Business Editing
An archive of posts related to editing and proofreading business writing, including marketing material. Find out how to edit business documents effectively.
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What Are Trigger Words? (And How to Use Them in Writing)
What Are Trigger Words? (And How to Use Them in Writing)
Feb 06, 2023
Trigger words are a common marketing tool used in business copywriting. In this post, we’ll explain what trigger words are and share our top tips to help you edit them in your clients’ writing. What Are Trigger Words? Trigger words (or power words) are words or phrases that compel the reader to take an action, […]
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What Is a Lede in Journalism?
What Is a Lede in Journalism?
Dec 10, 2022
Readers are like balloons. Once they leave your grip, you may never catch them again. Having a good article title is not enough to keep the reader in your grip. You must also have a good opening. And this is where a lede comes into play. Today’s post will explain what a lede in journalism […]
What Is FOMO in Copywriting? (And How to Use It Effectively)
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What Is an Executive Summary? (And How to Edit One)
Sep 21, 2022
If you’re a proofreader or editor who specializes in business writing, you’ll need to know how to edit an executive summary. An executive summary is a short overview of a business document that outlines the basic topics covered. In today’s post, we’ll explain executive summaries in more detail before giving you some tips on how […]
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The Inverted Pyramid in Journalism
Sep 14, 2022
The inverted pyramid is a handy tool used by journalists and business writers to structure their work. Understanding the inverted pyramid and how it’s used will help you to edit this form of writing. In this post, we explain the basics of the inverted pyramid so that you can use it to help assess your […]
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How to Use the 5 “W”s (and 1 H)
Sep 01, 2022
The five “W”s are a principle widely used in journalism and copywriting, so they are worth understanding if you want to edit these types of writing. In this post, we’ll set out the basics of the five “W”s and how you can use them as an editor. What Are the Five “W”s? The five “W”s […]
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5 Questions to Ask When Editing a Listicle
Aug 03, 2022
If you edit articles or blog posts for business clients, at some point you’ll probably need to edit one of the most popular formats out there nowadays – the listicle. As the name suggests, a listicle is a piece of writing that organizes its sections as a numbered list – just like this post, in […]
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Proofreading Tips: Plagiarism in Business Writing
Jun 28, 2022
While plagiarism is less obviously a problem in business writing than in, say, creative or academic writing, it can still be an issue. And a good proofreader may need to highlight plagiarism in their client’s work. But what does plagiarism look like in the context of business writing? And how do you address it? In […]
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Proofreading and Editing Journalism
Jun 20, 2022
In the Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses, we focus primarily on academic, creative, and business writing. But if you work as a freelancer, you may find yourself working with other client types as well, including journalists and journalistic organizations. To give you a sense of what to expect in these cases, then, […]
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Proofreading Tips: Numbers in AP Style
Proofreading Tips: Numbers in AP Style
Oct 17, 2021
Created by journalists to help public-facing writing in 1953, The AP Stylebook is still one of the most commonly used American English style guides around. As a proofreader, you’ll often need to check the formatting of numbers when working with a client who writes in AP style. This post will take you through how to […]
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Proofreading Tips: State Abbreviations in AP Style
Proofreading Tips: State Abbreviations in AP Style
Sep 26, 2021
The Associated Press is a popular style guide for public-facing corporate communication. Proofreaders will most likely encounter it while working with journalists or PR specialists in the US. And the AP Stylebook has some pretty specific rules for abbreviations, including state abbreviations. As a proofreader, then, you should be on the lookout for any instances […]