Copy Reading

D I
E A
Y R D E
P N
A L G I N
C O D
A T I N
E
H R I
W
Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
CARAGA Administrative Region
Division of Surigao del Sur
Cantilan District
PALASAO INTEGRATED SCHOOL
COPYREADING
It means editing written copy for
publication.
It requires serious and comprehensive

revision of an article using Copyreading
marks based on the standards of
publication.

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WHAT DOES A COPYREADER DO?
He takes the story as it comes from

the reporter and puts it through a refining
process.
He uses a heavy black or blue pencil
for corrections.
He does not erase the original
writing when he edits.

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WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF
A COPYREADER?
He has good command of a language
and comprehensive knowledge of rules of
grammar.
He must be wide reader and always
updated on current information.
As watchman of newspaper he must
know well the policies of newspaper.

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WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A
COPYREADER?
A. Errors in form
- To correct errors in grammar
- To correct errors in spelling
- To correct errors in punctuation
- To correct errors in usage

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COPYREADER?
B. Errors in content
- To correct errors in fact
- To improve news value
- To guard against criticism
- To expand copy
- To reduce copy
- To write headlines of news and check heads or
titles of editorials, features and literary
articles

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COPYREADER?
To delete unnecessary adjectives and opinion in
news
To delete libelous, seditious, and rebellious matter
and all those contrary to laws, and good taste
To correct redundancy and rewrite sentences with
verbal deadwood.
To rewrite sentences or paragraphs that violate the
principles of unity, coherence, and emphasis
To correct errors in style and structure

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EXERCISES:
A. Identify the error, then tell whether it is in form or in content.

Explain your answer.
1. The guard did not saw all the students coming in.
2. The agenda for the meeting is quite long.
3. The Core luckily tops prestigious press tilts
4. Floods destroy field house- clean- up to take three weeks.
5. In a news story-The most efficient and knowledgeable
principal represented the school in the well known national
schools press conference.

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EXERCISES:
6. The final conclusion revealed that the dead corpse

was a victim of fatal murder.
7. You’re the one whose going to be promoted.

8. President Aquino has been encountering rough sailing
with the philippine media.
9. The old man was brought to the hospital.
10. Grenade blast killed 2 kids
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EXERCISES:
B. Copyread the following leads.
1. President Aquino yesterday said graduates off

the philippine military academy (PMA) this
year were embarking on a military Carreer not
to enrich themselves but to serve the nation.

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EXERCISES:
2. The nexxt administration will have no

one to blaming but itself should the
countrys economic growth sputter after
growing 7.3 percentage during the first
quarter of the year, Malacanang
yesterday Said.

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EXERCISES:
3. philippine- Chartered ship has making a

second rescue mission in LIBYA,
evacuating more than 1,000 Filipinos
including dependents of Filipino
diplomats, from the besieged capital of
tripoli, officials said Yesterday,

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HEADLINE WRITING
HEADLINE is the title of a newspaper story. It

serves as a quick source of information. It is
written to tell the story what is it all about, to
attract readers, and to grade the news on its
importance. It is always short and simple.
Headline writing requires skill and concentration .It
must give the essence of the story. While
explaining the story accurately, your headline also
must fit into a limited space.

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STEPS IN WRITING HEADLINE
Step 1- Read the article, especially the lead

(first) paragraph. The headline must convey a
brief synopsis of the article and must be
accurate, so knowledge of the information in
the article is imperative.

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Step 2-Decide on the most important information to

be conveyed in the headline: what will grab the
attention of the most readers? In news articles, the
most significant information should be in the very
first couple of sentences. The headline has to fit
within the space available for it. If the amount of
space available is unknown, be prepared to edit down
the headline as needed in order to fit.

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Step 3-Check guidelines: each publication has

different guidelines regarding what to include
in the headline. Some allow certain forms of
punctuation, such as a colon, while others do
not. Verify with the publication what their
guidelines require.

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Step 4-Consider the appearance of the
headline. The font size of the letters used
often convey to the reader the article's
importance. Major world events are typically
one or two words in very large font size across
the entire top of the newspaper, while smaller
local stories or news that isn't that unusual
are printed in a smaller font size that only
takes up a column or two in the paper.

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Step 5- Write the headline. There are

several things to consider while writing
the headline
Step 6-Confirm that there are no more

errors in form and in content.

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GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE
1. Use specific words. Make the information

as exact as you can in the limited space of the
headline
Wrong: Politician wins election.

Correct: Noynoy wins presidential post.

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2. State facts, avoid opinion
Ex. Fact: The Core first in press tilts
With opinion: The Core luckily tops
prestigious press tilts
3. Use Active voice. The doer of the action must be
in the subject position. However, use the passive
voice when the action is more significant than the
doer.
Example: SC postpones general meeting

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4. Use the historical present (the present form

of the verb for the past events, and the
infinitive form for the future events.
Wrong: The Core copped 5 trophies at

NSSPC
Correct: The Core cops 5 trophies at NSSPC

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5. Omit all articles a, an, the and other
unnecessary words.
Wrong: The 7 cops hurt in ambush
Correct: 7 cops hurt in ambush
6. Avoid label head

Wrong: Auctioned
Correct: Imelda jewelry auctioned

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7. Do not editorialize your headline.

Wrong: Ang Alab shows great performance in DSSPC.
Correct: Ang Alab wins 6 out of 7 in DSSPC writing
contests
8. Do not use the same word twice in the headline or kicker
Gun haul
Manila cops seize 25 guns
from suspected bandits

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9. Never use the word “may”. It denotes the

uncertain element of the story.
Wrong: Sayyaf may demand P1M for release

of 3 captives
Correct: Sayyaf demands P1M for release of
3 captives.

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10. To use direct quotation as head, use any of the
following forms instead of the traditional quotation
marks:
A. Using the dash instead of the quotation

mark.
Example: Truth commission repugnant – Miriam
B. Using the colon

Example: Joker: Cut debates, fast-track canvass

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C. Using narrative form
Example: No poverty reduction, says
Briones
11. Do not be in the negative.

Poor: Summer Training in Journalism won’t be held
Better: Summer Training in Journalism cancelled

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12. The first letter of the word and proper nouns are
generally capitalized.
Example: Bell saves Tigers from Coffee Makers
13. Avoid awkward verbal breaks
Wrong: Noynoy dreads ‘isolated’ life in
Malacanang
Right: Noynoy dreads ‘isolated’ life
in Malacanang

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14. Mention only the name of person, who is
prominent
Wrong: Jacoba wins Microsoft global award
Right: Filipino wins Microsoft Global award
15. Use M for million and B for billion

Example: West Visayas gets P 600 M for typhoon
victims

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16. Use comma instead of and.

Example: No goodbyes for Jamby, Nene, Mar, Noy
at Senate
17. Separate double headline by a semicolon.

Example: Bomb explodes at Koronadal market; 13
killed, 53 hurt
18. Do not end the headline with a period.

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19. Use infinitive for future events.

Example: Aquino to visit Saudi on way to NY
20. Avoid splitting compound word

Wrong: Aquino to award taxi
driver for honesty
Right: Aquino to award taxi driver for honesty

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21. Avoid wooden heads or headlines without a
verb.
Wrong: Ten student delegates at UN
Correct: Ten student delegates visit UN
22. Avoid splitting words that naturally go
together
Wrong: Garcians celebrate Buwan
ng Wika with beauty tilt
Right: Garcians hold Buwan ng Wika with beauty
contest

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23. Do not start the headline with a

verb.
Wrong: Destroy crops worth P 50 M

Correct: P 50M worth crops destroyed

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
A. According to Purpose
1. Informative or conventional headlines.
- They are designed to inform. These are the
ones the public usually reads in broadsheet
and tabloids
a. Palace dares Aquino to sustain economic
growth
b. Manual audit shows ‘no vote tampering’

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
2. Intriguing or feature headlines.
- Their main purpose is to intrigue readers
and elicit responses. They often do not give
the summary of the story. Feature heads
are made more arresting by using different
style of writing and attractive font types.
a. What Happened to Tax Evaders?
b. Is there a need for Sex Education?

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
B. According to Style
1. All Caps Letters

MACAU APPROVES NEW LABOR LAW
2. Combination of Cap and lower cases (CLC)

US scribes honor Pacquiao as year’s best
3. Sentence Case or Down Style

(Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized)
Macau approves new labor law

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
C. According to Structure
1. Flush left – two or more lines of headline are aligned
at the left edge the column
Example:
Lions, Archers
reach quarters
2. Flush right – two or more lines of headline are aligned
at the right edge of the column
Example:
US urges free access
to South China Sea

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
3. Dropline – two or three lines of headline, usually

of the same length and arranged diagonally
Example:
Female cop cited
For poll heroism

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
4. Hanging indention – usually three or more lines of

headline, the first line set flush to both margins and the
succeeding lines are indented or beginning several spaces
in from the left margin, thus hanging as if from the first
Example:
Military ready to step in
if anti-gov’t protests
turn violent

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
5. Crossline or barline – a single line of headline running
over two or more columns
Example:
Grenade blast kills 2 kids
6. Inverted pyramid – two or more lines of headline with
the first line flushed to both margin and the succeeding
lines getting shorter and centered
Example:
DepEd sets new guidelines
For teacher-applicants
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TYPES OF HEADLINE
7. Flushline of full line- consists of two or more
lines of the same length
Example:
2 low -pressure
areas spotted
8. Streamer – striking boldface head extending
across the top of the page
9. Umbrella – a streamer that is placed at the very
top of the page above the nameplate of the
newspaper

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TYPES OF HEADLINE
10. Binder – a streamer at the top of an inside
page
11. Boxed head – the headline is boxed either for
prominence or to avoid tombstoning
12. Jump head (run-over head) – headline of a
news story, which is cut and continued on the
inside page; it is followed by the words from
page __ or the like
13. Tagline, kicker or teaser – a short single line
placed above the main head, may be of smaller
type, underlined and set flush left or centered.

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HEADLINE VOCABULARY
accord – agreement cite – enumerate, mention

allay – calm confab – conference
allot – apportion, set a side cop – police
anew – again cow- frighten
assail – attack crown – win
ax – dismiss curb – control, stop
bare – reveal, expose cut – decrease
bat – defend dip – decrease, decline
bid – request draw fire – to be criticized
blast – criticize dry run – rehearsal

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HEADLINE VOCABULARY
due – deadline, scheduled hike – increase
ex – former hit – attack
to eye – consider inquiry – investigation
feud – quarrel, dispute ink – to sign a contract
foil – thwart, reject junk – to throw way, decline
gab – conference kin – family
gird – brace, prepare kit – package
go – try letup – temporary easing up
grill – question, interrogate link – connect
hail – welcome lull – calm

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HEADLINE VOCABULARY
meet – conference, to convene power – electricity
memo – memorandum probe – to investigate
mull – plan, to think of prod – prick
mum – silent quit – resign
nab – arrest quiz – question
nix – reject ratify – approve
okay – approve, accept raze – destroy
peg – to fix at a certain amount revamp – to change, reshuffle
or level rift – disagreement
pit – oppose row – dispute, disagreement
post – position, to assign

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HEADLINE VOCABULARY
rule – decide, decision
sans – without
scan – examine
scribe – newspaperman
shakeup – reshuffle
skip – avoid
slay – kill, assassinate
solon – lawmaker
try – attempt

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MECHANICS OF HEADLINE WRITING
The next job of the copy editor after developing the
headline is to see to it that it fits on the allotted space
on the page. He now gives the necessary technical
instruction to the layout man on what font type and
size to be used and how it should be presented on the
page.
Example:
2-20TNRB W/ KICKER

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MECHANICS OF HEADLINE WRITING
Number 2 means that head will run across two
columns of the page. Number 20 stands for the font
size to be used. TNRB refers to the font type Times
New Roman Bold and KICKER means a preliminary
head. The line below refers to the number of line or
deck the headline will have.
The final headline will look like this:
National Press Conference
NCR braces for top slot

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UNIT COUNT IN HEADLINE
All small letters (except j, l, i, f, t, m and

w) = 1 unit
Small letters j, l, i, f, t = ½ unit
Small letters m and w = 1 ½ unit
All capital letter (except I, M and W)
Capital letters J I L T F = 1 ½ unit
Capital letters M and W = 1 unit
= 2 unit
UNIT COUNT IN HEADLINE
All punctuation marks (except the dash,
= 1 unit
question mark, dollar, peso and percent sign)
Dash, question mark, dollar, peso and percent
sign = 1 unit
All number figures from 0 to 9 (except 1)
Number 1 = 1 unit
All spaces = ½ unit
= 1 unit

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EXERCISES
Write headline from the following leads:
1. Investigators have found two apparent murder

victims at properties owned by a Muslim clan
accused of the Philippine’s worst political
massacre, the country’s justice secretary said.
Forensic experts found the skeketons in
shallow graves at a grassy field and a corn
plantation owned by the Ampatuan family in
Southern Maguindanao province, Justice Secretary
Leila de Lima said.

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EXERCISES
2. Starting April, the Quezon City

government will not allow construction of
new buildings in the city without complying
with “green building standards.”

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EXERCISES
3. A United Nations independent expert has

urged the Philippines to adopt the necessary
measures to guarantee the protection and
safety of journalists.

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The first draft is black
and white. Editing and
Proof reading gives the
story color
- - - Emma Hill

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D I

Republic of the Philippines

It requires serious and comprehensive

Republic of the Philippines

He takes the story as it comes from

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

A. Identify the error, then tell whether it is in form or in content.

Republic of the Philippines

6. The final conclusion revealed that the dead corpse

7. You’re the one whose going to be promoted.

B. Copyread the following leads.

1. President Aquino yesterday said graduates off

Republic of the Philippines

2. The nexxt administration will have no

Republic of the Philippines

3. philippine- Chartered ship has making a

Republic of the Philippines

HEADLINE is the title of a newspaper story. It

Republic of the Philippines

Step 1- Read the article, especially the lead

Republic of the Philippines

Step 2-Decide on the most important information to

Republic of the Philippines

Step 3-Check guidelines: each publication has

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

Step 5- Write the headline. There are

Step 6-Confirm that there are no more

Republic of the Philippines

1. Use specific words. Make the information

Wrong: Politician wins election.

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

4. Use the historical present (the present form

Wrong: The Core copped 5 trophies at

Republic of the Philippines

6. Avoid label head

Republic of the Philippines

7. Do not editorialize your headline.

Republic of the Philippines

9. Never use the word “may”. It denotes the

Wrong: Sayyaf may demand P1M for release

Republic of the Philippines

A. Using the dash instead of the quotation

B. Using the colon

Republic of the Philippines

11. Do not be in the negative.

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

15. Use M for million and B for billion

Republic of the Philippines

16. Use comma instead of and.

17. Separate double headline by a semicolon.

18. Do not end the headline with a period.

Republic of the Philippines

19. Use infinitive for future events.

20. Avoid splitting compound word

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines