We all rely on the written word to communicate with clients, stakeholders, and the public. The text that we produce is our shopfront to the rest of the world. How can we ensure that the copy for our company reports, websites or marketing material is clear and well structured, or that we won’t be let down by spelling and grammar errors in our letters and emails?
This interactive course provides a practical introduction to the role of editing and proofreading digital or print content in any business. Specially created for those who generate or prepare copy for presentation or publication, but have little or no editorial background, it guides you through what needs to be done – and why. Using an active learning approach, combining individual study with group activities and discussion, it explores how best practice from the publishing industry can be adapted to your own working environment.
By the end of the course you will have gained skills and strategies that will help you to ensure that the text you produce is in the best possible shape for its intended readers. You will be more confident in your editorial judgement, more accurate in your proofreading, and more efficient in the way you work.
Course format
- Virtual classroom
- 9.00am to 12.30pm or 1.30pm to 5.00pm
- 4 x 1½-hour sessions, comprising 2 half-day sessions on 2 days, 1 week apart
Date information for future sessions
November 2025
- Dates: 6 & 13 November 2025
- Times: Each session will run from 1.30pm to 5.00pm
April 2026
- Dates: 21 & 23 April 2026
- Times: Each session will run from 9.30am to 1.00pm
November 2026
- Dates: 17 & 19 November 2026
- Times: Each session will run from 1.30pm to 5.00pm
What you will need
To join the course, you will need access to a computer or laptop with a camera and microphone. 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.
About the tutor(s)
In an in-house career that took her to Berlin, London, Oxford and Cambridge, Caroline Drake worked on a wide range of academic books, journals and illustrated trade titles. She was trained at Blackwell and Cambridge University Press, where, as senior subeditor then copy-editorial manager, she in turn trained copy-editors and proofreaders for fifteen years. She updated Butcher’s Copy-editing, with a colleague, for the fourth edition.
Now freelance, Caroline enjoys helping authors to get things right, first time. She has created and taught courses for a variety of clients, including publishers, educational organisations, the CIEP (formerly the SfEP), the reporters of the Scottish Parliament and the Parliamentary Research Service at the House of Commons.