Sub-Editing: Advanced

Course Description:

This course builds on the Introduction to Sub-editing course and concentrates on improving your ability to sub a wide range of news and features material.

The course consists of series of practical exercises using copy that needs a substantial amount of work. You will also develop your skills in selling a story - writing excellent headlines, standfirsts, pull-quotes and captions.

You are invited to bring samples of your work to this course if you wish.

This course includes the following modules:

Developing techniques for fast and efficient subbing of news stories

• A practical exercise subbing a wide range of sample copy ensuring that you are utilising all the essential checks and improvements. How to perform these checks faster and more effectively.

Developing techniques for sympathetic and effective subbing of features

• A practical exercise in improving your feature subbing skills, from interviews to first person and comment pieces. How to improve copy without rewriting it.

Subbing articles contributed by non-journalists

• How to handle rewrites
• Good and bad ways to approach a re-write
• How to keep the writer happy

Writing better headlines, standfirsts, captions and

• Some headlines efficiently label a story but do little more than that. How to put more into your headlines to give added appeal to a story.

Introduction to layout

• Essential principles of page layout.
• You will critique a range of layouts and come up with the right one for different types of material.
• Improving proofreading skills
• How to spot serious but well hidden errors.

Subbing your own copy

• You will take part in a series of practical tests to determine how well you edit your own copy. These are designed to highlight and improve any weak areas.

Media law refresher and update

• The latest legal developments affecting journalists and subs.

Questions and answers