How the course is delivered

The course consists of 4 sessions, each a mixture of delivery and interaction using Zoom breakout rooms and other online tools. There will be 15-minute breaks between sessions with the opportunity to do exercises and take a break. The course will run on the same day across 2 weeks, split into 2 ½-day sessions in the morning from 9.00am to 12.30pm.

You will need to activate a free Zoom account to join the course. This takes 2 minutes and does not require any payment. It is purely for administrative purposes.

We strongly recommend you complete this course with two screens, unless you have a large monitor. This will enable you to watch the demonstrations while you follow along on your own screen. You will need access to a computer or laptop with a camera and microphone and with either Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (which is free) or Adobe Acrobat Professional installed. Please check that you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Any information to be completed beforehand will be sent via email.

Accessibility

Please contact us at with any accessibility or special requirements, for example having in-session captions or the learning materials sent to you in advance.

If you have any concerns about technical requirements or access please contact us on or telephone +44 (0)20 8874 2718.

In-company training

This course is also available for in-company training, either virtually or in person at your office. Course content is tailored to suit your requirements. Group sizes range from 5 to 12 attendees. To find out more, email or telephone +44 (0)20 8874 2718.

What is included?

Certificate

Upon successfully completing the course you will receive a completion certificate from the PTC.

Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) Points

Completing this course is worth 3 points towards upgrading your CIEP membership.

Delegate feedback

About the tutor(s)

Heather Rawlin began her career in publishing by training with the PTC to become a proofreader and copy-editor. She worked for six years as an editorial project manager for a firm of typesetters, taking academic publications from manuscript through to print-ready and digital formats, and liaising closely with freelance copy-editors, proofreaders and indexers, as well as with the in-house production team of typesetters and quality-assurance readers. Heather started her editorial freelance business in 2015 and began tutoring the PTC distance-learning courses Essential Copy-Editing and Essential Proofreading in 2018. She has degrees in the History of Art and experience of editorial work in medical and scientific publishing, the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Related courses

The PTC offers virtual classroom courses, self-study distance-learning courses, and a range of e-learning modules. See below for those that complement or build on this course.  

Virtual Classroom Courses

• Advanced Copy-Editing
• Applying AI: Tools, Ethics and First Practical Steps
• Copyright – the Basics
• Editorial Project Management
• Grammar and Punctuation - the Basics
• How to Mark Up PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
• Line-Editing Workshop (Fiction or Non-Fiction)
• Progress in Editorial Skills
• Publishing Strategy Toolkit
• Rewriting and Substantive Editing
• Working with Authors

Distance Learning

• Essential Copy-Editing
• Essential Proofreading
• Essential Grammar

e-Learning Modules

• A Commissioning Editor's Guide to Working with Authors
• A Copy-Editor's Guide to Working with Authors
• An Editor's Guide to Author Queries
• An Editor's Guide to Editing Fiction
• An Editor's Guide to Editing Illustrations
• An Editor's Guide to Editing References
• An Editor's Guide to Editorial Style
• Essential Copyright for Publishers
• Essential Editorial Project Management
• Proofreading PDFs: A Complete Guide for Editors