Description

Access to course materials will begin on May 7, 2025, and last for 365 days.

Are you an experienced editor who has “fluent in Spanish” on your résumé but would hyperventilate if you had to take una prueba de corrección de estilo? Do you read Diccionario panhispánico de dudas entries on your coffee break, then go back to to the day job you hate? Maybe you lose sleep wondering how a screenreader would pronounce “nosotr@s,” transcribe the lyrics to Bad Bunny songs but get frustrated deciding where the punctuation should go, or publish academic papers in Spanish but can’t remember the difference between sino and si no. If that sounds all too familiar, this self-paced course is for you.

In this introduction to editorial rules in Spanish, you’ll be given resources and activities to help you learn or brush up on punctuation, syntax, vocabulary, and verb forms, with a focus on editing for consistency and accuracy. You’ll have a full year to study the material at your own pace and review it as often as you like. Before you know it, you’ll be ready to start professionally editing Spanish-language fiction and nonfiction, opening up your editing business to countless new clients.

• Module 1 is an introduction to the course that includes instructions for editing in different software programs, as well as a self-assessment of your language skills.
• Module 2 covers editorial resources in Spanish and presents the vocabulary to talk about editing and the publishing world.
• Module 3 covers basic spelling rules, including accent marks and syllable stress, as well as other diacritics; syllabification and hyphenation; and common spelling errors.
• Module 4 focuses on capitalization rules, emphasizing distinctions between Spanish and English.
• Module 5 is Part 1 of punctuation basics, including rules for commas, semicolons, colons, and periods.
• Module 6 is Part 2 of punctuation basics, including rules for questions marks, exclamation marks, hyphens, dashes, quotation marks / guillemets, and parentheses.
• Module 7 looks at regional variations in vocabulary, pronouns, and verb forms, and offers tips on standardization.
• Module 8 covers Spanish syntax, pronoun placement, and word omissions.
• Module 9 looks at different verb forms, including conjugations, tenses, and moods. It also covers verb-subject agreement for standard verbs, passive or impersonal voice, and verbs like gustar.
• Module 10 covers simple and complex sentence structure in Spanish, including indicative and subjunctive subordinate clauses. It offers practice in sentence diagramming to see where different phrases and clauses act as parts of speech.

Each module will include three to five short video lectures and/or narrated PowerPoint presentations, as well as self-graded practice assignments. You will also have the opportunity to self-assess your language skills and map out a professional development path to working as a Spanish or bilingual editor. Students can expect to spend two to four hours on each module.

This course is designed for beginning-level editorial skills, but expects students to have advanced proficiency or fluency in Spanish. The lectures will be primarily in English, with examples, readings, and practice activities in Spanish. It is ideal for experienced editors who are proficient in Spanish but may not know the finer details of grammar and punctuation, as well as native and heritage Spanish speakers or translators seeking professional development in editing.

After successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize errors in basic Spanish punctuation placement, accent marks, hyphenation, capitalization, and character spacing.
• Review a text for language standardization and/or regional consistency.
• Diagram complex sentences and subordinate clauses in Spanish to see how different phrases and clauses operate as parts of speech.
• Edit texts for gender, number, and temporal inconsistencies.
• Use Spanish online reference guides, such as RAE, to research editorial issues.
• Talk about editing and publishing in Spanish and write queries in Spanish.
• Assess your own skills and goals as a Spanish editor. 

Misha MacLaird (she/her) is a developmental editor with more than 20 years’ experience editing and writing bilingual and Spanish-language content for a major educational publisher, as well as managing teams of copy editors, proofreaders, and writers. She has taught language, literature, culture, and cinema courses at universities including the University of California, Davis; Tulane University; and Salem State University. She holds a BA in Romance Linguistics, an MA in Spanish and Latin American literature, and a PhD focused on Latin American media and cultural policy. She is the author of journal articles, book chapters, and her own monograph. In her free time, she is also a film producer, script consultant, audiovisual rights manager, and film festival curator.