comfortable navigating CMOS, and they will know the essential CMOS guidelines used in proofreading and copyediting.
This course consists of 16 lessons. Each lesson has a list of CMOS readings and is accompanied by an automatically graded 10-point quiz, for a course total of 160 points. Some questions may require a brief internet search, in addition to the CMOS readings. Each question answer is supported by a CMOS reference.
Required texts: CMOS 17, online version recommended.
“Self-paced” means that students read the lessons and do the exercises at their own pace. There is no instructor feedback. You will have six months to access the course materials, which can be downloaded for your future reference.
Registrations will be taken through June 13, after which the class will be closed to new enrollment. All students will be added to the self-paced course on June 14, 2021 and will have until December 14, 2021 (six months) to complete the course.
Course designer Kirk Perry has an MFA in poetry from UMass Amherst, where he taught Business Communication at the Isenberg School of Management. Currently he teaches writing at Portland Community College and works as a freelance copyeditor. His clients include the University of New Mexico Press and the Huntington Library Quarterly.
Our online courses are conducted through Sakai, a learning management system (LMS). Self-paced courses are undertaken by the student at their own pace and no instructor feedback is provided. Students will have six months to access the course site and may download the course materials for later review. Information on how to access the course will be provided one to two business days before the course opens. All participants in EFA courses must abide by our anti-harassment policy, which you can find here.
