Now, naturally, your question is what makes Wordy different? What defines our service, when comparing with similar services out there?

Wordy only goes to 10

When planning Wordy, we made the decision not to have 1,000 editors waiting to process your content. We think there are some really good reasons for this decision. Firstly, managing and quality checking 1,000 editors is a monstrous task – we’re talking monstrous with a capital M. Secondly, how do you separate all these editors into the specific subject categories in which they specialise? We don’t think anyone has yet found the right answer to that question.

In addition, chances are – actually, it’s more than likely – you’re not looking for 1,000 editors to work on your text; you’re looking for just one – the one. And finding the one, the best editor, to work on your text drastically decreases the more you have to choose from. Even clever algorithms get confused with a task like that, and who wants an algorithm to find your editor anyway?!

A great big number of people is fantastic if you’re looking for a great big number of possible solutions to a specific problem. If you’re looking for just one solution to one problem, it’s a nightmare.

How much work can a small editing team get through?

All editors and proofreaders on Wordy are professionals with years of experience editing and specialising in one or more specific subjects. So, just one editor can do a massive amount of work in the course of the day, or even a few hours.

Let’s say you have 3,000 words of text you need done within six hours. On Wordy, your text will be picked up within five minutes and done by one, professional editor within three hours. In fact, if your text only needs proofreading, chances are you’ll have it back within two hours.

Every editor on Wordy has a maximum daily throughput of approximately 15,000 words, which corresponds to 150,000 words for a small team of just 10 editors. So, you’re more than welcome to ask yourself if you’re looking for a service that – on paper – can process more than 20 million words per day, and consider what kind of quality those 20 million words will have if everyone is running as fast as they possibly can.

We know a bit about quality checking, and checking 20 million words in one day (of which your text of 3,000 words is only a small fraction) is a nightmare. For obvious reasons.

So, why do you need a service that goes to 11?

You don’t.

You need a service that will take your resume, business report, PowerPoint presentation, or e-mail and turn it into perfect writing, and we’re confident Wordy will do just that for you.

In part, because you’re looking for just one editor – not a thousand. And in part, because quality checking and managing people you know by first name is a proven way to produce great quality work. Even if you are in a hurry.

This article was edited by Richard at Wordy at 1:05 pm CET. The edit took 35 minutes and cost €8.42. Richard found over 40 errors in the text – all of them preventing me from getting my message across. This speed, price and quality makes for an excellent online service, and after one year in business I have a few thoughts on editing, on Wordy, and on what it takes to turn the two into something viable.

The world needs better writing – so did I

The idea underlying Wordy is that everyone should be able to produce great text. In fact, it was my own inability to do so that got me started. As a native Danish speaker, and a copywriter, I found myself increasingly working on more and more English text for clients. I started looking around for a service that gave me fast, professional and attainable editing (preferably 24/7), but just couldn’t find anything like that. So, instead of building an editing service just for myself, I decided to build one for everyone – on the fair assumption that I was by no means alone in requiring help in the writing process.

You have something that people want

As an editor, you have something that people want: you have the ability to help them communicate. With a growing number of publishers working towards ever-decreasing deadlines, more and more communication outlets and fiercer competition for readers, textual quality is as important as ever – it makes the difference between readers gained and readers lost; misunderstanding and comprehension; trust and mistrust. Moreover, in a global marketplace, your talent is not only sought after by local and regional clients, but by clients everywhere. I think that making that talent – your talent – globally accessible is one of Wordy’s greatest feats and biggest challenges.

2010: A somewhat surreal year

With Wordy a year old in December, I can honestly say two things: it takes a staggering amount of hard work to start an online business, and, even if that business is the greatest thing ever, it takes a similar amount of work to get it going. In 2010 I’ve answered literally countless emails from editors and clients, tried to sell Wordy to everyone I know and have got to know, spent more time with lawyers and accountants than I’d like to recall, and generally ridden the rollercoaster of the internet start-up. In August 2010, Wordy won Seedcamp, a competition for internet entrepreneurs, and I think that win is going to help us a lot in 2011.

All is well; send more jobs!

So what’s the plan for Wordy in 2011? Well, the single biggest challenge right now is the number of jobs. Currently, there are only enough jobs to sustain one out of 150 editors on the platform, and in terms of revenue and profit we need to multiply both by 10. Another challenge is the distribution of Wordy: via an open API (Application Programming Interface), Wordy can be integrated into any publishing workflow imaginable – from Word and Google Docs to every content management system and pre-publishing platform out there. I would like Wordy to be present in 10 distributed services by the end of 2011. Finally, the most important challenge is maintaining quality, keeping clients and editors happy and really building a tightly-knit community around Wordy. Right now, the quality of each job really depends on the ability of the editor. This doesn’t necessarily have to change, but helping all editors along in the process, and building the best possible platform to support their work, is something I’m very much looking forward to.

Von Ihnen als Lektor für deutschsprachige Texte wird erwartet, dass Ihre Muttersprache Deutsch ist und Sie über ein sehr gutes Wissen bezüglich der Wortwahl, Grammatik, Zeichensetzung im Deutschen sowie der einschlägigen Regelwerke (vor allem DUDEN und DIN 5008) verfügen – und dass Sie dieses Wissen auch professionell anwenden.

Ihre Aufgaben als Lektor umfassen Folgendes:

Überprüfung und ggf. Korrektur der

• Grammatik,
• Zeichensetzung,
• Rechtschreibung,
• Wortwahl,
• Konsistenz (vor allem bzgl. der Schreibweisen)
• sowie des logischen Aufbaus eines Texts.

Das Lektorat für Wordy umfasst NICHT:

• Jede Entwicklung des Textes (Schreiben), abgesehen von der Prüfung einer konsistenten Struktur
• das Umformulieren eines Texts oder Ghostwriting
• (inhaltliche) Kritik oder andere Bewertungen des zu lektorierenden Texts

Die nachfolgenden Richtlinien befassen sich mit:

• nur den Aspekten der Rechtschreibung, Zeichensetzung etc., die häufig zu Problemen führen sowie
• der Definition, wo die Grenzen des Eingriffs in einen Text liegen.

Wenn Sie Fragen oder Anmerkungen zu den vorliegenden Richtlinien haben oder etwas ergänzen möchten, zögern Sie bitte nicht, Kontakt mit Wordy aufzunehmen: support@wordy.com

Vielen Dank!

Abschnitt 1 Lektorat: eine Checkliste

Bitte stellen Sie sicher, dass die folgenden Aufgaben erledigt wurden:

• Alle Fehler bezüglich Grammatik, Zeichensetzung, Rechtschreibung und Wortwahl
• wurden korrigiert.
• Die verwendete Sprache ist dem Thema, der Zielgruppe und der Situation angemessen, soweit die Hinweise zum Dokument eine entsprechende Einschätzung erlauben. Sollte es keine Hinweise geben, benutzen Sie bitte das Wordy Nachrichtensystem, um diesbezügliche Fragen zu klären.
• Es wurde Konsistenz hinsichtlich Stil, Argumentation und Format hergestellt.
• Mehrdeutigkeiten wurden eliminiert.
• Fragen wurden über das Wordy Nachrichtensystem an den Kunden/Autor weitergeleitet und die Antworten wurden eingearbeitet.
• Querverweise innerhalb des Texts wurden auf Ihre Richtigkeit geprüft.
• Die Formatierung der Quellenangaben wurde geprüft.
• Es wurde sichergestellt, dass die Formatierung der Überschriften, Aufzählungen und anderer Auszeichnungen konsistent ist.
• Es wurde sichergestellt, dass Abbildungen geeignet und zudem korrekt beschriftet sind.

Bei der Arbeit in Word oder einem anderen Textverarbeitungsprogramm gilt außerdem:

• Es wurde sichergestellt, dass das Dokument keine Leerzeilen, unbeabsichtigten Leerzeichen oder andere unnötige Leerstellen enthält.
• Passende Markierungen oder Schlüssel wurden benutzt (falls zutreffend).
• Die Formatvorlage wurde (falls vorhanden) angewendet.
• Alle Änderungen wurden aufgezeichnet bzw. verfolgt.

Beim Lektorat einer Website sind zusätzlich zu den genannten Aufgaben folgende Punkte zu beachten:

• Alle Links wurden überprüft.
• Es wurde sichergestellt, dass Sätze und Absätze kurz gehalten sind.
• Alle überflüssigen Wörter (vor allem Füllwörter) wurden eliminiert. Es wird eine einfache Sprache benutzt.

Folgendes gehört nicht zu Ihren Aufgaben:

• Inhalte prüfen
• Sich um Rechtsfragen wie z. B. Verleumdung zu kümmern

Abschnitt 2 Konsistenz (strukturell und inhaltlich)

Struktur

• Der Text sollte logisch aufgebaut sein und einer klaren Argumentation folgen. Wenn dies nicht der Fall ist, weisen Sie darauf hin.
• Wenn eine grundlegende Umstrukturierung notwendig ist, können konkrete Vorschläge gemacht werden, falls die Lösungen auf der Hand liegen. Anderenfalls reicht es aus, auf das Problem hinzuweisen.
• Arbeiten von Autorenteams: Stellen Sie Konsistenz innerhalb der Kapitel sicher; eine Konsistenz über die einzelnen Kapitel hinaus ist nicht immer umsetzbar.

Inhalt

• Stimmt das Inhaltsverzeichnis mit dem Inhalt überein?
• Sind die laufenden Kopf- und Fußzeilen korrekt?
• Haben die Überschriften die richtige Ebene?
• Passen Bildunterschriften zur Abbildung?
• Stimmen die Abbildungen mit ihrer Erwähnung im Text überein?
• Stimmen Verweise mit ihrer Erwähnung im Text überein?
• Sind die Schreibweisen konsistent?
• Wurden alle unnötigen Wiederholungen eliminiert?

Abschnitt 3 Hausregeln

Abkürzungen

• Bei der Abkürzung von Einheiten steht in der Regel kein Punkt. Beispiel: kg, km/h, 10 m/s2. Ausnahme: ältere Bezeichnungen wie Pfund (Pfd.) und Zentner (Ztr.).
• Abkürzungen sollten bei der ersten Erwähnung nur in Klammern genannt werden, nachdem zuvor der ausgeschriebene Name/Titel genannt wurde. Beispiel: Er war Mitglied der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft (DPG).
• Wenn eine Abkürzung allgemein bekannt ist, muss der vollständige Name nicht eingeführt werden. Beispiele können sein: NATO, UN, WDR, ZDF.

Allgemeines

• Um Wiederholungen zu vermeiden, kann man das Passiv verwenden. Achten Sie jedoch auf die Textsorte, nicht immer ist Passiv angebracht.
• Benutzen Sie nicht „er“, wenn Sie „er und sie“ meinen oder umgekehrt.
• Gibt es zu Begriffen eine geschlechtsneutrale Alternative (etwa „Arbeitsstunden“ statt „Mannstunden“), verwenden Sie sie.
• Verwenden Sie keine diskriminierende Sprache. Im Einzelfall kann es schwierig sein zu
• beurteilen, ob ein Begriff diskriminierend ist oder nicht, daher an dieser Stelle nur einige
• allgemeine Hinweise:
• – benutzen Sie „die behinderte Person“ statt „der Behinderte“
• – seien Sie sensible im Umgang mit bildhafter Sprache
• – benutzen Sie „Migranten“, nicht „Ausländer“; benutzen Sie die Begriffe nur, wenn der Kontext es erforderlich macht

Altersangaben

• ein 21-jähriger Mann, ein 21-Jähriger

Anführungszeichen

• Verwende Sie Anführungszeichen immer bei Zitaten.
• Verwenden Sie innerhalb des Zitats dann nur einfache Anführungszeichen.
• Anführungszeichen können auch bei Titeln verwendet werden, folgen Sie hier dem Stil des Autors/Kunden.
• Verwenden Sie keine Anführungszeichen, um Wörter hervorzuheben, setzen Sie sie stattdessen kursiv.

@-Zeichen

• Vermeiden Sie dieses Zeichen im Fließtext.
• Benutzen Sie es nur dann in Firmennamen, wenn die Firma selbst es macht.

Aufzählungen

• Aufzählungen können nummeriert oder mit Aufzählungszeichen versehen sein.
• Der letzte Satz vor der Aufzählung weist in der Regel auf diese hin und endet daher
• meist mit einem Doppelpunkt.
• Besteht die Aufzählung aus unvollständigen Satzteilen oder einzelnen Worten, so gilt:
• - zu Beginn jedes Aufzählungspunktes werden nur Substantive und Namen großgeschrieben
• - am Ende der Aufzählungspunkte steht kein Satzzeichen
• Ist die Aufzählung selbst Bestandteil eines ganzen Satzes, so gilt:
• - Die einzelnen Aufzählungspunkte werden bzgl. der Groß-/Kleinschreibung sowie
• Zeichensetzung entsprechend behandelt.
• - Am Ende der Aufzählungspunkte steht dann ggf. ein Komma, nach dem letzten Aufzählungspunkt ein Satzschlusspunkt.

Berufsbezeichnungen

• Folgen Sie der Berufsbezeichnung, wie Sie von der zuständigen Kammer, Innung etc. vorgegeben wird.

Datums- und Zeitangaben

• 4:00 Uhr, 16:55 Uhr
• 04.10.2010 oder 4. Oktober 2010
• Zeiträume werden in der Regel ausgeschrieben, wenn der Kontext nichts anderes verlangt. Beispiele: eine Stunde statt 1 Std., drei Tage statt 3 Tage.

Firmennamen

• Folgen Sie der offiziellen Schreibweise der Firma, die Sie z. B. auf deren Website finden.
• Benutzen Sie nach Möglichkeit eine allgemeine Produktbezeichnung statt eines Firmennamens. Beispiel: Taschentuch statt Tempo, Haftzettel/Haftnotiz statt Post-it
• Verwenden Sie die Symbole ™ und ® nur, wenn es unbedingt erforderlich ist (z.B. Kundenvorgabe). Die Zeichen werden dann ohne Zwischenraum direkt an das Wort bzw. den Namen angefügt.

Himmelsrichtungen

• In Abkürzungen von Himmelsrichtungen werden keine Punkte gesetzt. Beispiele: SW, NNO.
• Bei der Zusammensetzung von Himmelsrichtungen werden sowohl in der substantivischen als auch adjektivischen Verwendung werden keine Bindestriche gesetzt. Beispiele: der Nordwesten, südöstlich

Hoch- und tiefgestellte Zahlen

• Entfernen Sie unbeabsichtigt hoch- bzw. tiefgestellte Zahlen (z. B. durch die Autokorrektur in Word) wie 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

Internet

• Lassen Sie in Internetadressen, die mit „www“ beginnen den Zusatz „http://“ weg.
• Schreiben Sie HTML, nicht html oder Html.
• Achten Sie auf die korrekte Schreibweise von Zusammensetzungen mit „E-“ am Anfang, etwa E-Mail, E-Learning usw.
• Orientieren Sie sich beim Umbrechen langer Internetadressen an dieser Reihenfolge (bevorzugte bis weniger bevorzugte Umbruchstellen)::
• – nach einem einzelnen Slash (Schrägstrich)
• – nach „http://”
• – nach einem Punkt
• – nach einem Unterstrich
• – nach einem Bindestrich

Kursivsatz

• Variablen in der Mathematik werden kursiv gesetzt. Beispiele: x-Achse, x + y = z.
• Mit Kursivsatz kann man eine besondere Betonung kennzeichnen. Beispiel: Er ging recht ökonomisch mit der Wahrheit um.

Publikationen

• Orientieren Sie sich bei Titeln von Zeitschriften und Zeitungen an deren eigener Schreibweise. Setze Sie den Titel ggf. kursiv, um ihn als Titel kenntlich zu machen. Beispiele: BILD, Der Spiegel, taz.

Quellenangaben

• Orientieren Sie sich bei der Gestaltung von Literaturangaben entweder an den Vorgaben des Autors oder dem Kontext. Allgemein und auch in den Geisteswissenschaften wird die Literaturangabe so gestaltet: Nachname, Vorname: Titel. Ort: Verlag Jahr. Eine Auflage wird ggf. als hochgestellte Zahl direkt vor der Jahreszahl eingefügt.
• In anderen wissenschaftlichen Kontexten ist vor allem das Author-Date System verbreitet. Detaillierte Angaben hierzu finden Sie auch im Chicago Manual of Style. Beispiel: Smith und Blackheart (1990) fassen weitere Erkenntnisse zusammen (Ramones und Blondie, 1978; Jett et al., 1979).
• Zitieren Sie in Klammern die Angaben in alphabetischer Reihenfolge. Fassen Sie Angaben zusammen, die sich nur der Jahreszahl nach unterscheiden. Beispiel: (Smith und Jones, 1991a,b, 1995; Zither et al., 1978, 1990).
• Folgen Sie dem Stil des Autors, wenn er konsistent ist. Anderenfalls finden Sie hier Beispiele für die Gestaltung von Verweisen bzw. Quellenangaben:

Zeitschriften
Liu, P. C. und Smith, A. P. (1991). Damage to concrete structures in a marine environment.
Journal of Materials and Structures 24(142), S. 302–307.

Monographien
Taylor, H. F. W. (1990). Cement Chemistry, 2. Auflage, Academic Press, London, Vol. 2, S.
390–394.
Taylor, H. F. W. (1990). Properties of slurries. In: Cement Chemistry (eds D. W. Smith and
A. Jones), 2. Auflage, Academic Press, London, Vol. 2, S. 390–394.

Sammelbände
Collins, F. G. und Kirk, G. A. (1994). Electrochemical removal of chlorides from concrete.
Proceedings of the International Conference on the Rehabilitation of Concrete
Structures, Paris (eds D. W. Smith and F. Lewis). Thomas Telford, London, S. 2–30.
Bloggs, J., Taylor, H. F. W. und Diamond, S. (1997). Properties of concrete. Proceedings of
the 9th International Conference on Soil Mechanics. Dundee, S. 22–28.

Telefonnummern

• Gliedern Sie Telefonnummern gemäß DUDEN: 089 1234567, 089 1234567-89, +49 89 1234567

Währungen

• Benutzen Sie Ziffern zur Darstellung von Währungsbeträgen. Schließen Sie die Einheit der Währung mit einem Festabstand bzw. ggf. geschützten Leerzeichen an. Beispiele: 1,00 £, 20 €, 5 000 US$
• Wenn die Währung der Zielgruppe unbekannt sein könnte oder sie in mehreren Ländern verwendet wird, stellt man der Währung in Großbuchstaben des jeweiligen Landes voran. Beispiele: C$ (Kanadischer Dollar), E£ (Ägyptisches Pfund). Schreiben Sie die Währung im Zweifelsfall beim ersten Mal aus und kürzen dann ab (siehe auch: Abkürzungen).
• Ohne Zusätze meinen £ und $ das britische Pfund und den US-Dollar.

Wissenschaft
(siehe auch ‚Zahlen und Ziffernʻ)

• Hier erfolgt nur eine Darstellung der wichtigsten Aspekte. Beachten Sie die Normen jedes Faches und orientieren Sie sich an einschlägigen Publikationen.
• Gesetze etc. werden nicht großgeschrieben. Beispiele: Newtons erstes Bewegungsgesetz, NICHT Newtons Erstes Bewegungsgesetz.
• Chemie:
• – Bindestriche und Klammern haben spezifische Bedeutungen – ändern Sie nichts, wenn Sie nicht mit der Nomenklatur vertraut sind.
• – Auf Kommata in Namen von Verbindungen etc. folgt kein Leerzeichen.
• – Einige Angaben werden kursiv gesetzt – folgen Sie der Verwendung des Autors/Kunden.
• – Stellen Sie sicher, dass hoch- und tiefgestellte Zeichen in Formeln korrekt dargestellt werden. Beispiele: (S,S)-trans-(R,R)-trans-1,2-Dichlorocyclopentane, CO2, H2O, Mg2+.
• Mathematik:
• – Variablen werden kursiv gesetzt
• – Vor uns nach Operatoren (+, –, =, …) steht ein Leerzeichen.
• – Klammern werden in dieser Reihenfolge gesetzt: {[( …)]}
• – Die Zeichen > und < werden vor einer einzelnen Zahl ohne Leerzeichen gesetzt, innerhalb einer Ungleichung jedoch mit Leerzeichen. Beispiele: x-Achse, x + y = z, a = [b + (sin c)]/(d + e), >25, x > 2 + y.
• • Medizin:
• – Prüfen Sie, dass Medikamentennamen korrekt geschrieben sind.
• – Prüfen Sie, dass Dosierungen keine offensichtlichen Fehler enthalten (z. B. durch ein falsch platziertes Komma).
• Taxonomie (Biologie):
• – Orientieren Sie sich in Zweifelsfällen an den internationalen Regelwerken zur Nomenklatur oder halten Sie über das Wordy Nachrichtensystem Rücksprache mit dem Autor/Kunden.

Zahlen und Ziffern

• Die Zahlen von eins bis zwölf werden ausgeschrieben, größere Zahlen als Ziffern. Beides kann innerhalb eines Satzes vorkommen. Beispiel: Er hatte zwei Tage Zeit, um 10 000 Euro zu beschaffen.
• Zur Gliederung wird ein Festabstand benutzt: 2 000 oder 1 690 000. Alternativ ist auch ein Punkt zur Gliederung üblich.
• Zahle ab einer Million können auch je nach Kontext wie folgt geschrieben werden: 1 500 000, 1,5 Millionen, 1,5 . 106.
• Bei Prozentzahlen werden in der Regel immer Ziffern und das Prozentzeichen verwendet. Zwischen Ziffer und Prozentzeichen steht ein Festabstand. Beispiel: 3,6 %
• Einheiten werden durch einen Festabstand von den Ziffern getrennt. Beispiele: 60 kg, 4 cm, 15 t, 10 m/s2
• Einheiten werden nur dann mit einem Bindestrich an die Ziffer gekoppelt, wenn es sich um eine Zusammensetzung handelt und dann der komplette Begriff durchgekoppelt werden muss. Beispiel: Er nahm eine 50-mg-Dosis. Wenn möglich sollten diese Fügungen aber vermieden werden.

Abschnitt 4 Grammatik

Nebensätze

• Achten Sie auf den korrekten Anschluss von Nebensätzen sowie die korrekte Zeichensetzung (auch das Komma, das den Nebensatz schließt).
• Achten Sie in Relativsätzen auf das korrekte Relativpronomen, insbesondere bei den Relativpronomen „wo“ und „was“.

Singular und Plural

• Achten Sie auf die korrekte Verwendung des Plurals, gerade bei Fremdwörtern. Beispiele: Status/Status, Antibiotikum/Antibiotika, Kriterium/Kriterien etc.

Vergleiche

• Achten Sie auf die korrekte Verwendung von „als“ und „wie“ bei Vergleichen.

Abschnitt 5 Rechtschreibung und Wortwahl

Ableitungen von Personennamen

• Ableitungen von Personennamen können entweder kleingeschrieben werden (z. B. „die grimmschen Märchen“) oder – um den Personennamen hervorzuheben – mit Apostroph geschrieben werden (z. B. „die Grimmʼschen Märchen“). Wichtig ist, diesbezüglich innerhalb eines Textes Konsistenz herzustellen.

Anredepronomen

• Die Anredepronomen „du“ und „ihr“ können mit allen ihren Deklinationsformen in Briefen und Urkunden klein- oder großgeschrieben werden; wichtig ist Konsistenz.

Fremdwörter

• Die Endungen „é“ bzw. „ée“ in einigen Fremdwörtern können künftig durch „e“ bzw. „ee“ ersetzt werden (z. B. „Exposé“ oder „Exposee“, „Varieté“ oder „Varietee“)
• In allen Wörtern mit dem Stamm „graph“, phon“, „phot“ kann die Verbindung „ph“ durch „f“ ersetzt werden (z. B. „Graphologe“ oder „Grafologe“, „Phonem“ oder „Fonem“)
• Englische Nomen, die auf -y enden, bilden den Plural durch Anhängen eines -s (z. B. „Hobby“ und „Hobbys“)
• Wörter mit den Endungen „-tial“ und „tiell“ können mit „z“ geschrieben werden, wenn es verwandte Wörter mit „z“ gibt (z. B. „Differential“ oder „Differenzial“,„essentiell“ oder „essenziell“).
• In allen Fällen ist die konsistente Verwendung innerhalb eines Textes entscheidend.

Rechtschreibung, allgemeine Hinweise

• Das „ß“ steht nach einem langen Vokal (z. B. „Gruß“) oder einem Diphtong (z. B. „heißen“). Es steht „ss“ anstatt „ß“ nach einem kurzen Vokal (z. B. „Fluss“ oder „Missverständnis“).
• In folgenden Fällen sind zwei Schreibweisen korrekt, wichtig ist jedoch, innerhalb eines Textes diesbezüglich Konsistenz herzustellen:

an Stelle oder anstelle
auf Grund oder aufgrund
auf Seiten oder aufseiten
außer Stand(e) oder außerstand(e)
im Stande oder imstande
in Frage oder infrage
in Stand oder instand
mit Hilfe oder mithilfe
nach Hause oder nachhause
so dass oder sodass
von Seiten oder vonseiten
zu Grunde oder zugrunde
zu Gunsten oder zugunsten
zu Hause oder zuhause
zu Lasten oder zulasten
zu Leide oder zuleide
zu Ungunsten oder zuungunsten
zu Wege oder zuwege

Tageszeiten

• Tageszeiten, die auf „vorgestern“, „gestern“, „heute“, „morgen“, „übermorgen“ folgen, werden großgeschrieben. Beispiele: „gestern Abend“, „morgen Vormittag“.
• Die Verbindung von Wochentag und Tageszeiten wird immer zusammengeschrieben. Beispiele: „Dienstagmorgen“, „Samstagabend“.

Wortwahl bei Übersetzungen
Wenn Sie einen übersetzten Text lektorieren, achten Sie besonders auf:

• Homonyme. Beispiel: Bank (Geldinstitut oder Sitzgelegenheit)
• Homophone. Beispiele: Meer, mehr
• False friends. Beispiel: sensibel (‚sentitiveʻ auf Englisch)

Abschnitt 6 Zeichensetzung

Folgen Sie dem Stil des Kunden/Autors, solange es regelkonform und konsistent ist.
In Zweifelsfällen oder wenn es kein einheitliches Muster gibt, halten Sie sich an die
folgenden Regeln:

Apostrophe

• Apostrophe finden im Deutschen nur Verwendung, um ausgelassene Buchstaben – vor allem in wörtlicher Rede – zu kennzeichnen.
• Werden Begriffe aus dem Englischen übernommen, sind ggf. auch Apostrophe zu setzen. Beispiel: Dos and donʼts

Auslassungen

• Auslassungen werden innerhalb von Zitaten durch drei Auslassungspunkte gekennzeichnet, die zudem in eckige Klammern gesetzt sein können.

Bindestriche

• In Zusammensetzungen mit Ziffern wird ein Bindestrich gesetzt (z. B. „8-Zylinder“, „6-monatig“).
• Längere Zusammensetzungen können mithilfe eines Bindestrichs übersichtlicher gestaltet werden (z. B. „Fußballbundestrainer“ oder „Fußball-Bundestrainer“). Stehen in einer Fügung mehrere Wörter oder Buchstaben vor einem substantivischen oder substantivierten Grundwort, so wird die ganze Fügung durch Bindestriche verbunden (z. B. „Heinrich-Heine-Allee“ oder „das Aus-der-Haut-Fahren“).
• Drei gleiche, aufeinanderfolgende Buchstaben in Zusammensetzungen bleiben erhalten, unabhängig davon, ob es sich um Konsonanten oder Vokale handelt. Beispiele: „Teeei“, Schifffahrt“ oder „Kaffeeernte“. Bei unübersichtlichen Zusammensetzungen aus zwei Substantiven kann aber ein Bindestrich gesetzt werden. Ob diese Möglichkeit genutzt werden sollte, hängt von der Wortwahl und der Zielgruppe ab (bei Fachbegriffen auf keinen Fall einen Bindestrich einfügen!). Wichtig ist auch die Konsistenz innerhalb eines Textes.

Doppelpunkte

• Ein Doppelpunkt weist auf den sich anschließenden Satz(teil) oder eine Aufzählung, Liste, Definition o. Ä. hin.
• Achten Sie auf die Groß-/Kleinschreibung nach dem Doppelpunkt: Steht nach dem Doppelpunkt ein vollständiger Satz, wird der Anfang großgeschrieben, sonst klein.

Gedankenstriche

• Achten Sie an entsprechenden Stellen auf die korrekte Verwendung der längeren Gedankenstriche statt der kurzen Bindestriche.

Klammern

• Normalerweise werden runde Klammern benutzt, eckige Klammern zeigen Änderungen am Text oder Hinweise des Autors an.
• In wissenschaftlichen und insbesondere mathematischen Texten wird den üblichen Konventionen gefolgt.

Kommata

• Hauptsätze, die durch „und“ bzw. „oder“ verbunden sind, können durch ein Komma getrennt werden. Wichtig ist, dass diesbezüglich innerhalb eines Textes Konsistenz hergestellt wird.
• Bei Infinitivgruppen muss ein Komma gesetzt werden, wenn …
• - … die Infinitivgruppe mit „als“, „(an)statt“, „außer“, „ohne“ oder „um“ eingeleitet wird.
• - … wenn die Infinitivgruppe von einem Substantiv abhängt.
• - … wenn die Infinitivgruppe durch ein hinweisendes Wort angekündigt wird (Beispiel: „Ich bin dagegen, sofort eine Entscheidung zu treffen.“)
• In allen anderen Fällen kann bei einer Infinitivgruppe ein Komma gesetzt werden. Zur Gliederung des Satzes und der damit verbundenen besseren Lesbarkeit empfiehlt es sich in den meisten Fällen, das Komma zu setzen. Wichtig ist, dass diesbezüglich innerhalb eines Textes Konsistenz hergestellt wird.

Semikola

• Ein Semikolon teilt einen komplexen Satz, um die Lesbarkeit zu erhöhen. Die Teile vor und nach dem Semikolon sind aber inhaltlich zusammenhängend.
• Semikola werden im Deutschen selten verwendet; wenn sie nicht ausdrücklich vom Kunden gewünscht sind, können stattdessen auch Satzschlusspunkte oder ggf. auch Gedankenstriche verwendet werden.

Silbentrennung

• Das Trennungsverbot für „st“ wurde aufgehoben, es wird nun ausschließlich gemäß den ‚gesprochenenʼ Silben getrennt (z. B. „Mus-ter“, „Kis-te“, „ges-tern“).
• Bei Worttrennung wird das „ck“ nun immer in die nächste Zeile genommen (z. B. „Bäcker“, „De-cke“).

Zitate

• Achten Sie darauf, dass bei Zitaten auch die Zeichensetzung exakt mit dem Original übereinstimmt.
• Ändern Sie ggf. den einleitenden oder anschließenden Satz, um grammatikalische Korrektheit zu erlangen, aber niemals das Zitat.

This is the mail that went out to Wordy’s 137 editors:

I hope you are well. It has been a good month for Wordy. For the first time we’ve edited more than 100k words – over the next five months I’m hoping to double that number five to six times.

What will keep customers coming back is not just the speed of our service, but also its quality, so please:

- Pay extra attention to the “little things”: spaces or double spaces (where they shouldn’t be), repeated words, wording that doesn’t fit the context, stepping outside the guidelines, uploading the original document instead of the revised one – these things are noticed by the customers, but not always pointed out, and they really diminish our excellent service.

- A little message to the customer when delivering the job shows that there are actually “real people” on Wordy – in my experience, this often makes the difference between a “Good” and an “Excellent” rating.

If you have any ideas or thoughts on how we can minimise errors (process, plug-ins or other tools), please let me know.

I’m looking forward to sharing a bit of exciting news with you within the next 3–4 weeks, but for now: thanks for your continued support and patience with Wordy.

The obvious thing is, of course, that it’s great that Wordy is starting to pick up, but this also has a few inherent dangers:

• Slower response times
• More room for errors
• More diverse customer needs
• Even more diverse customer expectations

Slower response times is all about having numerous open jobs at the same time, waiting to be picked up. Now, the average delivery times we give to editors and customers are based on prior orders, so the 33 minutes we currently estimate for delivering 400 words is pretty fixed. But scaling to 50+ jobs per day will, of course, soon reveal whether 130-odd editors are enough to keep up this great turnaround time. In the end, the customers’ expectations are based on our own estimates, and so we shouldn’t rely on the system to make our promises for us, but rather make a real effort to live up to the standards we have built up so nicely already. Some companies in the language service industry solve this by having a thousand or more individuals on the platform; I don’t believe in this. To me, it makes much more sense to get as few qualified people as possible; to maintain a personal and professional dialogue; to keep customers from losing sight of which editor they like; and to make Wordy an attractive platform for professional editors to work with. So, instead of letting in editors by the hundreds, I prefer letting them in one by one to ensure a perfect fit. If necessary, we can always speed up the process of acquiring new editors, but that shouldn’t be done for the sole purpose of bumping up their basic number.

More room for errors is painstakingly obvious and even double-edged! The more jobs editors handle, the greater the potential for errors in the editing process becomes. There are tools to help us get rid of some of the more annoying problems (like double spaces, repeated words etc.), but the final state of the document is in the hands of a human editor, and we all know how it is with us humans… Again, getting the best possible talent on Wordy is the right way to go. The second edge is all about developing Wordy.com – what to do about time-outs, lock-outs, server crashes, and plain old bugs. The answer to this is running a well-kept backlog and making sure things are fixed, tested and deployed as quickly as possible. We are fortunate to have been able to test Wordy with a growing, and even paying, number of customers, and so it’s even more important that our essential processes and core product is up and running 24/7.

Customer needs and customer expectations – I’ll combine these two, since they are both of a somewhat communicative nature. If some customers come to Wordy for great translations, it’s our job to point out that what we do is great editing. This is, luckily, something that only a few customers have expected from Wordy so far, and I’m hoping to keep it that way. What we can actually attempt is to target the needs issue, and, by doing that, live up to a great many expectations. Customers need fact-checking, secure editing, link checking, rewriting and even creative writing, permissions checking and a bunch of other services that will help them communicate better and more quickly and efficiently. This we can do – and very well, with the present base of editors. So, basically, by listening to what customers need, we can live up to most expectations. Having said that, we arrive back at the one thing that we can’t survive without: quality. Did I miss anything?

• Credits last one full year
• Credits save you up to 15% on every order
• Credits come in different packages
• Credits can be topped off with one click when you need to

Why credits? Because, like most people, you probably have pretty irregular needs for copy-editing and you’re not all that keen on seeing your account reset every month. Now you won’t. Simply go to:

https://wordy.com/pricing

Wordy editors are constantly outdoing themselves, which means pick-up times are now consistently under 3 minutes (and in many cases under 1 minute) while the turn-around time for 400 words is 20-33 minutes.

Looking forward to seeing you on Wordy.

Before returning any job, please ensure that you have carried out the following tasks:

• Corrected all grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage;
• Used language appropriate to the subject matter, the audience, and the purpose of the document insofar as the brief allows you to judge this (if there is no brief, use the Wordy messaging system to request clarification);
• Achieved consistency in terms of writing style, argument, and format;
• Eliminated ambiguity;
• Raised queries via the Wordy messaging system with the client/author and implemented the answers;
• Checked that internal cross-references are accurate;
• Checked that references are formatted appropriately;
• Ensured that the formatting of headings, bulleted lists, and other displayed matter is consistent;
• Ensured that figures and illustrations are appropriate and correctly labeled and captioned.

If working in Word or other word-processing software, you should also have:

• Ensured that the document is free from blank lines, unwanted spaces, and other unnecessary additions;
• Used correct tagging or codes (if appropriate);
• Applied the style sheet (if appropriate); and
• Used Word’s track changes (or the equivalent in other word processors) on all work done.

If editing a website, you have also (in addition to the usual copy editing tasks):

• Checked all hyperlinks,
• Ensured sentences and paragraphs are short, and
• Removed all unnecessary words and used the simplest language possible.

It is not your job to:

• Check facts, or
• Raise queries about legal issues such as permissions or libel.

2. Consistency (Structural and Textual)

Structure

• The text should be logical, and a reasonable line of argument or progression of thought should be developed. If this is not the case, note the problem.
• Where substantial restructuring is needed, suggestions can be made if solutions are obvious; otherwise, it is sufficient to flag.
• In multi-author works, ensure consistency within chapters or sections; overall consistency between chapters may not be viable.

Content
To ensure consistency in content, consider the following questions:

• Does the contents page match the text, both in titles and in page numbers?
• Are running heads and footers correct and consistently implemented?
• Are headings formatted at the correct level?
• Do captions match figures?
• Do figures tally with in-text mentions?
• Do references tally with in-text citations?
• Are spellings consistent?
• Have undue repetitions been eliminated?

3.  House Style

Abbreviations/contractions

• Periods should be used with abbreviations; do not use periods with acronyms. Examples: NATO, e.g., but Mr., Dr. Exception: Use periods with U.S. and U.K. Note that these abbreviations should only be used adjectivally; U.S. citizens, but citizens of the United States.
• No periods with metric units of measurement (see also Numbers and Units). Examples: kg, mph, 10 m/s2, but ft., in.
• Acronyms and abbreviations should be fully spelled out at their first appearance in the text with the acronym or abbreviation in parentheses after the full term. Example: He was a keen supporter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
• If the acronym or abbreviation is very well known to the intended audience, it may not need defining. Examples might include: BBC, UN, NATO, DNA, RNA.

Ages
(See also Numbers and Units)

• An eight-year-old, a 21-year-old.

Ampersand

• Avoid in running text; use “and” instead.
• Use in company names only when the company itself does so. Check the company’s website for this information; rely on text, not the company logo, for this.

Brand names

• Where possible, use generic terms rather than specific. Examples: vacuum cleaner not Hoover, sticky notes not Post-It Notes.
• Avoid the trademark, copyright, and registered trademark symbols—©, ™, and ® unless the context absolutely requires their inclusion. These symbols are always superscript without a preceding space.

Capitalization
(See also Titles)

• Capitalize the first word of a quotation if it is a complete sentence.
• Do not capitalize words unless strictly necessary.
• Capitalize geological epochs, recognized historical periods, religions, etc. Examples: the Tower of London, the Ritz, the Cretaceous, the Middle Ages, Sikhism.
• Capitalize a short-form mention of a previously mentioned capitalized organization, place, etc. Example: The Ministry of Justice . . . the Ministry.
• Recognized geographical names are capitalized. Examples: the City of London, South Africa. But note, for example, “Durham city” and “south Oxford.” Only capitalize north, south, east, and west if they are parts of an established place name.
• General job descriptions such as managing director, trustee, chairman use lower case. Example: the managing director of ASDA.
• Titles and ranks are generally lower case unless used before a name or as a name. Examples: the queen of England, the bishop of Winchester, but the Louis Pasteur Professor of Endocrinology.
• Adjectives derived from proper names are capitalized. Examples: Marxist, Byronic.

Currency

• Use numerals for currency and close up the symbol to the numeral. Examples: £1.00, €20, $5 million.
• If a currency is unfamiliar to the target audience or could be ambiguous, the symbol is preceded by the capital letter (or letters) of the country concerned. Examples: A$5 (Australian), C$5 (Canadian), NZ$5 (New Zealand), E£5 (Egypt).
• £ and $ without prefixed letters denote the British pound and U.S. dollar, respectively. Use € for the euro.

Dates and time

• 4:00 a.m., 6:55 p.m.
• 04:00, 18:55 (use the 24-hour clock only if the context demands it).
• March 4, 2005 (unless U.K. style is required: 4 March 2005).
• 500 BC and 750 AD (note the order of the numerals and abbreviations and the use of small capitals).
• Periods of time are not treated as measurements unless technical/scientific usage demands otherwise. Examples: one hour not 1 h, three days not 3 days.

Displayed lists
(See Lists)

Inclusive language

• Do not use “he” (or “she”) to encompass “he or she.”
• Passive constructions may be used sparingly to avoid repetition of “he or she.”
• The use of “they” as a substitute for “he or she” is not permissible, although it is advisable to restructure sentences to have plural subjects in order to avoid gender-biased language.
• If a gender-neutral expression can be easily substituted for a non-neutral one (work-hours for man-hours; chair for chairman), then do so.
• It can be difficult to keep up with what is currently considered inclusive, so, in general:
• – use expressions such as “disabled people” rather than “the disabled”;
• – avoid terms such as “suffering from,” “battling against” with diseases, unless the context absolutely demands it;
• – “girl” and “boy should refer to children, not adults;
• – do not use “ethnic’’ to mean black or Asian. Refer to people as “belonging to an ethnic minority” or use the appropriate modifier, i.e., Asian or African or African American.
• – use ‘”person first” language, i.e., “a person with autism” rather than “an autistic person”

Internet

• In URLs, omit http:// if the URL starts with www.
• Use HTML, not html.
• Do not hyphenate “email: but do hyphenate similar terms (e.g. ”e-commerce”)
• No capitals for “internet,” “web,” and “website.” Note that “website” is one word.
• Break long URLs in the following descending order of desirability:
• – after a single forward slash,
• – after the second slash of http://,
• – after a period,
• – after an underscore,
• – after a hyphen.

Italics
(See also Quotations)

• Titles of books, newspapers, television programs, etc., are italic, but double quotation marks and roman text are used for articles, chapters, and other parts of larger works. Example: “A Scandal in Bohemia” is the first of the short stories in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.
• Unusual foreign words are italicized. Example: vendange, but salami. If in doubt, don’t italicise. For usage, follow Chicago Manual of Style.
• Variables in mathematics are italic. Examples: x axis, x + y = z.
• Italics for emphasis are permissible. Example: He was being economical with the truth.

Lists

• Displayed lists can be numbered or bulleted.
• The text preceding a list usually (but not necessarily) ends in a colon.
• A list comprising short phrases is styled as follows:
• - the entries in the list may start with a lower or upper case letter, as long as the usage is consistent;
• - entries except the final entry end with a comma, if the items are grammatically simple, or a semicolon, for complex items;
• - the last point in the list ends with a period.
• If the list does not start with a colon (e.g., a standalone list or one following a full stop) or if each bullet is a proper sentence, the first letter of each entry should be capitalized, and each should end with a period.
• Text directly following lists should flush left unless a new paragraph is being started. Flush left paragraphs must be identified as such for the typesetter.

Numbers and units
(See also Ages, Currency, and Dates and Time)

• Spell out numbers one to ten. Other numbers are in figures.
• Use a comma in numbers over 999. Examples: 1,000; 10,000; 1,000,000
• Millions, etc., can be spelled out or given in numerals, depending on the context. Indices are acceptable in technical usage. Example: 1,500,000, 1.5 million, 1.5 × 106.
• Use a hyphen for spelled-out numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine.
• Numerals may not start sentences in running text (i.e. excluding tables and similar); if a sentence must begin with a number, the number should be spelled out.
• Numbers and words in the same sentence may be mixed. Example: He had previously owned two cats, but found himself in charge of 11 dormice. However, two numbers of the same items should use the same format. Example: He had 14 computers, but only 2 were working.
• Fractions: if spelled out, use a hyphen. Examples: one-half, three-quarters, one-tenth, 1/12
• Periods of time are not treated as measurements unless technical/scientific usage demands otherwise. Examples: one hour not 1 h, three days not 3 days.
• Percentages should always be expressed as a number. Examples: 2 percent, 22 percent. (“per cent” in U.K. usage); % is permissible in tables and illustrations.
• Decimal points are on the line, not raised.
• Units must use conventional abbreviations. Example: μg not mcg.
• Units are separated from the numeral by a space, and use the solidus (if units use indices and you think that these should be retained, query Wordy).
• Examples: 60 kg, 4 cm, 15 hp, 48 Mb, 10 m/s2.
• Do not hyphenate units. Example: 50 mg/day dosage not 50-mg/day dosage.
• Use metric units in preference to U.S. or Imperial, unless the context demands otherwise, especially in scientific/technical contexts. It may sometimes be appropriate to add the metric equivalent or the conversion factor in parentheses, e.g., if an Imperial unit is unfamiliar to the target audience.
• Inches are abbreviated to in. (note the point), feet to ft. (do not use ‘ and “).
• Elide ranges using an endash. Examples: 3:00–5:15 p.m. NOT 3:00-5:15 p.m. 1440–1500, pp. 123–144.
• Points of the compass
• Capitalise only when part of a recognized geographical place name. Examples: West Coast, North Carolina, north Somerset.
• No periods in abbreviations. Examples: SE, NNW.
• Do not hyphenate. Examples: southwest, northeast.

Punctuation
(See Part 6)

Quotations

• Use quotation marks for excerpts from speeches, books, etc., but if a word or phrase is being defined or discussed, use italics. Examples: He was, he said, “not a little concerned.” When we talk about being not a little concerned we mean . . .

References

• Follow the author’s style if it is consistent. If the author has specified a particular style, please refer to the appropriate guide. Otherwise, example styles are provided below. For details or for a specific examples not provided here, see Chicago Manual of Style.

List style

• Name/date (Harvard) style. References should be listed in alphabetical order. References with the same first author are listed in the following order: single-author references (in date order), then references with two authors (in alphabetical order), then references with three or more authors (in year order). References with the same authors and year are differentiated by appending a, b, etc., to the year (ensure the text citations are also differentiated accordingly).
• Numbered (Vancouver) style. References are listed in the order in which they are cited in the text.
• The following provides a general style for citations (the actual style may vary depending on a particular job, the author’s style, the specified style guide, etc.). If the references use the numbered style, the list should be in numerical order and the entries preceded by the number and a period. The entry number should be on the line, not superscript.

Journals

• Liu, P. C. and Smith, A. P. (1991). Damage to concrete structures in a marine environment. Journal of Materials and Structures 24(142), 302–307.

Books

• Taylor, H. F. W. 1990. Cement Chemistry, 2 edn., vol. 2. London: Academic Press.
• Taylor, H. F. W. 1990. Properties of slurries, 2 edn. In Cement Chemistry, ed. D. W. Smith and A. Jones (London: Academic Press), pp. 390–394.

Conferences

• Collins, F. G. and Kirk, G. A. 1994. Electrochemical removal of chlorides from concrete. In Proceedings of the International Conference on the Rehabilitation of Concrete Structures, Paris, ed. D. W. Smith and F. Lewis (London: Thomas Telford), pp. 2–30.
• Bloggs, J., Taylor, H. F. W. and Diamond, S. 1997. Properties of concrete. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Soil Mechanics. Dundee, pp. 22–28.
• Bloggs, J. 1997. Properties of concrete. Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Soil Mechanics, Dundee, April.

Standards and reports

• British Standards Institution. 1995. A Study of Breakdown in Concrete. BS 4486:2. BSI, Milton Keynes.
• Bloggs, J. 1995. A Study of Breakdown in Concrete. RTa 54a. Philadelphia: American Society for Testing Materials.
• Bloggs, J. 1996. A Study of Breakdown in Concrete. Report STP 67. Detroit, MI: American Concrete Institute.

Theses

• Bloggs, J. 1995. A study of breakdown in concrete. PhD thesis, University of Sussex, Brighton.

In-Text citations
Name/date style

• Use semicolons to separate lists of citations. Do not use commas between the author’s name and the year. Example: Smith and Blackheart (1990) reported previous findings (Ramones and Blondie 1978; Jett et al. 1979).
• If there is more than one citation within parentheses, they should be ordered either alphabetically or by year, beginning with the most recent. Make sure usage is consistent throughout the text.
• In a list of citations, combine those differing only in the year. Example: (Ramones and Blondie 1978; Smith and Jones 1991a,b, 1995; Zither et al. 1978, 1990).

Numbered style

• All citations must be numbered in the order in which they will be encountered by a reader. This includes citations in figures and tables.
• Numbers should be enclosed in parentheses or in square brackets. Some styles may require numbers to be italicized or in superscript. In all cases, multiple citations are indicated by a list of numbers are separated by commas without a following space. Examples: Smith and Blackheart [11] reported previous findings [12,13]. Smith and Blackheart11 reported previous findings.12,13
• If superscript numbers are used, these should be placed outside punctuation. Example: by Smith;11 but not all.12–14
• Elide ranges, using an endash. Example: [8,12–15] not [8,12,13,14,15].

Science
(See also Numbers and Units)

• Only brief guidance is provided here for commonly encountered areas of science. Follow the norms for each particular scientific field and refer to the Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors and similar publications. Most scientific publications will follow either CSE or AMA style; refer to the appropriate style guide for detailed advice.
• Do not capitalize scientific laws, theories, etc. Example: Newton’s first law of motion not Newton’s First Law of Motion.

Chemistry:

• – hyphens and brackets in chemical names have specific meanings – do not alter unless you are familiar with the nomenclature
• – commas in names do not have a following space
• – some prefixes are italic – follow the author/client’s usage
• – ensure that superscripts and subscript numbers are used correctly in formulae. Examples: (S,S)-trans-(R,R)-trans-1,2-dichlorocyclopentane, CO2, H2O, Mg2+.

Mathematics:

• – variables are italic
• – symbols (+, –, =, etc.) are spaced
• – brackets are nested in the order {[( …)]}
• – > and < when used as prefixes are closed up to the following numeral, but are spaced when used as operators. Examples: x axis, x + y = z, a = [b + (sin c)]/(d + e), >25, x > 2 + y.
• Medicine:
• – check that drug names are correct for the intended audience; refer to the Physician’s Desk Reference and similar publications for guidance.
• – check that drug dosages do not have obvious errors (e.g. the decimal point in the wrong place).
• Taxonomy:
• – all taxa (family, order, genus, etc.) except for species start with an initial capital
• – genus and species are italic
• – if a binomial (i.e. genus plus species names) is mentioned several times, the genus can be abbreviated
• – “species” is sometimes abbreviated to sp. (singular) and spp. (plural) – these are roman not italic. Example: The English oak, Quercus robur, belongs to the family Fagaceae.

Sexism
(See Inclusive Language)

Superscripts and subscripts

• Word processors often insert spurious superscripts in degrees (1st, 2nd, 3rd); remove these superscripts unless the context demands otherwise.
• Ensure common chemical formulae use subscript numbers. Examples: CO2, H2O, O2, NOx.

Telephone numbers

• In parentheses, after the name and address. For overseas telephone numbers, consult client or web search for appropriate format. Overseas numbers begin with a plus sign and the country code. Example: +49 4106 3797 not 01049 4106 3797.

Time
(See Dates and Time)

Titles
Companies

• Follow company usage in running text on, for example, their website; do not follow the logo if that is different.

Jobs

• Use lower-case initials in general. Examples: John Smith, the managing director of Glaxo; the bishop of Winchester; the chief executive was present.
• Job descriptions such as “managing director,” “trustee,” and “chairman” routinely take lower-case initials even when the company is referred to. Example: the managing director of ASDA.

Publications

• Publication titles: italic with major words taking an initial capital; the word directly following a colon also takes an initial capital.
• Newspapers and journals: inclusion of “the” in the title follows usage by the publication itself. Examples: The Bookseller but the Guardian (as in its own style guide).

4.  Grammar

Collective nouns

• Treat as singular unless the context absolutely demands a plural verb. Examples: The choir was due to appear in the concert. The team is in good spirits, they expect to win.

Fewer and less

• Ensure correct usage, i.e. “fewer” for countable nouns and “less” for uncountable. Examples: There are fewer cars on the road nowadays. There is less traffic at night.

None is, none are

• Both are acceptable in the correct context. Examples: The book has ten chapters, none is relevant to our immediate concerns. Many people are watching the end of this exciting game, none are willing to leave early.

Singular and plural

• Ensure the correct use of words with irregular plurals such as “phenomenon,” “media,” and “criteria.”

Relative clauses

• Use “that,” “who,” and “whom” to introduce identifying (defining, restrictive) clauses; no punctuation before the pronoun.
• Use “which,” “who,” and “whom” to introduce non-identifying (nondefining, unrestrictive) clauses; use a comma before the pronoun. Examples: He married the woman that he met on the beach. He married the woman, whom he met on the beach, after just one week. The marriage, which took place on Monday, was arranged in a hurry.

Split infinitives

• • Avoid unless the alternative is consciously echoing Star Trek’s “to boldly go” or is unacceptably clunky or ambiguous. Examples (the first example is acceptable although split, the second example has a different meaning):
• - I’d like to really understand philosophy.
• - I’d like to understand philosophy really.

Whether and if

• These are interchangeable in reported questions, but after a verb use “whether.” Examples: She asked if she could go. She asked whether she could go. We discussed whether she could go. He has to decide whether she can go.

Who, whom

• In relative clauses, “who” refers to the subject of the verb in the clause and “whom”to the object or complement. Examples: She played chess against an opponent whom she had never played before. She played chess against an opponent who came from Dunstable.

5.  Spelling and usage

Spelling
Amid and among rather than amidst and amongst

Comprise, not ”comprise of”
Coordinate, cooperate, etc.

email, but ‘e-commerce’, etc.

freelance, not ‘freelancer’
farther or further, either is acceptable, but be consistent

internet
into, use two words for continued action: “He turned into an ogre.” BUT “He turned his essay in to the teacher.”

Lifestyle
log in as a verb, login as a noun or adjective

nonetheless

OK, not “okay”
ongoing
online, always one word
on-screen, on screen, hyphenate before nouns but not after, e.g. ‘on-screen editor’ but ‘work on screen’

onto, use two words for continued direction (see “into”)

under way as an adverb, but “underway” as an adjective

website
while, not “whilst”
worthwhile

Usage
Many Wordy texts may come from a translation or have been written by someone whose first language is not English. Be vigilant for:

• Homonyms. Example: sewer (a pipe for waste or someone who sews)
• Homophones.
• False friends. Examples: once (“eleven” in Spanish), genial (“brilliant” in German).

6.  Punctuation

Follow the style of the author/client as long as it is acceptable and consistent. Bear in mind the target audience (i.e. U.S. or U.K.): the default style is U.S.

If in doubt, or where there is no clear pattern, use the following guide:

• Double quotation marks, single quotation marks for quotes within quotes. (Note the opposite applies in the U.K.).
• Periods and commas appear inside the closing quotation mark. All other quotation appears outside of the mark, unless it is part of the original quotation.
• Punctuation before a quotation should be consistent with the sense of the sentence.

Apostrophes

• Ensure correct usage, i.e. for possession and contractions but not for plurals. Examples: The cat’s whiskers. The bees’ knees. 100 years’ time. The fox slunk back to its lair. It’s well known that foxes have lairs. Dos and don’ts. 1960s

Bulleted and numbered lists
(See Lists in Part 3)

Colon

• A colon is used to:
• – introduce a list,
• – introduce a long quotation, or
• – introduce an explanation or amplification.
• A capital letter must always follow the colon in a title. When the colon introduces an explanation or amplification, it is followed by a capital letter if what follows it runs two full sentences or more. If what follows is one complete sentence, the capital is optional, as long as usage is consistent. If the material following is a phrase or list, there is no capital. In U.K. English, there is no capital after the colon, except in titles of books, etc.
• There should be no spaces before or after a colon that is part of a ratio, biblical reference or similar. Examples: We need four people to work on this project: an editor, a translator, a proofreader and a project manager. Hamlet replied: “Words, words, words.” There was a problem with my bike: the back tire was punctured.

Semicolons

• Semicolons are used to join two sentences or to separate items in a list that consists of grammatically complex items. Examples: Some people are still smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day; others have given up successfully and have not smoked for many years. Employees enjoy many benefits: nursery facilities for children up to the age of three; interest-free loans for season tickets; and an ability to work flextime and earn up to five extra days of leave per year.

Commas

• Follow the author/client’s preferences.
• Use a final serial comma (Oxford comma) unless the author/client’s style dictates otherwise.
• Use to isolate discourse markers such as “however,” “indeed,” etc. Example: The child was, however, nowhere to be seen.

Dashes

• Use closed up em rules. (For U.K. style, use spaced en rules).

Ellipses

• At the end of a sentence, use a period after an ellipsis.

Hyphens

• Generally avoid hyphens with prefixes, especially scientific or medical compounds (e.g. gastrointestinal). But use where necessary for clarity (re-cover, recover, re-enter).
• Hyphenate compound adjectives both pre- and postnominally, with the following exceptions:
• – noun–noun or very well-known adjective phrases
• – phrases with adjectives ending in “ly”
• – postnominal phrases using the past tense. Examples: electron microscope image, molded-plastic cup (but stainless steel cup).
• Hyphenate fractions. Example: two-thirds.
• Hyphenate numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine.

Brackets

• Parentheses (round brackets) are normally used, but use square brackets for authorial alterations or insertions in quoted matter.
• Follow normal conventions for scientific and mathematical texts.

White-labelling Wordy is a nice way of saying: integrating the platform without customers actually knowing who’s doing the job (in this case, Wordy’s great copy-editors). This is not my dream solution, since it doesn’t assist any brand-building for Wordy, and simply implements an anonymous service on a third-party platform that end-customers can’t relate to. Actually, it’s not the hiding away of Wordy’s brand that concerns me the most, but I would really like to expose who’s doing the job, since (at least in my view) it’s fairer to give customers one point of reference to who’s providing the editing service, and where to go for support. On the other hand, this model works very well in the production industry where customers really don’t care about who’s assembling their shoes, electronic devices or pots and pans. In this case we put our faith in the supplier to provide us with the support we need if our shoes or devices turn out bad.

Integrating Wordy as brand is the optimum solution. It means that customers are exposed to the Wordy brand when using the service through a third party developer or platform. It makes for a lower entry barrier if the customer decides to check out Wordy.com, and it ultimately gives Wordy the credibility and trust relationship we are looking to build with all our customers – whether they are using our copy-editing service directly or indirectly. When using a highly professional, very well planned service such as Wordy, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to know who’s delivering that service and where it comes from. And again, using the Wordy brand in any ordering process, and observing that the service actually works as promised, that the pricing is just right, and that jobs are returned in perfect shape and on time, is a great brand-builder – even if the customer is only exposed to the Wordy brand through a 20×20 pixel logo in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Making reseller and agent deals means having a local or regional presence through an existing reseller or even affiliate network. With Wordy being a bootstrapping company, we cannot possibly be everywhere at any time, and so having local agents and resellers doing the selling and approaching the customers for us is like adding a new branch to Wordy in a lesser sense of the word than actually having to hire people. As in all other cases, revenue sharing of Wordy’s net profits without taking anything from editors’ earnings is the way to go. This in turns means that agents and resellers have to be able to deliver a pretty nice volume of jobs before the deal is interesting to anyone. Acquiring professional copy-editors is not an easy task, and holding on to the best of the best is, in my view, done by offering translucent terms and really nice compensation.

Never lose sight of the product – when everything is said and done about distributing Wordy, we are a professional copy-editing service with a pretty simple promise to everyone: Wordy is the fastest, most reliable way of adding professional copy-editing to your writing process and publishing with confidence. This is our core-product and, whatever we do to distribute Wordy into as many publishing workflows as possible, we should never lose sight of this. In fact, the more workflows Wordy is present in, the more we should focus on optimising our internal workflows to make it as easy and rewarding to take on editing jobs on the platform as possible. This will ensure the quality of our service by facilitating editors to focus on what they do best.

Constantly improving the copy-editing service is really a continuation of not losing sight of the product, so anything we can do to improve the Wordy platform should be done; and done as quickly, smoothly and transparently as possible. There are so many ways to offer our great service that maintaining a well-managed backlog of all ideas for improvements of Wordy.com, our API and our ordering structure is of vital importance to keeping us as far ahead of the game as possible. So please look out for a relevant implementation of Wordy on a publishing platform near you in the near future.

• Correct grammar
• Reliable punctuation
• Appropriate words
• Correct spelling
• Internal consistency
• Logical structure.

Wordy editing does not include:

• Development – any writing apart from ensuring consistent structure
• Rewriting or ghostwriting
• Critique or evaluation of the document or text.

The guidance that follows deals with:

• Exceptional or problem areas only
• Definitions of the limits of editorial intervention.

1. Copy-editing: a check-list

Please ensure that you have carried out the following tasks:

• Corrected all grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage
• Used language appropriate to the subject matter, the audience and the purpose of the document in so far as the brief allows you to judge this (if there is no brief, use the Wordy messaging system to gain clarification)
• Achieved consistency in terms of writing style, argument and format
• Eliminated ambiguity
• Raised queries via the Wordy messaging system with the client/author, and implemented the answers
• Checked that internal cross-references are accurate
• Checked that journal references are formatted appropriately
• Ensured that the formatting of headings, bulleted lists and other displayed matter is consistent
• Ensured that figures and illustrations are appropriate and correctly labeled and captioned.

If working in Word or other word-processing software, you have also:

• Ensured that the document is free from blank lines, unwanted spaces and other unnecessary additions
• Used correct tagging or codes (if appropriate)
• Applied the style sheet (if appropriate)
• Used Wordʼs track changes (or the equivalent in other word processors) on all work done.

If editing a website, you have also (in addition to the usual copy-editorial tasks):

• Checked all hyperlinks
• Ensured sentences and paragraphs are short
• Removed all unnecessary words, and used the simplest words and language possible.

It is not your job to:

• Check facts
• Raise queries about legal issues such as permissions or libel.

2. Consistency (structural and textual)

Structure

• The text should be logical, and a reasonable line of argument or progression of thought should be followed. If this is not the case, note the problem.
• Where substantial restructuring is needed, suggestions can be made (if solutions are obvious); otherwise, it is sufficient to flag.
• Multi-author works: ensure consistency within chapters or sections; overall consistency between chapters may not be viable.

Content

• Does the contents page match the text?
• Are running heads and footers correct?
• Are headings at the correct level?
• Do captions match the figures?
• Do figures tally with text mentions?
• Do references tally with text mentions?
• Are spellings consistent?
• Have all undue repetitions been eliminated?

3. House style

Abbreviations/contractions

• Full points with lower-case abbreviations only, no full points with upper case abbreviations or contractions. Examples: NATO, Mr, e.g.
• But no full points with units of measurement (see also ʻNumbers and unitsʼ). Examples: kg, mph, 10 m/s2 (one exception: in.).
• Words to be abbreviated should appear in full with the abbreviation in parentheses at the first mention. Example: He was a keen supporter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
• If the abbreviation is very well known to the intended audience, it wonʼt need defining. Examples might include: BBC, UN, NATO, DNA, RNA.

Ages

• (See also ʻNumbers and unitsʼ)
• An eight-year-old, a 21-year-old.

Ampersand

• Avoid in running text.
• Use in company names only when the company itself does so.

Brand names

• Where possible use generic terms rather than a specific. Examples: vacuum cleaner not Hoover, sticky notes not Post-It Notes.
• Avoid the trademark and registered trademark symbols ™ and ® unless the context absolutely requires their inclusion. ® is always superscript without a preceding space.

Capitalisation

• (See also ʻTitlesʼ)
• Capitalise the first word of a quotation if it is a complete sentence.
• Do not capitalise words unless strictly necessary.
• Capitalise geological epochs, recognised historical periods, religions, etc. Examples: the Tower of London, the Ritz, the Cretaceous, the Middle Ages, Sikhism.
• Capitalise a short-form mention of a previously mentioned organisation, place, etc.
• Example: The Ministry of Justice … the Ministry.
• Recognised geographical names are capitalised. Examples: the City of London, South Africa. But note, for example, ʻDurham cityʼ and ʻsouth Oxfordʼ: only capitalise north, south, east and west if parts of an established place name.
• General job descriptions such as managing director, trustee, chairman use lower case. Example: the managing director of ASDA.
• Titles and ranks are generally lower case unless used before a name or as a name. Examples: the queen of England, the bishop of Winchester, but the Louis Pasteur Professor of Endocrinology.
• Adjectives derived from proper names are capitalised. Examples: Marxist, Byronic.

Currency

• Use numerals for currency and close up the symbol to the numeral. Examples: £1.00, €20, $5 million.
• If a currency is unfamiliar to the target audience or could be ambiguous, the symbol is preceded by the capital letter (or letters) of the country concerned.
• Examples: A$5 (Australian), C$5 (Canadian), NZ$5 (New Zealand), E£5 (Egypt).
• £ and $ without prefixed letters denote the British pound and US dollar, respectively. Use € for the euro.

Dates and time

• 4:00 a.m., 6:55 p.m.
• 04:00, 18:55 (use the 24-hour clock only if the context demands it).
• 4 March 2005 (unless US style is required: March 4, 2005).
• 500 BC and 750 AD (note the order of the numerals and abbreviations, and the use of small capitals).
• Periods of time are not treated as measurements unless technical/scientific usage demands otherwise. Examples: one hour not 1 h, three days not 3 days.

Displayed lists
(See ʻListsʼ)

Inclusive language

• The passive should be used sparingly to avoid repetition of ʻhe or sheʼ.
• The use of ʻtheyʼ to encompass ʻhe or sheʼ is permissible.
• Do not use ʻheʼ (or ʻsheʼ) to encompass ʻhe and sheʼ.
• If a gender-neutral expression can be used easily (work-hours for man-hours), then do so.
• It can be difficult to keep up with what is currently considered inclusive, so, in general:
• – use expressions such as ʻthe disabled personʼ, rather than ʻthe disabledʼ
• – avoid terms such as ʻsuffering fromʼ, ʻbattling againstʼ with diseases – unless the context absolutely demands it
• – the terms ʻwhite peopleʼ and ʻblack peopleʼ are acceptable in the UK (note lower case)
• – ʻgirlʼ and ʻboyʼ should refer to children, not adults
• – do not use ʻethnicʼ to mean black or Asian people. Refer to people as ʻbelonging to an ethnic minorityʼ or ʻbeing of ethnic-minority heritageʼ
• – use ʻAfrican-Caribbeanʼ, ʻAfrican Britishʼ or ʻblack Britishʼ instead of ʻAfro-…ʼ.

Internet

• In URLs, omit ʻhttp://ʼ if the URL starts with www.
• Use HTML not html.
• Do not hyphenate ʻemailʼ but do hyphenate similar terms (e.g. ʻe-commerceʼ)
• No capitals for ʻinternetʼ, ʻwebʼ and ʻwebsiteʼ.
• Break long URLs in the following descending order of desirability:
• – after a single forward slash
• – after the second slash of http://
• – after a full point
• – after an underscore
• – after a hyphen.

Italics
(See also ʻQuotationsʼ)

• Titles of books, newspapers, television programmes, etc., are italic but single quotes and roman text are used for articles, chapters and other parts of larger works. Example: ʻA Scandal in Bohemiaʼ is the first of the short stories in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.
• Unusual foreign words are italicised. Example: vendange, but salami. If in doubt, donʼt italicise. For usage, follow Hartʼs Rules.
• Variables in mathematics are italic.
• Examples: x axis, x + y = z.
• Italics are permissible for emphasis. Example: He was being economical with the truth.

Lists

• Displayed lists can be numbered or bulleted.
• The text preceding a displayed list usually (but not necessarily) ends in a colon.
• A list comprising short phrases is styled as follows:
• - the entries in the list start with a lower case letter
• - all but the last entry do not finish with a full stop
• - the last point in the list does finish with a full point.
• If the list does not start with a colon (e.g. a standalone list or one following a full stop) or if each bullet is a proper sentence, the first letter of each entry should be capitalised, and each should finish with a full stop.
• Text directly following lists: flush left unless a new paragraph is being started. Flush left paragraphs must be identified as such for the typesetter.

Numbers and units

• (See also ʻAgesʼ, ʻCurrencyʼ and ʻDates and timeʼ)
• Spell out one to ten. Other numbers are in figures.
• Use a comma in numbers over 9999. Examples: 10,000, 1,000,000
• Millions, etc., can be spelt out or be numerals, depending on the context. Indices are acceptable in technical usage. Example: 1,500,000, 1.5 million, 1.5 × 106.
• Use a hyphen for spelt-out numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine.
• Numbers starting sentences in normal text (i.e. excluding tables and similar) are spelt out.
• Numbers and words in the same sentence may be mixed. Example: He had previously owned two cats, but found himself in charge of 11 dormice.
• Fractions: if spelt out, use a hyphen. Examples: one-half, three-quarters, one-tenth, 1/12th
• Periods of time are not treated as measurements unless technical/scientific usage demands otherwise. Examples: one hour not 1 h, three days not 3 days.
• Percentages should always be expressed as a number. Examples: 2 per cent, 22 per cent. Use ʻper centʼ (ʻpercentʼ if imposing US style). % is permissible in tables and illustrations.
• Decimal points are on the line, not raised.
• Units must use conventional abbreviations. Example: μg not mcg.
• Units are separated from the numeral by a space, and use the solidus (if units use indices and you think that these should be retained, query Wordy). Examples: 60 kg, 4 cm, 15 hp, 48 Mb, 10 m/s2.
• Do not hyphenate units. Example: 50 mg/day dosage not 50-mg/day dosage.
• Use metric units in preference to Imperial, unless the context demands otherwise (e.g. if imposing US style). It may sometimes be appropriate to add the metric equivalent or the conversion factor in parentheses. e.g. if an Imperial unit is unfamiliar to the target audience.
• Inches are abbreviated to in. (note the point), feet to ft (do not use ‘ and “).
• Elide ranges. Examples: 3.00–5.15 p.m., 1440–1500, pp. 123–44.

Points of the compass

• Capitalise only when part of a recognised geographical place name. Examples: West Coast, North Carolina, north Somerset.
• No full points in abbreviations. Examples: SE, NNW.
• Hyphenate. Examples: south-west, north-east.

Punctuation
(See Part 6)

Quotations

• Use quotation marks for excerpts from speeches, books, etc., but if a word or phrase is being defined or discussed, use italics. Examples: He was, he said, ʻnot a little concernedʼ. When we talk about being not a little concerned we mean…

References

• Follow the style of author if consistent. Otherwise, example styles are provided below.

List style

• Name/date (ʻHarvardʼ) style. References should be listed in alphabetical order. ʻStʼ and ʻMcʼ are treated as if spelt ʻSaintʼ and ʻMacʼ, respectively. References with the same first author are listed in the following order: single-author references (in date order), then references with two authors (in alphabetical order), then references with three or more authors (in year order). References with the same authors and year are differentiated by appending ʻaʼ, ʻbʼ, etc., to the year (ensure the text citations are also differentiated accordingly).
• Numbered (ʻVancouverʼ) style. References are listed in the order in which they are cited in the text.
• The following provides a general style for citations (the actual style may vary depending on a particular job, the authorʼs style, etc.). If the references use the numbered style, the list should be in numerical order, and the entries preceded by the number and a full stop.

Journals
Liu, P. C. and Smith, A. P. (1991). Damage to concrete structures in a marine environment. Journal of Materials and Structures 24(142), 302–307.

Books
Taylor, H. F. W. (1990). Cement Chemistry, 2nd edn. Academic Press, London, vol. 2, pp. 390–394.
Taylor, H. F. W. (1990). Properties of slurries. In: Cement Chemistry (eds D. W. Smith and A. Jones), 2nd edn. Academic Press, London, vol. 2, pp. 390–394.

Conferences (the first example is published, the second is unpublished)
Collins, F. G. and Kirk, G. A. (1994). Electrochemical removal of chlorides from concrete. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Rehabilitation of Concrete Structures, Paris (eds D. W. Smith and F. Lewis). Thomas Telford, London, pp. 2–30.
Bloggs, J., Taylor, H. F. W. and Diamond, S. (1997). Properties of concrete. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Soil Mechanics. Dundee, pp. 22–28.

Standards and reports
British Standards Institution (1995). A Study of Breakdown in Concrete. BS 4486:2. BSI, Milton Keynes.
Bloggs, J. (1995). A Study of Breakdown in Concrete. RTa 54a. American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, pp. 1–10.
Bloggs, J. (1996). A Study of Breakdown in Concrete. Report STP 67. American Concrete Institute, Detroit, pp. 1–10.

Theses
Bloggs, J. (1995). A study of breakdown in concrete. PhD thesis, University of Sussex, Brighton.

Text citations

Name/date style

• Use full punctuation (commas and semicolons). Example: Smith and Blackheart (1990) reported previous findings (Ramones and Blondie, 1978; Jett et al., 1979).
• Cite in alphabetical order if more than one citation within parentheses.
• Combine citations differing only in the year. Example: (Smith and Jones, 1991a,b, 1995; Zither et al., 1978, 1990).

Numbered style

• All citations must be numbered in the order in which they will be encountered by a reader. This includes citations in figures and tables.
• Numbers can be either enclosed in square brackets or superscript. In both cases, the numbers are separated by commas without a following space.
• Examples: Smith and Blackheart [11] reported previous findings [12,13]. Smith and Blackheart11 reported previous findings.12,13
• If superscript numbers are used, these should be placed outside punctuation. Example: by Smith;11 but not all.12–14
• Elide ranges. Example: [8,12–15] not [8,12,13,14,15].

Science
(See also ʻNumbers and unitsʼ)

• Only brief guidance is provided here for commonly encountered areas of science. Follow the norms for each particular scientific field, and refer to the Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors and similar publications.
• Do not capitalise laws, etc. Example: Newtonʼs first law of motion not Newtonʼs First Law of Motion.
• Chemistry:
• – hyphens and brackets in chemical names have specific meanings – do not alter unless you are familiar with the nomenclature
• – commas in names do not have a following space
• – some prefixes are italic – follow the author/clientʼs usage
• – ensure that superscripts and subscript numbers are used correctly in formulae. Examples: (S,S)-trans-(R,R)-trans-1,2-dichlorocyclopentane, CO2, H2O, Mg2+.
• Mathematics:
• – variables are italic
• – symbols (+, –, =, etc.) are spaced
• – brackets are nested in the order {[( …)]}
• – > and < when used as prefixes are closed up to the following numeral, but are spaced when used as operators. Examples: x axis, x + y = z, a = [b + (sin c)]/(d + e), >25, x > 2 + y.
• Medicine:
• – check that drug names are correct for the intended audience (e.g. use the names in the British National Formulary (http://bnf.org) for UK publications)
• – check that drug dosages do not have obvious errors (e.g. the decimal point in the wrong place).
• Taxonomy:
• – all taxa (family, order, genus, etc.) except for species start with an initial capital
• – genus and species are italic
• – if a binomial (i.e. genus plus species names) is mentioned several times, the genus can be abbreviated
• – ʻspeciesʼ is sometimes abbreviated to sp. (singular) and spp. (plural) – these are roman not italic. Example: The English oak, Quercus robur, belongs to the family Fagaceae.

Sexism
(See ʻInclusive languageʼ)

Superscripts and subscripts

• Word processors often insert spurious superscripts in degrees (1st, 2nd, 3rd …): remove these superscripts unless the context demands otherwise.
• Ensure common chemical formulae use subscript numbers. Examples: CO2, H2O, O2, NOx.

Telephone numbers

• In brackets, after the name and address. Examples: Stokes … DH22 3EL (0121 123 4567). Stokes … DH22 3EL (tel./fax 0121 123 4567). Stokes … DH22 3EL (tel. 0121 123 4567, fax 0121 123 9876).
• Overseas numbers begin with a plus sign and the country code. Example: +49 4106 3797 not 01049 4106 3797.

Time
(See ʻDates and timeʼ)

Titles
Companies

• Follow company usage in running text on, for example, their website, do not follow the logo if that is different.

Jobs

• Use lower-case initials in general. Examples: John Smith, the managing director of Glaxo; the bishop of Winchester; the chief executive was present.
• Job descriptions such as ʻmanaging directorʼ, ʻtrusteeʼ and ʻchairmanʼ routinely take lower-case initials even when the company is referred to. Example: the managing director of ASDA.

Publications

• Publication titles: italic with major words taking an initial capital; the word directly following a colon also takes an initial capital.
• Newspapers and journals: inclusion of ʻtheʼ in the title follows usage by the publication itself. Examples: The Bookseller but the Guardian (as in its own style guide).

4. Grammar

Collective nouns

• Treat as singular unless the context absolutely demands a plural verb. Examples: The choir was due to appear in the concert. The team is in good spirits, they expect to win.

Fewer and less

• Ensure correct usage, i.e. ʻfewerʼ for countable nouns and ʻlessʼ for uncountable. Examples: There are fewer cars on the road nowadays. There is less traffic at night.

None is, none are

• Both are acceptable in the correct context. Examples: The book has ten chapters, none is relevant to our immediate concerns. Many people are watching the end of this exciting game, none are willing to leave early.

Singular and plural

• Ensure the correct use of words with irregular plurals such as ʻphenomenonʼ and ʻcriteriaʼ.

Relative clauses

• Use ʻthatʼ, ʻwhoʼ and ʻwhomʼ to introduce identifying (defining, restrictive) clauses; no punctuation before the pronoun.
• Use ʻwhichʼ, ʻwhoʼ and ʻwhomʼ to introduce non-identifying (non-defining, unrestrictive) clauses; use a comma before the pronoun. Examples: He married the woman that he met on the beach. He married the woman, whom he met on the beach, after just one week. The marriage, which took place on Monday, was arranged in a hurry.

Split infinitives

• Avoid unless the alternative is consciously echoing Star Trekʼs ʻto boldly goʼ or is unacceptably clunky or ambiguous. Examples (the first example is acceptable although split, the second example has a different meaning): Iʼd like to really understand philosophy. Iʼd like to understand philosophy really.

Whether and if

• These are interchangeable in reported questions, but after a verb use ʻwhetherʼ. Examples: She asked if she could go. She asked whether she could go. We discussed whether she could go. He has to decide whether she can go.

Who, whom

• In relative clauses, ʻwhoʼ refers to the subject of the verb in the clause and ʻwhomʼ to the object or complement. Examples: She played chess against an opponent whom she had never played before. She played chess against an opponent who came from Dunstable.

5. Spelling and usage

Spelling
amidst or amid, among or amongst, either is acceptable, but usage should be consistent

Comprise, not ʻcomprise ofʼ
co-ordinate/co-operate, co-ordinate, etc.

email, but ʻe-commerceʼ, etc.

freelance, not ʻfreelancerʼ
farther, use ʻfurtherʼ

internet
into, use two words for continued action: ʻHe turned into an ogre, ʻHe turned his essay in to the teacherʼ

lifestyle

nonetheless

OK, not ʻokayʼ
ongoing
online, always one word
on-screen, on screen, hyphenate before nouns but not after, e.g. ʻon-screen editorʼ but ʻwork
on screenʼ

onto, use two words for continued direction (see ʻintoʼ)

under way, always two words

website
whilst, while, either is acceptable, but usage should be consistent
worthwhile

Usage
Many Wordy texts may come from a translation or have been written by someone whose first language is not English, be vigilant for:

• Homonyms. Example: sewer (a pipe for waste or someone who sews)
• Homophones. Example: practise, practice
• False friends. Examples: once (ʻelevenʼ in Spanish), genial (ʻbrilliantʼ in German).

6. Punctuation
Follow the style of the author/client as long as it is acceptable and consistent. Bear in mind the target audience (i.e. US or UK): the default style is UK.

If in doubt, or where there is no clear pattern, use the following guide:

• Single inverted commas, double within (unless in the US, where the opposite applies)
• Full point inside closing quotes if the quotation is a complete sentence starting with a capital letter, otherwise full point outside closing quote
• Punctuation before a quotation should be consistent with the sense of the sentence.

Apostrophes

• Ensure correct usage, i.e. for possession and contractions but not for plurals. Examples: The catʼs whiskers. The beesʼ knees. 100 yearsʼ time. The fox slunk back to its lair. Itʼs well known that foxes have lairs. Dos and donʼts. 1960s

Displayed lists
(See ʻListsʼ in Part 3)

Colon

• A colon is used to:
• – introduce a list
• – introduce a quotation
• – introduce an explanation or amplification.
• In US English it is common to have a capital letter after the colon. However, this is not the case in UK English, except in titles of books, etc.
• There should be no spaces before or after a colon that is part of a ratio, biblical reference or similar. Examples: We need four people to work on this project: an editor, a translator, a proofreader and a project manager. Hamlet replied: ʻWords, words, words.ʼ There was a problem with my bike: the back tyre had a puncture.

Semicolons

• Semicolons are used to join two sentences or to separate items in a list that consists of grammatically complex items. Examples: Some people are still smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day; others have given up successfully and have not smoked for many years. Employees enjoy many benefits: crèche facilities for children up to the age of three; interest-free loans for season tickets; and an ability to work flexitime and gain up to five extra days leave per year.

Commas

• Follow the author/clientʼs preferences.
• Do not use a final serial comma (Oxford comma) unless this is the author/clientʼs style.
• Use to isolate discourse markers such as ʻhoweverʼ, ʻindeedʼ etc. Example: The child was, however, nowhere to be seen.

Dashes

• Use spaced en rules for UK style (US style: closed up em rules).

Ellipses

• At the end of a sentence, use a full point after an ellipsis.

Hyphens

• Generally avoid hyphens with prefixes, especially scientific or medical compounds (e.g. gastrointestinal). But:
• – use where necessary for clarity (re-cover, recover, re-enter)
• – use with cross-, mid-, non-, quasi-, self- and side- (e.g. cross-section, non-linear, side-effect).
• Hyphenate compound adjectives both pre- and postnominally, with the following exceptions:
• – noun–noun or very well-known adjective phrases
• – phrases with adjectives ending in ʻyʼ
• – postnominal phrases using the past tense.
• Examples: electron microscope image, moulded-plastic cup (but stainless steel cup).
• Hyphenate fractions. Example: two-thirds.
• Hyphenate numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine.

Brackets

• Parentheses (round brackets) are normally used but use square brackets for authorial alterations or insertions in quoted matter.
• Follow normal conventions for scientific and mathematical texts.

There are a couple of obvious things we can do to ensure great output from Wordy. For a start, the aim of receiving an “Excellent” rating for all orders should be natural to any web service, not least a service that handles something as personal and important as people’s writing.

Peer reviews are a great way of ensuring ongoing feedback on work, and they even uncover flaws in how Wordy handles orders. Currently customers are asked to review an order when closing it: it would be natural to put in an extra step after the order was closed to ask other editors to go through and comment on the text. This feedback would offer a great way for the individual editor to improve his or her service. For the reviewing editors it would mean learning or even unlearning some of the bad habits one might pick up during a long career as a professional copy-editor.

An external review board is a more formal method of peer reviewing. This process is up and running for all editors that register with Wordy. As of now the board consists of three UK and US editors who go through all editing tests done by registering editors on the basis of written guidelines. Assessment is based on two criteria: accuracy (the main one) and intervention. Intervention means whether sensible queries are raised, in what quantity and whether any inaccuracies are introduced. Candidates must perform acceptably on both scores. Since the external review board has handled more than 500 registrations since Wordy’s launch there hasn’t been much time for individual commenting (in fact none at all), and relying on an external review board to review and comment on jobs done on Wordy seems a bit cumbersome. Nevertheless, it seems necessary to have clear standards and processes for how and when to review.

Approaching editing organisations that maintain standards and guidelines in professional copy-editing is an idea I really like. Professional editing organisations have a huge knowledge pool about maintaining the best possible standards, they produce and update guidelines and best practices for all aspects of the editing process, they have a living, vibrant community of editors that really care about their profession, and they also have a deep understanding of both the editor’s and the customer’s requirements and perspectives.

In-depth customer feedback means getting customers to comment thoroughly on an individual order. Of course, the customer cannot be expected to know whether the editing job is done properly: this is a trust-bond Wordy is constantly building with every new and returning customer on the platform. Here feedback on a more formal description of the processes from ordering to delivery is satisfactory, with suggestions of what we can do as developers and business developers to improve our service.

Technical development on Wordy: this is especially of interest for text files and pasted text. These jobs are handled in Wordy’s own onscreen editor, and implementing tools to make the life of the editors easier seems like a logical way to go. Here online dictionaries, access to a knowledge base that editors themselves could develop and maintain over time, as well as basic tools (like marking of double spaces, words in the wrong case, etc.) would mean the editor could focus on the more important parts of the job; getting the wording, structure and grammar of the text just right.

An open and lively community is pretty much the dream of every service provider. Discussions can result in quick decisions about changing things on the platform and improving the workflow and product. Feedback can shed light on things we’ve missed out, such as developing the guidelines on how to handle UK and US English jobs on Wordy. And editors can get a sense of the platform as more than simply a way of obtaining jobs from time to time. That said, editors on Wordy make up a great community with logical, consistent and clear feedback on things that need our attention. The next step would be to provide a more public way for editors to write about Wordy in general and their work in particular. In my view, everything that sparks a discussion will help Wordy in the long run.

There are probably a thousand more ways to ensure the quality of Wordy’s output, but there are three criteria they should all meet: participation, dialogue, and ensuring that the new idea actually results in improvements, not just added procedures.

Setting a group of regular editors means that editors who specialise in specific subject matters will get all your jobs. Of course, you can still write a brief to the editor, as well as set languages for the individual document (such as US English or UK English). But jobs are only distributed to the editors on your list, ensuring a close relationship with editors that will only grow over time. Setting regular editors is key in obtaining the best possible editing with the shortest possible turnaround time.

Setting up multiple users allows your colleagues and co-workers to benefit from Wordy’s services without gaining actual control over the payment process. Additional users are able to send texts to Wordy on the original subscription as well as edit house styles. Additional users cannot add users themselves or pick regular editors. Moreover, additional users have no control over the subscription settings for the main account. If additional users are removed from the main account, they can no longer draw on the subscription plan when sending texts.

Adding and updating the personal house style can be carried by all users of the subscription plan. When a new job is sent to Wordy, editors can access the house styles to ensure consistent use of wording, annotations and tone of voice of texts – even though they are worked on by different editors and ordered by different users. House styles are particularly useful to companies and individuals who work within a specific field or have developed standard descriptions, phrasings, etc.

Questions anyone?

Is Wordy the right service for me?
If you want to make sure that your publishing is perfect and if you agree that incorrect spelling and bad grammar degrade your products and services, then yes, Wordy is the right service for you.

How do I find the best regular editors?
You can filter the list of editors on Wordy to match the requirements of your business. Wordy editors specialize in 56 subject matters – from accounting to tourism and travel, and most things in between.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my subscription?
Yes, you can change subscription plans in your account settings. All changes take effect starting with the next subscription period. If you cancel a subscription, changes take effect instantly.

Can I get my money back?
Yes, we’ll refund any unused credit in your account, minus a 20% handling fee. Get in touch with us at sales@wordy.com.

How do you price additional words?
You can buy additional words to your subscription at a discount price of 12.5% off the standard fee. We will notify you if your balance starts to run low.